Monument To Phoebe Hessell In Churchyard Of Church Of St Nicholas

The monument to Phoebe Hessell is located in the churchyard of the Church of St Nicholas of Myra on Dyke Road in Brighton. This headstone and footstone, dating from around 1821, is made of stone and is situated 13 meters south of the door of the south chapel. Phoebe Smith, who later became known as Phoebe Hessell, fell in love with a soldier named William Golding in 1728. To stay with him, she enlisted in the Fifth Foot Regiment and spent 17 years serving in the army disguised as a man. After Golding's death, she moved to Brighton and married William Hessell around 1769. Following his death in 1792, she spent much of her life, living to the age of 108, selling fish, gingerbread, and other goods in the streets of Brighton. Although recent research has raised questions about her story, the Northumberland Fusiliers found it compelling enough to restore her grave in the 1970s.