Betty Corrigall
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Betty Corrigall (fl.c. 1770) was a Scot whose body was found 150 years after her suicide and burial in an unmarked grave. Her grave is now a popular tourist site on Orkney, and she was the inspiration behind the 2012 album Orkney: Symphony of the Magnetic North by The Magnetic North.[1]
Corrigall lived in Greengairs Cottage near Rysa on Hoy on Orkney in the 1770s.[2] At the age of 27, she had a short romance and became pregnant.[3] Her boyfriend, a whaler by trade, abandoned her and returned to the sea. Betty had little in the way of support. She attempted suicide, but was rescued by local residents. A few days later, a second suicide attempt by hanging was successful.
Due to the laws at the time, the Lairds of Hoy and Melsetter would not allow her to be buried on their property.[4] She was laid to rest outside their boundary in an unmarked grave.
