The Tiger at The White Lion

The first recorded person to be killed by a tiger in Britain was Hannah Twynnoy. Her gravestone stands in the churchyard of Malmesbury Abbey. This records her name and death at the age of thirty-three on October the twenty third 1703. The parish register covering burials for that year tells us, “October the twenty forth Hannah Twynnoy, killed by a tiger at ye White Lion.” Records also exist of a plaque, since lost, displayed in Hullavington parish church, just five miles from the town. This stated that Hannah, a servant at the White Lion, took great pleasure in teasing a very fierce tiger, which happened to be part of an exhibition of wild beasts. One day the enraged creature broke from its cage and killed her.