Peter the Wild Boy: A Berkhamsted Celebrity

The story of Peter the Wild Boy has intrigued generations of visitors to Northchurch. The simple tombstone immediately in front of the church porch, with the curious inscription:

PETER
the Wild Boy
1785

It tells nothing of the life of the person buried there. Inside the church, on the south wall of the nave, there is a brass tablet, which relates something of the strange history of the Wild Boy, as well as providing a portrait of Peter as an old man. The inscription reads:

To the memory of Peter, known as the Wild Boy, having been found wild in the forest of Hertswold near Hanover in the year 1725. He then appeared to be about 12 years old. In the following year he was brought to England by the order of the late Queen Caroline, and the ablest masters were provided for him. But proving himself incapable of speaking, or of receiving any instruction, a comfortable provision was made for him at a farm in this parish, where he continued to the end of his inoffensive life. He died on the 22nd of February, 1785, supposed to be aged 72.

Other local accounts describe with more detail how King George I was hunting in the woods near Hamelin when his party encountered the boy. They assumed that he had been living in the woods by himself for some time, but the only indication that he had had a normal childhood was the remains of a shirt collar around his neck. It has never been possible to establish why Peter was in the woods on his own – had he been abandoned by his family, had he simply become lost, or was there some family trauma from which he was the only survivor?

At the English court, many efforts were made to educated him, but all failed. He was clumsy and unable (or unwilling) to adapt to the behaviour patterns of the royal household, and he never uttered a single syllable. After a while, the court tired of Peter, and he was entrusted to the care of Mrs. Tichbourne, one of the Queen’s bedchamber women, who received a handsome pension for his maintenance. While he was under her protection, Peter was brought to Northchurch when Mrs. Tichbourne visited a yeoman farmer called James Fenn at Axters End. After several visits, Peter was given over to the care of James Fenn, and the government granted a pension of £35 per annum to him. On James Fenn’s death, Peter was transferred to Broadway Farm, where he lived out his days.

Peter as an adult

Contemporary accounts of Peter depict him as a strong man, who worked alongside the farm labourers and also had an intense love of music. Apparently, he would dance strenuously while any musical instrument was being played. Peter was also given to wandering, and on one occasion, travelled as far as Norwich. There he was arrested on a charge of spying, and as he did not speak, was assumed to be a Spanish subversive. He was delivered from jail by one of the courtiers, and from that point on, wore around his neck a leather collar with a brass plate, which reads:

Peter the Wild Man from Hanover. Whoever will
bring him to Mr. Fenn at Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire,
shall be paid for their trouble.

This can still be seen, at Berkhamsted Collegiate School.