The Gloaming Millicent

"Gloaming" Millicent Fairweather (Fen Fence)

Millicent Fairweather ran a modest boarding house near Cambridge's market square in the 1820s, but her true occupation began each evening as dusk settled over the town. Known as "Gloaming Millicent" for her habit of positioning herself at her parlour window during the twilight hours, she had cultivated an unusual relationship with Cambridge's overworked and underpaid Night Watch. While respectable Cambridge retreated behind locked doors after dark, Millicent observed or heard of everything that emerged in the shadows - the affairs, the gambling, the smuggling, and the student escapades that flourished under cover of darkness.

Her real income came from the network of street children she had quietly gathered over the years - orphans, runaways, and servants' children who knew every back alley and could slip through Cambridge's narrow streets unseen. Under Millicent's strict code, her "little sparrows" operated with surgical precision: no violence, ever; no stealing from ordinary working folk; and most importantly, all information flowed both ways. When her children spotted genuine threats - violent thieves, dangerous fraudsters, or crimes that could genuinely harm Cambridge's citizens - Millicent ensured the intelligence reached the Night Watch. In return, the constables turned a conveniently blind eye to her crew's gentle redistributions from wealthy college students who could easily afford the loss.

The arrangement worked beautifully for all parties. The poorly paid watchmen received intelligence that helped them prevent serious crimes without having to patrol every shadowy corner themselves. Cambridge's streets remained safer than they would have been otherwise. And Millicent's children, who might have turned to violence or more serious crime without her guidance, instead learned discipline and earned enough to survive. She saw herself not as a criminal, but as a necessary buffer between chaos and order - someone who understood that a little controlled mischief prevented far worse mayhem.

The ceramic ghost captures Millicent's dual nature perfectly: the purple and red twilight hues represent the gloaming hours when her network was most active, the grunge-y golden streaks reflect both the lamplight that illuminated her evening vigils and the coins she collected from those who preferred her protection to unpredictable chaos. Local legend suggests that having a Cambridge fence ghost nearby brings good fortune to those who walk the line between propriety and pragmatism - much as Millicent herself did through Cambridge's shadowy streets.

Every ghost is hand-made and unique - yours will be similar to the image shown but will vary in intensity and amount of streaking or other markings making it just as beautiful, but different.