Jemima Nicholas
{{short description|Welsh heroine}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2018}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2018}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Jemima Nicholas
| image = JemimaNicholasGrave.jpg
| caption = Memorial stone for Jemima Nicholas outside St Mary's Church, Fishguard
| birth_place = Llanrhian, Wales
| baptised = 2 March 1755
| death_date = 16 July 1832 (aged 82)
| death_place = Fishguard, Wales
| nationality =
| occupation = Cobbler, homemaker
| education =
| spouse =
| relatives =
}}
Jemima Nicholas (also spelt Niclas; {{abbrlink|bapt.|baptised}} 2 March 1755 – 16 July 1832), also known as Jemima Fawr, was a Welsh heroine during the 1797 Battle of Fishguard (commonly known as the last invasion of mainland Britain).
Early life
Jemima Nicholas was the daughter of Elinor and William Nicholas of Llanrhian, and was baptised on 2 March 1755 in Mathry. She was a cobbler,{{Cite web |title=Jemima Nicholas, a Fishguard Heroine |url=https://www.coastalcottages.co.uk/inspiration/heritage/jemima-nicholas-a-fishguard-heroine/ |access-date=2024-02-24 |website=Coastal Cottages}} or a cobbler's wife.{{Cite web|last=Hayward|first=Will|date=2017-10-28|title=The Welsh woman with a pitchfork who faced down an invading army|url=http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/how-cobblers-wife-armed-pitchfork-13825077|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-06-13|website=WalesOnline}}
Battle of Fishguard
{{Main|Battle of Fishguard}}
In 1797, 1,400 French troops, many of them drawn from prisons,{{Cite web|last=Shakespeare|first=Andrew-Paul|date=2019-02-22|title=The Glorious Army of France, Beaten by a Bunch of Girls!|url=https://medium.com/@andrewpaulshakespeare/the-glorious-army-of-france-beaten-by-a-bunch-of-girls-618194d063b4|access-date=2020-06-13|website=Medium|language=en}} sailed from Camaret and landed at Llanwnda in Wales.{{Cite web|last=Johnson|first=Ben|date=|title=The last invasion of Britain by the French at Fishguard|url=https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofWales/The-Last-Invasion-of-Britain/|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-06-13|website=Historic UK|language=en-GB}} According to folk legend, armed with a pitchfork, Nicholas led a group of women and rounded up 12 French soldiers who had been drinking, and held them captive inside a church overnight. The French surrendered shortly afterwards at the Royal Oak pub.{{Cite news |title=Invasion heroine's records find |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/south_west/4874226.stm |work=BBC News |date=4 April 2006 |access-date=10 May 2017}} She was awarded a lifetime pension for her efforts.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=The Royal Oak, Fishguard|url=http://www.landoflegends.wales/location/the-royal-oak-fishguard|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-06-13|website=Land of Legends}}
A Jemima Nicholas was also involved with rioting in Fishguard in 1824, though she was not convicted of any crime.{{Cite web|last=Lewis|first=Mike|date=3 May 2017|title=Did heroine Jemima have a later brush with the law?|url=http://www.countyecho.co.uk/article.cfm?id=111178&headline=Did%20heroine%20Jemima%20have%20a%20later%20brush%20with%20the%20law?§ionIs=news&searchyear=2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-06-13|website=County Echo|language=en}}
Legacy
Nicholas died at the age of 82 on 16 July 1832. A memorial stone was installed in the churchyard of St Mary's, Fishguard, in 1897, on the occasion of the invasion's centennial.{{Cite web |title=Fishguard |url=https://www.pembrokeshirecoast.wales/about-the-national-park/culture-and-heritage/land-of-legends/fishguard/ |access-date=2024-02-24 |website=Pembrokeshire Coast National Park |language=en-US}} She is featured in the Last Invasion Tapestry commissioned by the Fishguard Arts Society for the 200th anniversary of the invasion. The 100-foot-long tapestry is housed in its own gallery on the first floor of Fishguard Town Hall.{{cite web |title=The Last Invasion Tapestry |url=https://lastinvasiontapestry.co.uk/ |website=Fishguard Library |accessdate=28 October 2020}}{{Cite web|date=2016-09-01|title=Jemima the Great and the Fishguard Tapestry|url=http://historichouston1836.com/jemima-the-great-and-the-fishguard-tapestry/|access-date=2020-06-13|website=Historic Houston|language=en-US}}
In 2019, a hat said to have belonged to Jemima Nicholas sold by one of her brother's descendants at a charity auction, for £5,000. The buyer was a distant relative who lived in Australia.{{Cite news|date=2019-08-25|title=War heroine's traditional hat sells for £5,000|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-49465390|access-date=2020-06-13}}{{Cite web|last=Lewis|first=Mike|date=1 August 2019|title=Last Invasion heroine Jemima Nicholas' relative flies in from Oz|url=http://www.countyecho.co.uk/article.cfm?id=126940&headline=Last%20Invasion%20heroine%20Jemima%20Nicholas%27%20relative%20flies%20in%20from%20Oz§ionIs=news&searchyear=2019|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-06-13|website=County Echo|language=en}}
The town of Fishguard has an official Jemima Nicholas re-enactor. She was played by Yvonne Fox, until her death in 2010,{{Cite web |last=Hancock |first=Lucy |date=2019 |title=Jemima Nicholas, a Fishguard Heroine |url=https://www.coastalcottages.co.uk/inspiration/heritage/jemima-nicholas-a-fishguard-heroine/ |archive-url= |archive-date= |access-date=2020-06-13 |website=Coastal Cottages |language=en-gb}} and has been portrayed by Jacqui Scarr since 2013.{{Cite news|date=2013-04-11|title=New actress to play invasion heroine|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-south-west-wales-22085594|access-date=2020-06-13}}
A children's book about Nicholas, Jemima Nicholas: Heroine of the Fishguard Invasion by Sian Lewis, was published in 2012, as part of a series on Welsh women's history.{{Cite book|last=Lewis, Siân, 1945-|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/782986756|title=Jemima Nicholas : heroine of the Fishguard Invasion|date=2012|publisher=Gwasg Carreg Gwalch|others=Howells, Graham.|isbn=978-1-84527-364-4|location=Llanrwst|oclc=782986756}}
Jemima Nicholas was included in the list of 100+ Welsh women who have made a significant contribution to Welsh life produced by WEN Wales.{{Cite web |title=Jemima Nicholas |url=https://www.100welshwomen.wales/100-women/jemima-nicholas/ |access-date=2024-02-24 |website=100+ Welsh Women |language=en-US}}
In February 2024, a Purple Plaque in her memory was installed in Fishguard.{{cite news |last1=Morris |first1=Steven |title=Welsh woman 'who took on French invaders' with pitchfork wins recognition |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/feb/24/welsh-woman-who-took-on-french-invaders-with-pitchfork-wins-recognition?ref=upstract.com |access-date=24 February 2024 |work=The Guardian |date=24 February 2024}}
References
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Category:18th-century Welsh women
Category:19th-century Welsh women
Category:History of Pembrokeshire
Category:People from Fishguard