Sunday 2 March 2014

An Amateur Burial in Brighton

Copyright Janet Cameron
An action was brought against a bereaved father and his friend as reported in the Brighton Herald of 11 February 1860.  The case was heard by Dr. Lushington on 8 February, and the defendants were grocer James Clem Friend, the bereaved father and his friend, Richard Ballard, who was a miller.

Dr. Phillimore Q.C. was prosecuting. He was appearing on behalf of Mr. Johnson, secretary to the Bishop of Chichester, who had instituted the suit to vindicate the law.

An Unbaptised Child


The defendants were both charged with having, in the month of December 1859, collected an assembly of persons in the churchyard of Patcham, and without authority, burying the body of an unbaptised child, son of James Friend, and performing a burial service over the corpse.

The men had admitted in writing that they had committed this offence. In view of this prompt admission, the Bench said that the prisoners should be dealt with as leniently as possible.

The Clergyman's Prerogative

Dr. Phillimore stated that the clergyman of the parish, with the approval of the Bishop, had offered on this occasion to offer every possible sympathy and respect for the parents, provided it was not inconsistent with his duty. 

The parties had acted in defiance of the law and threatened to do the same in the future. It was necessary to have recourse to the Court to prevent a repetition. Not to do so could lead to serious irregularities and desecration since only a clergyman can perform any services or any rites on consecrated ground.

The Verdict

Therefore, Dr. Phillimore said he must ask the Court to administer such an admonition and to ensure the two parties appearing before them were made to pay the costs.  Dr. Lushington agreed that the two men had acted illegally by burying the child and publicly performing a burial service at the same time.

An admonition was given and a warning not to repeat the offence. They were ordered to pay the costs of the case.

Wednesday 5 February 2014

Percy Lefroy Mapleton - The Horrible Railway Murderer


The news broke in the Brighton Guardian on Wednesday 29 June 1881 with the headline: SHOCKING OUTRAGE ON THE BRIGHTON LINE. The paper speculated on this terrible crime committed in the early evening of the previous Monday morning, described as a crime ‘enshrouded in mystery’.

            'Isaac Frederick Gold, a coin dealer of 64 years lived at ‘Titchfield’, 26 Claremont Terrace. On 27 June 1881, the unfortunate businessman set off homeward on the London to Brighton express train. At this stage, no one knew much about what actually happened, except that the train stopped at Preston Park, where a ticket collector, Arthur Gibson, joined the train.
 
On opening a first class carriage, Arthur found a young man inside, besmeared with blood and showing signs of having had a struggle with someone. The young man told Arthur Gibson that he and another man, Mr. Gold had had a fearful encounter with a man on the train, but the man had succeeded in making his escape. The stationmaster, Mr. Hall, sent the ticket collector with the young man to Brighton, where the other stationmaster, Mr. Henry Anscombe, was ready to receive him. A gold chain was attached to Lefroy’s shoe, which he said he had put there ‘for safety’.

            At this time, although the police were a little suspicious, they decided that the young man, Percy Lefroy Mapleton had not committed a crime against another person. More likely, they’d decided, he had been trying to commit suicide, itself a criminal offence. Even after the discovery of the blackened body of the unfortunate coin dealer subsequently taken from Balcombe Tunnel and moved to a shed adjoining the Railway Arms Hotel at Balcombe, the police still took no action against Percy Lefroy, and he remained the only person who knew what had really happened to Isaac Frederick Gold.

A Deliberate Act of Evil


That fateful morning, occupying the smoking compartment of a first class carriage, (the third carriage of the train), Mr. Gold was later jointed by 21 year-old Percy Lefroy Mapleton. Isaac Gold wasn’t to know that this innocuous looking man had set out that morning determined to rob any poor wretch he could find. Having failed to carry out his devious plan at London Bridge, he’d decided to catch the 2.00pm train to Brighton. Once he set his sights on Mr. Gold, he must have thought it was his lucky day. Sometime, between London and Brighton, Percy Lefroy Mapleton stabbed Isaac Gold to death and stole his watch and some gold coins. When he got to Preston Park, he was seen disembarking from the carriage, blood-soaked, in a state of distress, minus his hat, collar and tie, and with a gold watch chain dragging from his shoe. He wasn’t too upset though, to convince the railway staff that he’d been attacked by two men who’d smashed him on the head and knocked him unconscious.
‘I have been murderously attacked,’ he claimed.

Too Much Blood


Percy Lefroy Mapleton actually made a formal charge against his ‘attackers’ and offered a reward to anyone who could catch them and bring them to justice. After being interviewed by a Constable Howland and giving a description of his attackers, he went to the County Hospital. The doctors were confused thinking that the wounds were very slight yet had caused a great deal of bleeding. Percy Lefroy began to feel uneasy and invented a sudden urgent appointment in London, but first he had to go back to the police station for more interviews. The net was closing in on Percy Lefroy Mapleton, and so he went shopping to buy himself a new collar and tie and then set off for Brighton Station.

All Despite the Evidence to the Contrary


Signs of a fierce struggle in the train carriage, including blood on the floor and door handle, and a newspaper and handkerchief found in the compartment, together with three bullet marks, began to alert the police that there was something even more sinister than attempted suicide behind Percy Lefroy’s account. Further, coins similar to those found on him at the time he arrived at the Brighton Station were discovered in the compartment. Things were not looking rosy. Despite that, the police still failed to arrest him and he was escorted by a detective sergeant, George Holmes, to a boarding house run by his relatives in Wallington in Surrey.

            By now a search of the London to Preston Park Railway had been instigated and in due course the blackened body of an elderly man was found in Balcombe Tunnel. It proved, indeed, to be the stabbed corpse of Isaac Frederick Gold. It was a particularly brutal attack. The victim had a deep stab wound in his eye and his face was cut to the bone, gashed from the right ear to the lower jaw and his throat was cut. It appeared the attack took place in Merstham Tunnel and thrown out of the carriage at Balcombe. A knife was found not far from the body and this, too, was covered in blood. His watch, chain and money were all missing so the Station Master at Balcombe immediately alerted the police by telegram.

            That night, Mrs. Gold was told and she left Preston at 10.30pm with Mr. Holes, a neighbour, on the fast train. Mr. Holes did the identification, as Mrs. Gold was unequal to this painful task.

Time for Action – at Last


After the Three Bridges Railway Station stationmaster had informed Det. Sergeant Holmes about the discovery of the body, the detective was told by the Brighton Police to keep Percy Lefroy Mapleton within his sights. The detective was not, it seems, all that bright because when Lefroy Mapleton asked him to wait outside while he changed his clothes. D.S. Holmes agreed and, of course, the cunning murderer made his escape. The Press were asked to help find him by the Director of the CID. The Daily Telegraph made the following appeal with a description, (as reproduced with grateful thanks to Wikipedia and verified)

‘Aged 22, middle height, very thin, sickly appearance, scratches on throat, wounds on head, probably clean-shaved, low felt hat, black coat, teeth much discoloured… He is very round shouldered, and his thin overcoat hangs in awkward folds about his spare figure. His forehead and chin are both receding. He has a slight moustache, and very small dark whiskers. His jawbones are prominent, his cheeks sunken and sallow, and his teeth fully exposed when laughing. His upper lip is thin and drawn inwards. His eyes are grey and large. His gait is singular; he is inclined to slouch and when not carrying a bag, his left hand is usually in his pocket. He generally carries a crutch stick.’

            In addition to this description, the paper printed an artist’s impression. This resulted in plethora of false claims by people convinced they had spotted the murderer.

The Inquest on Isaac Gold


The Coroner was Wynne Edwin Baxter, who opened the inquest on Isaac Gold on 29 June 1881 and the proceedings lasted several days. The police officers involved in the case including Det. Sergeant Holmes, were soundly castigated for their inefficiency and a verdict of wilful murder was returned on Percy Lefroy Mapleton. As a result the Railway Company offered a handsome reward for his capture.

Capture


Lefroy Mapleton had found himself lodgings at a house at 32 Smith Street, Stepney giving an alias of ‘Park’. The murderer had sent a telegram to his employer for the forwarding of his salary and this was his undoing, negating his precautions of keeping the blinds drawn and only venturing out after dark. When the police entered the premises, they discovered his bloodstained clothes, but he refused to talk except to deny his guilt.

The Trial


Before the Lord Chief Justice at Maidstone Assizes, Lefroy Mapleton was found guilty within ten minutes after the jury retired, after evidence from witnesses from the Railway company and the police. A woman said she had seen two men struggling in the train as it passed her home. The evidence against him was more than enough for a firm conviction.

            Lefroy Mapleton had needed money and only intended to rob someone at London Bridge, preferably a female who would be an easier target. Since there was no victim suitable, he’d attacked Isaac Gold. Despite his penury, he managed to appear in Court in full evening dress, hoping to impress the jury, including wearing a silk hat, no doubt he found it fitting since he was the godson of Sir John Lefroy, Governor of Tasmania.

Final Moments

Percy Lefroy Mapleton was hanged at Lewes on 29 November 1881 by William Marwood. According to an eyewitness account (with grateful thanks for a reproduction from the Daily Telegraph of 30 November, 1881, on the excellent www.mytimemachine.co.uk website, editor Mark Crail), Marwood took great pride in his work. He placed the leather belt around the murderer’s body and fastened his elbows and wrists, leaving his neck bare. It was almost nine o’clock, the clergyman was ready and two warders on hand, one either side of the condemned man. Everyone was waiting, the sheriff and the governor of the jail, the magistrate and the surgeon. Lefroy Mapleton may have worn his best evening garb for his trial but for his execution he was just a poor young man in an old grey tweed suit, tightly pinioned, with bruised wrists and hair disarranged. He was unshaven and with a ghastly pallor. The ‘terrors of death’ were particularly noticeable,’ reports the eyewitness, and continues: ‘He could scarcely take the step which was to place him where he had never stood before and from where he would never step again, and Marwood, who at no instant let go of the belt, was fain once more to push him forward.’

Marwood placed the prisoner under the cross tree. As he took up his position beneath the fatal beam with the assistance of Marwood, Percy Lefroy asked, ‘Will the rope break?’ The executioner simply replied, ‘No.’ Then Marwood had to stoop to secure his legs and then he placed the white cap over the victim’s face. The rope was adjusted and the thimble, through which the rope ran, placed beneath his neck. As the hood went over his head, Lefroy Mapleton lifted up his head, his lips moving as though in prayer. As the clergyman prayed, the lever was pulled back, the trap opened and the victim fell into the vault below, his neck immediately broken. Despite the suddenness of death, the eyewitness felt the preparations had been cruelly prolonged. ‘It was a tedious and horrible form of execution,’ he concluded. The coffin, according to the eyewitness, was a perfect fit. Lefroy Mapleton had been measured for it and placed in it, just to make sure, a few minutes before his execution.

At the Whim of the Executioner


Marwood, Percy Lefroy Mapleton’s executioner, used the long-drop method and death was instantaneous. Some executioners, for example, the notorious William Calcraft (1800-1879) preferred to make a proper spectacle of their handiwork for their own twisted satisfaction and the delectation of their admirers. Calcraft used the short-drop method and made his victims ‘dance’ for him and some of them took several minutes to die by slow strangulation instead of the broken neck effected by the long-drop. Calcraft practised his grisly vocation from 1824 for forty-five years and was said to be very fond of children.

Footnote: William Marwood hated the press and it is claimed he once said he would die happy once he had hanged a reporter.

Execution – An Entertaining Day Out


Until 1868, when an Act of Parliament decreed that executions should take place behind the prison walls as in the case of Percy Lefroy Mapleton, a public hanging was a spectacle and a source of popular entertainment. People went to executions to enjoy themselves and have a good day out. In the first half of the nineteenth century, people were hanged for alarmingly minor offences and often these were multiple hangings. In both the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, children also suffered the death penalty for murder, arson, highway robbery and property crimes. This tragic part of our history includes two children; a boy and girl aged seven and eleven, being hanged at Kings Lynn on 18 September 1708 – for theft. So maybe, although there was still far to go, the Victorians were beginning to move towards a more compassionate and informed morality.
 
Note:
On 29 May 1868, the Capital Punishment within Prisons Bill was passed by Parliament to end public hangings in Britain and all future executions would be carried out behind prison walls. The last public execution in Britain was that of Michael Barrett, who’d attempted to blow up Clerkenwell Prison, killing four passers-by and injuring many more. The first private hanging was carried out at Maidstone Prison two months later when a Dover railway porter was hanged for murdering a stationmaster. (See Dover – Murder & Crime by Janet Cameron)

Sources:
Cameron, Janet, Brighton and Hove, Murders and Misdemeanours, Amberley Publishing, 2008.

Thursday 30 January 2014

Case Dismissed: Three Weird Victorian Court Cases

Harriet and her Feathers

Harriet Sweetman was charged before Brighton Borough Bench, says the Cliftonville & Hove Mercury of Friday 15 August 1879, with stealing a quantity of feathers from a bed at the house of Lucy Austin at 46 Spring Gardens. With one feather being pretty much like another, the Bench considered it quite impossible that Lucy Austin could identify the feathers with those that covered her bed, so they discharged the prisoner.
Policemen in Trenchcoats, 1919, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons

Benefit of the Doubt

On 21 February 1879, according to the Cliftonville and Hove Mercury, a young man called James Herriot was made to account for himself. He'd been feeling tired and lay down to rest in a shed - but the shed happened to adjoin a fowl house on East Hill Farm in Portslade, which was the property of a Mr. Stanford.  James was discovered sleeping peacefully by the foreman, who was immediately suspicious of finding him so close to the cocks and hens.

"He was suspected of "fowl" play," claimed the reporter. (Most Victorian reporters seemed to enjoy being sarcastic at the unfortunate prisoner's expense.)

James was induced to change his sleeping arrangement at the shed for the less comfortable one at the Police Court. James claimed he was just tired and wanted to rest his bones, and so, this time, the magistrate gave him the benefit of the doubt and the case was dismissed.

A Zealot Gets his Comeuppance

The Cliftonville & Hove Mercury of Friday 10 November 1880 reported the case of William Stark, aged 22, a sergeant of the 2nd Battalion Coldstream Guards now stationed at the Tower of London. He was charged with being a deserter.

"The prisoner was wearing the uniform of the regiment," said P.C. Wingate. The policeman had met the sergeant on the Saturday morning of the 27 October in Goldstone Villas. Having learned that William's leave of absence had expired, P.C. Wingate asked him for his pass. The prisoner readily produced it and told Wingate he was going back to London by the next train.

But the pass had been issued on 23 December for Chelsea and extended only till midnight. P.C. Wingate, eager for some action, took William into custody and brought him to the station where he charged him with being a deserter and locked him up till Monday.

The Court found that William was not a deserter, and could not be charged as such, because he hadn't been absent from his regiment for more than five days. P.C. Wingate had no choice but to climb down from his high moral stance.  "I beg pardon, Sir, I did not know that," he said. "I brought him to the station and he was detained."  The latter statement was clearly an attempt to pass the blame on to his superiors.

The Magistrate concurred. "No doubt the constable thought he was right but the prisoner didn't have to be locked up."  The Chairman agreed that William's case was nothing more than absence without leave and that there was nothing else to be done.

Resource:

Cameron, Janet, Brighton & Hove Murders & Misdemeanours, Amberley Publishing, 2008 (with permission.)

Tuesday 21 January 2014

T.H. Huxley - Against Unfounded Beliefs and Opinions

Calling T.H. Huxley an infidel made him really, really mad.  He coined the term "agnostic" and much preferred that. He believed no one should claim certainty for what they couldn't prove, and this caused a great deal of ill-feeling among Victorian academics:

Public Domain


In his own words, philosopher Thomas Henry Huxley (1825-1895) invented the word “agnosticism.” 
The Principal of King’s College London, the Reverend Dr. Wace, targeted Huxley with a provocative tirade. The reason for this attack was Huxley’s belief that it is wrong for anyone to claim with certainty the objective truth of something if they are unable to justify it with certainty and produce evidence to that effect.
Huxley also believed that irrational, unquestioning beliefs brought with them certain social consequences.

Dr. Wace’s Attack on Huxley

This is part of Dr. Wace’s attack on Huxley:
“He may prefer to call himself an agnostic; but his real name is an older one-he is an infidel; that is to say, an unbeliever. The word infidel, perhaps, carries an unpleasant significance. Perhaps it is right that it should.  Read more

Friday 10 January 2014

Machievelli - A Choice Between Two Evils

John Machievelli is generally thought of as a very evil man. But - was he really as bad as he seems, or just a product of his time?

Click the link to read the article on Decoded Past and find out.

http://decodedpast.com/niccolo-machiavelli-choice-two-evils/