Meet historian Sue Pengelly
Sue has long had a fascination for the ingenuity and resilience of the underdog, the working class poor and those marginalised in society.
She says, "Some of them are my ancestors and if they hadn't kept going in brutal times, I wouldn't be here. These people deserve to be remembered."
This fascination led her to dive into historical research, focussed on her home town of Barnstaple in North Devon. As a result she began hosting very popular Haunted History tours of Barnstaple (book through The Plough Arts Centre) and nearby towns and villages, which have now been running for fourteen years.
"The tours began because I was tired of reading about the wealthy element," she says. "I wanted to know how the poor lived and survived, the crimes, the prostitutes ... you know, the really interesting people! I was of the opinion that if they were that reviled in the press, they must have been interesting. And so it proved.
Some of her historical information comes from oral histories. "I'm very lucky to be trusted with snippets of other people's family history which sends me on more research.
"I've met some fascinating people including those who've shared their and their family members' experiences of working in prostitution ... but not as you know it, their antics and money making ideas."
From these and her own life experience of strong, feisty women, her book Beattie Crawford was born. Her next book Notorious from which some of the Cunny Corner podcast stories are taken is due for publication in winter 2026.
Sue is also well-known for her work as a clairvoyant.
Beattie Crawford
Sue's book Beattie Crawford is available to buy from Amazon
Beattie is full of fire.
Her vigilante persona and intolerance of injustice and bigotry forged from a brutal childhood make her a force to be reckoned with. Her flagrant disregard for convention shows others that society needn’t dictate the rules of behaviour or a way of living.
From the rent man who likes to be spanked, to managing a strip show business with her friends filling the admin roles, to a club for transvestites 'because no woman in her right mind would wear a tartan skirt, green socks and sandals ... someone has to help them' ... Whatever situation she has to deal with,when Beattie puts on her red ‘no shit shoes’ there will be brutal honesty and if necessary, retribution.
Mr Sharples runs a second hand shop attached to his house. A deeply spiritual man, he takes Beattie's daughter Ellen under his wing from the age of six and is able to put Beattie’s behaviour and the attitudes of others into context for her. He is the voice of reason and spiritual wisdom for all the characters and his death brings all their secrets and his own to the surface.
Notorious
The Cunny Corner book Notorious is now available to buy on Amazon here.
The prostitutes who sashayed along the streets of North Devon’s towns and villages in the 1800s were considered notorious mostly because they didn’t give a fig about anyone’s opinion. These women were considered the lowest in society, but in truth they were extraordinary – brave, resourceful, cunning and streetwise.
Drawing on extensive original research and serving as a companion to the Cunny Corner podcast, Notorious brings these women out of the shadows. It uncovers their names, their lives and their encounters with the law, offering a fascinating glimpse into a hidden side of Victorian North Devon.
