THIS IS THE STORY BROKEN-HEARTED SARAH ANN HENLEYFriday, May 8, 1885, was the day that broken-hearted Sarah Ann Henley made the history books.
She was 22, lived in Twinnell Road, Easton, and had just been jilted by her sweetheart, a Great Western railway porter.
He had written, breaking off their engagement after she had stormed into his workplace and harangued his foreman about what a rogue he was and how she had dozens of suitors, all of a higher standing than a mere porter.
This had been the last straw in a stormy relationship, during which they argued constantly. Even so, when Sarah’s father learned of the letter, he punched the young man on the nose.
But Sarah, it seems, was unprepared for the end of the relationship.
Thomas Stevens, resident inspector of Clifton Suspension Bridge, was watching visitors walking across in a brisk breeze when he saw Sarah climb over the railings and on to the parapet. Before anyone could reach her, she threw herself off.
She was blown by the wind across the Bristol side and then turned a complete somersault so that she was now falling feet first to the ground 250 feet below. But the wind blew under her wide skirt and her clothes acted like a parachute, gently slowing down the rate of her fall. That saved her life.
The tide below was receding, and Sarah landed in thick mud. John Williams, of Ashton Gate, and George Drew, who had seen her fall,rushed to her aid, dragged her out and into a railway station refreshment room.
Sarah was alive and conscious and able to answer questions but a Dr Griffith, who was passing at the time, advised that she should be rushed to Bristol Infirmary.
CALL A CAB
A detective called Robertson requested a local cabman to rush Sarah to the hospital but he refused, saying that she would make his cab dirty.
Robertson argued with him and even offered him payment, saying Sarah would die if she wasn’t treated urgently. The cabbie replied: “I don’t care – let her die.”
He wouldn’t budge, so men were sent to Clifton Police Station to fetch a stretcher and carry her to the infirmary.
It was over an hour before she reached the infirmary where she found to be suffering from shock and severe internal injuries. Sarah recovered slowly but her fame spread rapidly as the girl who had fallen from the Suspension Bridge and lived.
OFFERS OF MARRIAGE
She received several offers of marriage while in hospital, and one wealthy suitor bribed a hospital official to ensure that Sarah received his offer of a life of luxury as his wife.
Showmen also showed interest in her – one offered her a contract to tour, with £400 down and a share of profits; another approached her father with an offer of £1,000.
The callous cabby was widely villified and wrote to the Bristol Times and Mirror to justify his refusal to help.
His reason was that he had only just had his cab cleaned and repaired, during which it was off the road and he was unable to earn a living.
He called for a fund to be set up to assist cabbies in these circumstances and pointed out, reasonably enough, that the corporation should have had an ambulance available for incidents like this.
Sarah survived her injuries and all the publicity and went on to marry, becoming in later years Mrs Lane of Croydon Street, Easton. She died, aged 84, on March 31,1948, and was buried at Avon View cemetery.
