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The Suffolk Blonde

Much is made of Charles Dickens’ characters all being based on actual people that he met or knew of – no full fictionalising for him. In the 1800’s, Aspall Hall was briefly set up as an asylum. Mainly dealing with patients of a mildly nervous disposition, one of the earliest patients was Mary Sargeaunt, a blonde 19 year old bride jilted at the alter and brought to Aspall Hall having had a nervous breakdown.

There she stayed until her death in 1894, still wearing her wedding dress and with the clocks in her room set to the time of her intended wedding. Right in the time zone for Great Expectations, which Dickens wrote in Suffolk. The inspiration for one Miss Haversham? Who are we to say, but this lager is a nod to poor Mary.