Vicar Butler's Story
Vicar Sir Thomas Butler was the pivotal figure who preserved the memory of Alice for future generations. As the Vicar of Much Wenlock from 1524 to 1562, Butler’s meticulous parish registers provide surviving historical evidence of her existence. Sir Thomas Butler lived through the most turbulent era of English history. Before the Dissolution of the Monasteries, he served as a monk at Wenlock Priory. Following the Reformation, he was appointed vicar of the nearby Holy Trinity Church.
The title "Sir" was a common mark of clerical courtesy during the Tudor period rather than a knightly rank. Butler was known for his obsessive record keeping, often noting local weather, prices, and the trials of his parishioners alongside standard baptisms and burials.
The Link to Alice
On April 13, 1546, Butler made his most haunting entry in his ledger. In his register, he recorded:
"Here was buried John Dod of the Village of Little Wenlock who was hanged here, as also Alice Glaston, 11 yrs of age, of the parish of Little Wenlock, and Wm. Harper, a tailor"
A secondary note later on the same page clarified the group:
"Three Convicts buried one a girl of eleven years old"
Butler recorded in the margin of his log:
"Buried below the door of our ladies chapel"
The original registers were destroyed by fire in 1859 at Wynnstay Hall. Had it not been for earlier transcriptions of Butler's notes, the name of Alice Glaston would have been entirely erased from history. Without Sir Thomas Butler’s habit of recording every incident in his parish, Alice’s story would have remained a silent footnote in an empty archive.