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Murder mystery series aims to memorialise teen

Emma Ruminski, BBC SW Arts reporter
The Ballad of Lucy Sands An actor dressed in a Victorian policeman's costume is in the middle of the picture flanked by film crews dressed in winter coats. One operator has a camera on a tripod. In the foreground, you can see the railway track for the steam trains. There are other actors in the background.The Ballad of Lucy Sands
The Ballad of Lucy Sands was partly filmed on beside Bodmin's railway

A director who spent 15 years developing a self-funded TV series about a murdered Victorian teenager, is hoping it will get spotted by a network and finally memorialise her.

The Ballad of Lucy Sands is based on the true story of the unsolved murder of a young woman in Workington, Cumbria in 1881.

The seven-part production was filmed in Cumbria and Cornwall over seven years.

Writer and director Stephen Baldwin said he hoped the series would be picked up by a television channel or streaming service to provide Lucy with a lasting legacy.

Stephen Baldwin has long hair and a beard. He is smiling in front of the Bodmin Railway pictorial map. The map shows locations along the heritage railway route that includes where they filmed.
Stephen Baldwin researched, wrote and directed the seven part series after living in both Cumbria where the story happened, and the south west of England where filming took place

It has taken Mr Baldwin 15 years to research, fundraise, film and edit Lucy Sands' story after a strange dream led to him finding out about the unsolved case.

In 1881, the 16 year old's body was discovered hidden under a pile of stones beside a railway line in Workington, Cumbria.

She had gone to meet friends in town but never returned.

Mr Baldwin said the discovery of Lucy's body attracted worldwide attention and dominated the local news at the time.

Stephen Baldwin A faded black and white photograph shows a young girl in Victorian dress looking directly at the camera. In the portrait she wears what looks like a velvet broad rimmed hat and jacket with lace cuffs and collar. She is sitting sideways on a sofa leaning against the arm.Stephen Baldwin
Stephen Baldwin says this is one of the few surviving photos of the murder victim Lucy Sands

Her murder came a few years before the attacks in White Chapel, London perpetrated by notorious serial killer Jack the Ripper.

Until then, Mr Baldwin said: "This (her murder) was massive.

"It was billed as the most heinous crime against any female in Victoria's reign until the White Chapel murders."

He says her story fell into obscurity however, adding: "I feel like I've been tasked with the job of being messenger, to find out what happened and give her some peace... giving her the justice she's been robbed of."

The picture shows director Stephen Baldwin sitting on a GWR bench with actor Emma McGee on the platform of Bodmin Railway. She is wearing an orange hat and he is dressed in a check jacket. To the side of them is a large colourful map of the heritage railway's route.
Director Stephen Baldwin and actor Emma McGee discuss a scene

This is Mr Baldwin's first time writing and directing a TV series.

He used to be a tailor and moved to Tavistock to bring up his family.

While in the South West he became an extra on two series of the BBC One drama Poldark.

Initially, he wanted to find out how to provide costumes for the show, but found himself increasingly intrigued by how television was made and ended up wanting to film his own drama.

The Ballad of Lucy Sands The picture shows an exhibit that looks like the inside of a Victorian pharmacy. Blue bottles and pink jars line the dark wooden shelves. There are two wax models in the middle of the picture set up to look like they are shop keeper and customer. Both wear Victorian clothing.The Ballad of Lucy Sands
A photograph taken inside the old Flambards Victorian Village exhibit before filming commenced.

He had connections to both Cumbria and the South West and recreated Lucy's story using locations he knew in Cornwall and Devon that would fit the story.

Flambards Victorian village provided the perfect ready made set.

Mr Baldwin said: "It became like a second home to us.

"We had uninterrupted usage of the place."

A woman with blonde hair and an orange felt hat smiles at the camera. Behind her is a heritage train carriage painted cream and maroon. It belongs to the Bodmin Railway.
Emma McGee plays the doctor's wife, Mrs Hyatt, in the series

Cornish actor Emma McGee added that it was like fulfilling a childhood dream: "I went there many times as a child.

"So to be there as a film set and sort of explore it, rather than just to move through it and to live in it, felt really real."

A large green, black and red steam engine sits poking out of a shed at Bodmin Railway.
The steam train they used in filming is just one of the heritage engines kept at Bodmin

Tavistock court and Bodmin Railway were also used as film locations to tell Lucy Sands' story.

The railway doubled as the place where her body was found.

Mark-Allan Pilgrim, who played Detective Inspector Isaac Bird, said: "The strange thing about it is the platform and the waiting room is almost a carbon copy of a photo of the one it's meant to represent."

Jimmy James who works at the Bodmin Railway and doubled up as an extra as a guard on the steam train, said: "They took over, it was very different and lots of fun."

The series is still looking for a home on UK television but those who want to see Cornwall's starring role in it, can join some of the cast at a screening on 5 July at The Old Library, Bodmin.

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