History, mystery, a dead body and a broken nose come together in a new, quirky exhibit at Wimborne’s Museum of East Dorset. The museum is inviting visitors to step closer to one of Wimborne’s most extraordinary and often overlooked historical figures with the launch of a new Cabinet of Curiosity, dedicated to Gertrude Courtenay, Marchioness of Exeter.
Best known for her fierce and faithful loyalty to Queen Katherine of Aragon and Princess Mary during the turbulent years of Henry VIII’s reign, the Marchioness was branded a traitor for her defiance. Her refusal to abandon her faith or her queen led to her imprisonment in the Tower of London, where she spent 18 months under threat of execution.
Though eventually released, she lived the rest of her life in enforced obscurity until Mary I came to the throne. She died in 1558, just months before Elizabeth I’s accession and was laid to rest in Wimborne Minster church where her tomb still stands opposite the Beaufort Tomb.
The Museum’s new display brings this dramatic story into sharp focus, pairing historical context with one of the most curious local accounts ever recorded. In 1914, Sir Ernest Kaye Fleming documented the spoken testimony of William Symonds, a retired Wimborne draper who recalled events from his childhood.
According to Symonds, workmen once opened the Marchioness’s tomb in 1838 – there appeared to be no reason save curiosity – and found her body in a remarkable state of preservation. In a macabre prank, the body was propped upright to startle workers the next morning, only to collapse overnight, breaking the nose. Locals flocked to see the remains, even cutting off locks of hair from the corpse. Many later repented and returned them to the tomb.
This strange, unsettling episode, part folklore, part eyewitness memory, now forms the heart of the Museum’s new Cabinet of Curiosity. The display explores how a woman once condemned as a traitor became, centuries later, the subject of morbid fascination and local legend.
Vanessa Joseph, museum trustee, said; “Set within the Museum’s growing programme of micro‑exhibits, the Cabinet of Curiosity offers a compelling glimpse into Tudor politics, local memory and the blurred lines between history and myth – all just a few steps from where the Marchioness herself lies buried – for the second time!”
You can see this Cabinet of Curiosity until mid-April. Normal museum entry applies and your entry ticket is valid for 12 months.
