1/ Clifton Suspension Bridge Suicide Survivor, May 1885

Sarah Ann Henley decided to leap off the bridge after being dumped by her sweetheart. She made the jump off the 300-foot bridge and survived to tell the tale! Her massive Victorian dress became a sort of parachute and she hit the soft silt of the Avon below. She was badly injured but remains in hospital. She got her brother to visit the ex-boyfriend and asked him to visit her. Her father was furious with the boy and went to the railway station where he worked and beat him to a pulp. Fellow workmates never intervened nor did the police, probably thinking he deserved a good kicking.(Did she live?)

2/ Clifton Suspension Bridge Suicide,  September 1869

Victorian Bristol’s suicide hot-spot and this is when a young man placed his hat, coat and waistcoat at the side, climbed the edge, hung on for a bit, then let go and fell the 300-feet down into the mud bank you can see in the above picture. He was only a slight fella and mid-twenties, shabby clothes and a few coppers on him. The body was not identified.

3/ Clifton Suspension Bridge Suicide, May 1866

I bet over the years, hundreds have thrown themselves off this bridge, every time I found a story about Bristol, it involved the bridge. This story was about a Mr George Green, of Green & Co, shipbuilders, when he vaulted the barrier and dropped into the Avon below. He hadn’t thought about it very carefully as he forgot the tide was out, so he catapulted into silt and mud. He left a wife and two kids.

4/ Clifton Suspension Bridge  Suicide, January 1883

The next suicide was a smart gentleman who was seen by several workers on a barge in the Avon. The body fell with such a smack on the mud bank below, that it took several men to extract it; it also fell near the barge whose occupants were watching the guy jump. He left identification in his pockets, and he was Samuel Cooper Dyer from Cardiff. (This was the nineteenth suicide on the bridge since it opened in 1864).

5/ Clifton Suspension Bridge Suicide, August 1887

A man leapt over the railing (you can see above, sort of!) and precipitated himself to the river below. It was high-tide and some men took it to Bedminster Mortuary, where it was identified as that of a young lad named Miller, a decorator by trade. (This was the twenty-fourth suicide since it opened)

6/ Clifton Suspension Bridge Suicide, December 1885

A man seems to have gone unnoticed in his leap of death, apart from a workman named James Gully who was next to the Port & Pier Station heard “Oh Dear!” and “Oh my!” as he came hurtling towards the river. The old myth that you die of fright before you hit the ground has been shattered, plus the first tale on the board where Sarah Ann Henley survived her attempt. This man seems to have gone under the water, bobbed up, and drifted down-stream. The man’s hat and stick were recovered and they had “T.D.” stamped on the silver band. (Was he identified?).

7/ Clifton Bridge Suicides (Facts & Figures) 1893

The first was a Mr Green in May 1866, and since then no less than thirty-two persons have met their death by leaping from the bridge. The list shows twenty-seven men, and five women have died here in twenty-six years. This does not include the young lady who survived her fatal leap.

The only months with no suicides have been July and March, the main time being May (7), August (6), November (4) and December (4). The oldest was a coachman from Clifton, who was seventy and jumped in October 1870, and the youngest was William Talling aged nineteen, who died September 1870.

8/ Clifton Suspension Bridge, September 1896 (Throws Kids Off)

This is one of the most infamous incidents on the bridge. Charles Albert Browne threw his two children, Ruby and Elsie over the edge, a 280-300 feet drop. He was a grocer at Langmore St., Balsall Heath, Birmingham, and business was on the wane. He had worked eighteen hours a day to make ends meet, but all in vain. Mrs Browne was advised by doctors to put her husband in an asylum but she refused, saying he was a good father and never drank. One morning he just clicked and took the girls on an errand with him. They spent all day with him and around midnight went to the bridge, and lifted 3-year-old Elsie and 12-year-old Ruby over the edge into the water. Amazingly they both survived. It is believed that he intended to jump over after he’d thrown them in but suddenly changed his mind. He was arrested shortly after the cruel act.

9/ Clifton Suspension Bridge Suicide, December 1889

A man named Deedes saw a man throw himself off the bridge as he was crossing it from the Somerset side. He heard the cry of “Lord, have mercy on my soul”, and put his stick and hat on the path when Deedes quickly ran to help, the man yelled “You are too late”, and sprang over. Police were told of the situation and sent P.C. 28C down to find the body; he was lying face up in the river bank. He had a thick moustache, fair skinned, brown tweed suit on, and nice Oxford shoes. In his pocket was a letter with the name of “E.G.Pearflour” mentioned.

Later……The body was that of Mr George Henry Davies of Uckfield, Sussex. He married two years ago, and his wife since learned he had been in an asylum. He just left home a month or so ago, sent the odd letter to his missus but nothing else.

10/ Clifton Suspension Bridge Suicide, January 1890

11/ Bristol Shooting,  January 1890

12/ Pensford Hill,  August 1890 (Manslaughter)

13/ Bristol January 1917 (Hanged From Lamp-post)

William Cole was off to work at 4-30 a.m. when out of the foggy mist, he saw something hanging from a lamp-post, he got closer and saw a man hanging by a noose. He went to the nearest house to raise the alarm but was scared to cut him down.

Coroner: You found a man hanging and was afraid to cut the cord?

Cole: I should think I was

Coroner: Are we living in the 20th century?

Cole: I did not know if I was doing right or wrong

Coroner: You had better go to school again

Deceased was later identified as John Knight, shipbuilder, who had depression. The coroner said he’d been hanging there for one or two hours without anybody cutting him down, and had he been so his life might have been saved.

14/ Bristol Baby Farm August 1899

A Bristol baby farm was investigated by magistrates and found to be shocking child neglect as part of the operation.

Seventy-year-old Sarah Leonard, along with her three daughters, and husband of one of them as well were the main instigators of this operation. An N.S.P.C.C. inspector said that the neglect shown to the children was unprecedented as they lived in filthy conditions. One of the kids taken away by the N.S.P.C.C. died a couple of days later in a local workhouse. Two of the children were insured, so death meant cash for the family. Adverts in the local papers plus forms and letters in reply. They got £60 for two kids within a few weeks. The advert that ran was: “Refined couple would adopt a baby; Happy Christian home; Healthy Bristol suburb”. One daughter and son-in-law got off scot-free, the mother and the other two got three months prison time.

15/ Clifton Suspension Bridge Suicide, December 23rd, 1885

16/ Clifton Suspension Bridge Suicide, December 30th, 1885

17/ Frogmore Street, Bristol, July 1880 (Human Remains)

There was great excitement in the Bristol area when rumours suggested that body parts of a woman were found in a slaughter-house. A crowd had gathered to see what the hullabaloo was all about and were told by police that a human leg and arm had been discovered. When police questioned the neighbourhood they found out that they belonged to a local person’s private collection of curiosities. How they got into the slaughter-house is a mystery.

18/ Horfield Gaol May 1888

Arthur William Masters killed himself in a strange way at Horfield Gaol. He was found dead in his cell, and the post-mortem showed that he’d rammed some cloth down his throat with a wooden spoon, therefore suffocating himself. Also, it was proved that he couldn’t have done it with his hand so would have laid on the ground and pressed down against the spoon.

19/ Bristol Gaol, May 1843

Thomas Gray, an eighteen-year-old prisoner in a Bristol jail, hung himself with his handkerchief. The reason for this was the imminent sentence of transportation, and rather than being sent to Australia (which was the main choice for transportation between the 1780’s and 1860’s) he ‘d rather be dead.

20/ Clifton Suspension Bridge Suicide Survival, May 1885 ( See top of the page- Number 1. )

21/ St Vincent Cliffs Suicide, March 1850

A steamship arriving from Cork was nearing Hotwells and passengers saw two ladies on St Vincent Cliffs, and it seemed that one of them was getting the attention of the other to look at the steamer going by. Then the lady seemed to lose balance and fall down the craggy rocks, to the bottom, a distance of 300 feet. The passengers were in shock and as soon as the boat docked they went to the area where she fell taking help with them. At the base of the rocks lay a mutilated corpse, identified later as Miss Craven, a 17-year-old daughter of a solicitor. (Who was the other woman?)

22/ St Vincent Cliffs Suicide, January 1848

Edward Cox Derrick and Mark Phillips were walking near the Suspension Bridge (being built), they were looking down to the gulley and spotted something white on the rocks, on a ledge. They went down to see what it was and found the body of a man. The people in the Swiss cottage above called to them to climb back up. Men with ropes went down to recover the cadaver and several people said it was that of a Mr Thompson, of Clifton. It was taken to the house of 22, Caledonia Place, his sister’s house. Thompson kept two lodging houses (1 and 4 Princess Buildings) but stayed at his sister’s the previous night and was strange in his manner. He was up and down all night and was put back to be and even assaulted a servant who was trying to get him to his room. He ran out the kitchen door into the night and he had dressed himself beforehand. They searched for him,  but the next time they saw him was when he was dead. The verdict “Killed himself by throwing himself from St Vincent Rocks in a state of insanity”.

23/ Bristol Cemetery Suicide, October 1909

A gravedigger was digging one day, when he saw a woman near a grave, getting undressed. He went up to her to see what she up to, and she replied that she swallowed some poison, then she collapsed in a heap. Next to her hand was a bottle labelled “Salts of Lemon”. They called for medical aid, but she was dead. (Who? Where?)

24/ Bristol Child Murder, April 1885

25/ River Avon Suicide, Bristol, September 1877

The body of a young man was found in the Avon, with a stone tied to his neck and legs tied together, was that of Frederick William Lawrence, who was a sculptor by profession. He had been melancholy for a few days and his zest for life had vanished with his work in Birmingham on the Municipal buildings had been a chore. He said he was going to see his Dad in Weston-Super-Mare, but he went to the river instead. A note was left, saying:-Goodbye to all. I can’t live any longer. I feel I am going mad.”.

26/ Fishponds Station near Bristol. June 1901 (Decapitation)

Just before the 7-57 from St Philip’s was due in, a woman was pacing up and down the platform looking edgy and nervous. She asked the porter about the departure of the next train to Bath. She waited till that one arrived, then there was a blood-curdling scream as she was run over by the train. As it passed over her, the sight of her body, less the head was to be seen. Passengers and staff rushed to help but obviously too late. Her name was Sarah Porcher, wife of a banker in Bristol, and who had just moved into 4, Mendip Avenue, Causeway, Fishponds. It is not known if it was a deliberate act or an accident.

27/ Royal Hotel Suicide,  November 1887

A gentleman was found dead in his room at the Royal Hotel in Bristol. He was lying on a bed with a gun in his hand, and two shots in his body. One in his chest and the other in the forehead. Papers and letters were found, and his name is Gerstemperd Weyside, and thought to be from Forest of Dean (Gloucestershire?) Lovely name by the way! (What room? Is Hotel still there?)

28/ Bristol, May 1885

29/ Bristol Docks September 1873 (Corpse found in Hold)

Workmen were emptying the ship the “Annie Williams” of timber, which arrived a couple of weeks ago when they stumbled upon the body of a negro in the hold.How he got aboard the ship is not known, but the captain thinks he was loading the ship at one stage, and had fallen, or banged his head, was unconscious, and when he woke was miles away from land.His body was badly decomposed, which means he’d been there for weeks or even months.

30/ Rownham House near Bristol, March 1875 (Human Remains)

One of the gardeners was digging in the garden at Rownham House near Bristol when his spade hit a human skull. Further digging produced two more. The locals say the house is haunted. A medical man was in the area and performed a post-mortem on the collection of skulls. He said they were of a male, female and a child. Two had severe fractures and the third had a pistol shot in it. He also stated they had not been there more than twenty years or so. (Who were they?)

31/ Bristol Gaol Suicide, August 1857

A young lass of about 18 years of age, by the name of Hannah Pearce, killed herself by taking oxalic acid. She was only in for a minor crime of throwing a stone at a policeman and had been there a day, but she obviously couldn’t hack it in there. She’d scrawled these words “I have taken something that will send me to—-in five minutes”, and died in agony too.

32/ White Rock Copper Works, June 1837

Richard Daniel, a single 21-year-old, employed by the White Rock Works, while letting the molten copper fall into the water, for some unseen reason it exploded at the bottom of the water, causing his plank of wood to give way and he was tossed into the boiling hot liquid. He went under, then resurfaced, and his wails of pain could be heard all over the factory. His working partner also was burned but did not get immersed in the liquid. When the body was fished out it was totally bereft of any skin whatsoever, but amazingly he lived on for another twelve hours, then died in agony.

33/ Upper Berkeley Place, Bristol, May 1860 (Impaled on Railings)

About 4 p.m., a servant by the name of Elizabeth Limbrick, in the employ of Mr Scanlon, at No 5 Upper Berkeley Place, was rather precariously balancing on a window sill on the second storey up, trying to clean the windows. Another servant in the next house called to her that the milkman was there and she tried to clamber back in when she slipped and fell around thirty feet. If that wasn’t bad enough, she landed directly on some spiked railings below, four in all. Limbrick was extricated from the railings and brought indoors where a doctor said that she should be taken to the hospital. The injuries were left thigh broken, and part of the iron railing was embedded in her hip. (Did she die?)

34/ Kingswood Reformatory, December 15th, 1885

35/ Kingswood Reformatory December 22nd, 1885

36/ Clifton, Bristol October 1858 (Accidental Fall)

A vicar’s daughter from Gloucestershire, Miss Mary Richmond,18, went for a stroll on the downs of Clifton. She was seen near Lions Head Cliff, which is 300-feet high, and she appears to have been reading a book (texting in today’s world) and appears to have aimlessly stumbled over the edge. Who reads while next to a cliff? Another witness said she was gathering plants from the rocks, then fell over. She landed on the path that is next to the river bank and was barely recognisable due to horrific facial disfigurement. Ribs, arms and thighs were broken and dislocated jawbone. This is the fifth accident of the same nature in twenty odd years, yet no fence has been erected to prevent these accidents.

37/ Lawrence Hill Station Fatality, December 1907

Signalman John Parsons was on his way to work along the railway line and had just got past Lawrence Hill Station. An engine passed that way, towards Stapleton Road, and it knocked him down and killed him outright. John Phelps, the driver of the engine, told the porter, William John Faulkner, of 36, Morton Street, St George, that he’d seen a body on the track between Lawrence Hill and Stapleton Road. Police went to the spot, about 200 yards north of Easton Bridge, found 37-year-old Parsons body, minus the head.

38/ Bristol Channel Collision, February 1907

39/ Bristol Suicide, April 1892

40/ Bedminster Murder, May 1899

41/ Clifton Bridge Suicide, (Another) September 1870

 

42/  Fatal Fire at Bristol  (West Street)   April 1866.

43/ “Black Eagle” Explosion, River Avon   November 1866  (It was opposite St Vincents Parade, now  Hotwell Road, when the boiler exploded)

44/ Murder in Bristol?  January 1867  (Henry Ware and Lucy Trim had an apartment at the Balmoral Castle pub on Lower Castle Street. This is where Ware came out and hit Sinnott with a gun. Ware was sentenced to seven years penal servitude for manslaughter)

45/ Gas Poisoning at Crofts End near Bristol.  January 1904.

46/ Fatal Fire at Lawrence Hill, Bristol.  December 1905. (Wife Refuses to Leave Blind Husband)

47/ Suicide on Clifton Suspension Bridge.  June 1905

48/ Wreck of the Orianda, Bristol Channel.  February 1907 (Fourteen crew drowned)

49/  Miser’s Hoard Found in Empty House, Bedminster.   July 1907 (£100 is worth about £11,500 in 2018 money)

50/  Confession of Murder, Temple Parish, Bristol.   Monday, December 13th, 1880

Tuesday, December 14th, 1880 (The Inquest)

Yesterday an inquest was held at Bristol on the woman Thomas, for whose murder a man named Yemm, on Saturday, gave himself in custody. The medical evidence was to the effect that, although there were bruises on the body, they were not sufficient to cause death, which resulted from serious apoplexy, and a verdict to that effect was returned.

51/ The Murder of Emily Daniels.   November 4th, 1880

Tuesday, 23rd November 1880. (The Execution of William Distin)

William Joseph Distin was executed at Bristol yesterday morning for the murder of Mrs Daniels. Marwood was the executioner. Distin was so overcome that he had to be supported between two warders from the gaol to the scaffold, he had to be supplied with stimulants to prevent complete collapse.

 

1/ St John the Evangelist Church Suicide, Kilburn, March 1899

2/ St John the Evangelist Church Suicide, Kilburn, March 1899 (PART 2)

 

3/ Kilburn November 1885 (Human Organs found on Bus)

A conductor of an omnibus doing the Kilburn to City route, one night discovered a brown paper package with the postal stamps saying it was from Folkestone in Kent, but all the writing was defaced. When it was opened it contained several wrappings and in those were the liver, stomach and intestines of a human. They were badly decomposed and mixed with lime. Also in the package was some scraps of paper, a towel and an old black jacket. They are adult organs and not children’s.

4/ Pembroke Place, Kilburn, July 1919 (Human Remains)

A body found in a dwelling house at Kilburn is thought to be that of Constance Grant. Police have arrested Maggie White, the daughter of Mrs Grant, who is the step-sister of the deceased. She is believed to be about seventeen years of age and the corpse is so decomposed that it is barely a skeleton. The man who set the ball in motion was an ex-soldier named Henry Hill, who rented a room in the house and noticed a foul odour coming from the building. He found what he thought was a turnip or a swede, but in fact turned out to be a human skull. Elsewhere were a number of bones and some quicklime. (What was the end result?)

5/ Kilburn, June 1914 (Suicide Singing Hymns)

This is one of the weirdest time or place of committing suicide on this website. Jane Elizabeth Powell aged thirty-three, who resided in Mayo Road, Willesden, had been depressed since the birth of her child four months ago. Illness had set in as well, and she explained the situation in a short note:- ” I cannot stand the terrible strain and the pain any longer. It is driving me mad. I do not wish you to grieve over me, for I am at rest and out of my misery”. A next-door neighbour said he heard Mrs Powell singing hymns, and the singing just seemed to fade away. A verdict of “Suicide whilst temporarily insane”.

6/ Willesden Suicide, October 1897

7/ Cricklewood Mystery, August 1892 (Who was she?)

8/ Kensal Rise Murders, March 1904

George Albert Crossman was a serial bigamist and a wife-murderer, who resided in Ladysmith Avenue, Kensal Rise. It was in the early part of 1904 that William Dell rented a section of the house from him but complained that there was a funny smell coming from the cupboard under the stairs. Crossman said he would sort it out, but Dell wasn’t convinced by Crossman’s feeble excuse so he went to the police-station to report something sinister was going on. As the trunk was being taken out of the house a policeman called in to assess the situation, Crossman took to his heels and while running down the road with Dell and a copper after him, he took a razor out and slit his throat. When police opened the trunk it was completely full of hardened cement, and in that was the body of Ellen Sampson, his fifth wife of seven or eight he had on the go. He married Sampson in January 1903, and they had an argument on their wedding night when he smashed over the head with a hammer, killing her instantly, then popping her in the trunk and filling it with cement. (Is No.43, Ladysmith Avenue still there?)

9/ Priory Park Road Suicide, Kilburn November 1896

10/ Queen’s Park, August 1893

Fourteen-year-old Edward Rose, a railway clerk’s son, who lived with his parents at Third Avenue, Queen’s Park and who had been missing for a couple of days, was found hanging in an iron building that was used as a Sunday School, in Queen’s Park. Some children were going to the Sunday School when they found Rose, quite dead, but it was the teacher’s who cut him down.

11/ Salisbury Road, near Paddington Cemetery, April 1892

12/ Kilburn Station Suicide, November 1897

At the inquest into the death of Amy Roberts, daughter of Edwin Roberts, an artist, said that the 18-year-old sat as his model. She was seeing a guy a while ago but the father got involved and they called off their engagement. Amy came in one night, and when the father asked her where she had been, she gave an excuse which seemed trivial so he “boxed her ears”. That same evening, the young man who she split up with said that Amy was dead. The lad, Frederick Lee, said Amy had called on him and said she was going to her sister’s at Kilburn Station, so he accompanied her. At Kilburn Station, they were on a platform waiting for a train when she suddenly leapt off, in front of an oncoming train. Death was instantaneous.

13/ Oak Tree Farm, Neasden, July 1889 (Killed by a Boar)

14/ Denmark Gardens, Kilburn, May 1870 (Twelve Dead Children)

The inspector of nuisances for Willesden was looking over the stables owned by John Austin, an undertaker, at Denmark Gardens in Kilburn. In a cupboard under the stairs he discovered two coffins, and in the attic, he found another, all of them had the body of a decomposing child in them. He left the stables and went to Chichester Terrace, the actual home of Austin, and here he found another eight cadavers in coffins, and one in an earthenware pot. Austin said he had been paid to bury the children but had kept the money and left the bodies to rot. Authorities said that the little ones would be given a decent burial and the costs would be recovered against Austin. (Where were they buried?)

15/ Harlesden Train Death, February 1899

On Monday evening, Richard Sydney Jenkins, of Harlesden, an extra fireman on the North-Western Railway, was killed by a passing train while taking a shortcut home on sick leave. He was aged twenty and had only been married a month.

16/ Harlesden, February 1899

Albert Heath, of Willesden, a platelayer on the North-Western Railway, was knocked down yesterday and killed on the main line at Harlesden.

17/ Kilburn, January 1899 (Woman burnt to Death)

18/ Stonebridge, March 1899 (Pathetic Story)

19/ Body on Railway Line, Willesden.  December 1903.

20/ Murder/Suicide at Kensal Rise,  March 29th 1904. (Woman’s Corpse in a Trunk. Murderer George Crossman was buried Willesden New Cemetery, on April 8th, 1904. Only his mother and sister attended.)

21/  Suicide of a German, Cricklewood.  August 1905

22/ Twin Sons and Mother Poisoned, Milton Avenue, Willesden.  May 20th, 1905

23/ Willesden Poisoner Executed, Pentonville Prison.  August 1905  (Arthur Devereux)

24/  Father Murders Two Daughters, Kilburn.   October 1906. (Albert Rogers was from Kensal Rise. Murdered May Rogers aged fourteen, and Florence aged nine, by slitting their throats with a razor. Charged with attempted murder of his wife, brother and another daughter)

25/  Tragic Fatality at Willesden Station.  December 1880

1/ Windsor Castle Suicide, December 1863

A sentinel named Bradshaw was on duty at the gates of the Royal Mews when after about twenty minutes or so, he was found with a gunshot wound in the back of his head. His Enfield rifle was lying by his side and the ball was embedded in a wall. He had taken off his right shoe so that he could pull the trigger with his toe. His ammunition pouch had one round missing. He was in a precarious state at the Infantry Hospital in Clewer. (Did he die?)

2/ Windsor Castle Suicide, June 1878

3/ Eton College Murder, January 1913.

Annie Davis, a servant, who was employed by one of the Eton College master’s, residing at Cotton Hall, was murdered by Eric James Sedgwick.

Eric and Annie were sweethearts, and he had come from London to see her. Screaming was heard to come from the servant hall, a fellow servant bust open the door, and found Annie with a knife wound to the heart area.

Eric was arrested and gave them the murder weapon. The reason for the stabbing of his girlfriend was petty jealousy.

Eric was the last person hanged at Reading Gaol, shortly after the crime.

 

 

 

4/ Eton College Suicide, October 1891

Dr Philip Herbert Carpenter was a science master at Eton, but one thing preyed on his mind, and that was the history of mental problems in his family. So much so, that he decided to poison himself in his room.

Other problems included insomnia and some financial investments which could have gone slightly wrong, but his sanity was the main worry. He left a note saying just that, plus the fact he had ruined himself and left his wife and kids beggars, all through madness. “Suicide whilst temporarily insane” was the verdict.

5/ Windsor Great Park, July 1879

Ernest Alfred Nust was a nineteen-year-old on his way to a bean-feast dinner at the Catherine Wheel Inn. He was going to cycle from Kentish Town, where he lived to Egham where the inn was but he vanished into thin air. His father got a letter from him saying his bicycle broke down and he’d go by train. He made the feast then went to Windsor.

At Rhododendron Walk at the Bishop-gate side of the Park, they found Nust in among the bushes. The post-mortem found traces of corrosive poison in the blood-stream, so it is obvious that he took the poison and lay in the bushes to die.

 

 

 

 

 

6/ Hurley Manslaughter, November 1904

7/ Datchet Station Death, March 1898 (Decapitation)

8/ Windsor Castle Suicide, July 1863

Martha Billings, a housemaid in the Castle, threw herself from the top of Queen Elizabeth’s Tower(similar to the picture) and died almost straight away.

Billings was good at her job and was an honest girl, but recently had been down in the dumps, and had told other members of staff that she wanted to die. Her family had a history of insanity, so it could have been in her genes.

Jury’s verdict was “Suicide while in a state of insanity.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9/ Burghfield, Berkshire, August 1890 (Romantic Double Suicide)

19-year-old Rose Lunnon and her boyfriend Thomas Dawson, also 19 years old, were found in the River Kennet near Burghfield in Berkshire. Their wrists were tied together. They had been a couple for quite a while and were last seen three or four days before their bodies were discovered.

10/ White Hart Hotel, Windsor, January 1885

11/ Ascot Murder/Suicide, August 1901

A six-year-old boy walked into the Berkshire Constabulary on Oriental Road, Sunning Hill, near Ascot, and told Sergeant Gibbs that his mother and father were arguing and shouting at each other. The policeman didn’t expect to find two dead bodies when he followed up the little boy’s plea for help. He went into the house of Edwin Lunn and found him and Mrs Lunn lying on the floor covered in blood. Mrs Lunn had her head smashed in and her throat had been cut, and Lunn just had cut his throat. The six children were woken up one morning by screaming and the six-year-old boy saw his Dad standing over his mother hitting her with a poker. It was these actions that prompted him to go to the police station. Police found the poker covered in blood. Neighbours, when questioned, said they saw them the previous night and both seemed very lovey-dovey!

12/ Reading, Berkshire, August 1873 (Five Skeletons)

A group of navvies were digging for the Reading Drainage Works when a few feet from the surface they stumbled upon five skeletons in a perfect state of preservation. A medical gentleman saw them and said that one was of a woman. It is thought they were “contemporaneous with the Commonwealth”. As was common in Victorian times, instead of finding out who they were or how they died, they buried them where they were discovered. (Still there?)

13/ Hungerford, September 1885

14/ Sunningdale, October 1890 (Human Remains)

While some drains were being dug on Broomhall Farm, Sunningdale, under the occupation of Mr William Farmer, one of the City of London sheriffs, some bones were found and several human skulls.Among the debris was portions of coffin planks, around five inches thick.They are supposed to have stumbled upon an old burial ground of a monastery which once stood there, about four hundred years ago.Remains were re-interred.

15/ Windsor, October 1875

A 13-year-old lad named Beasley, an innkeeper’s son from Windsor killed himself. The reason was that he was told to clean his father’s boots, so he went up to the loft. The dog of the innkeeper went down the stairs of the loft and then up again, to draw attention to itself. The father went up and saw his son hanging by some cord, which he’d tied to the door handle and then thrown it over the door, and hung himself that way.

16/ Victoria Barracks, Windsor, September 1900

Early on a Sunday morning at Victoria Barracks, Windsor, the corpse of Corporal Robert Lee, of the 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards, was found lying on the ground in a terribly mangled condition. Either he’d jumped from one of the upper barrack rooms, or he had fallen, in an awful accident. Lee was taken to the Windsor Royal Infirmary with a fractured skull, dislocated wrist and elbow, plus other injuries. The 23-year-old died shortly after being admitted and colleagues said that his behaviour of late was strange.

17/ Ascot, September 1919 (Lake Mystery)

Sunninghill Park, near Ascot racecourse, turned up the bodies of a young man and girl, who were named as William Edward Sarney,18, and his girlfriend Emily Mason, also 18, both drowned in a lake. Sarney lived at his parent’s house at Woodside, Winfield, and she was employed at a hotel in Ascot. The young lad who found them, Charles Cordery, is a garden boy, and on the lake bank there was the girl’s hat, and his cap (inside that was £6 in notes) Was it a suicide pact? Had the money been stolen and a guilty conscience led them to jump in the lake?

18/ Reading Station Death, April 1905

A terrible accident occurred at Reading Station when a lady was on the platform of the GWR and was waving to another person on the other platform, she failed to spot the approaching train. Someone shouted, “Stand back!” , but she stepped forward, the train clipped her and she went under, being sliced to pieces. What was left of her was gathered up and taken to the local mortuary. Family members identified her as Miss Nancy Butler, schoolmistress of Hampstead Norris. The people she was waving to, were her Mum and a friend, and if they had not been there to see the sickening spectacle, then her identification would not have been possible.

19/ Reading, November 1894 (Steam Roller Accident)

A young man named Simmonds was employed to walk beside a steamroller and was meant to tell the driver to stop when necessary.He became dizzy and fell under the rollers, which completely squashed him flat. His rib-cage was flattened and death was immediate, leaving the body an appalling mess.

20/ Braywick Road, Maidenhead, May 1903 (Honeymoon Suicide)

Gordon J.Spriggs married Miss Evelyne Hughes, an actress on tour with the “Belle of New York”. They stayed at Ye Shantie, Braywick, as part of their honeymoon on a road trip to Paris. Spriggs left his wife for London on a train, she’d follow up later, but he had got about half a mile out when he put a revolver to his head and fired! First on the scene was the Vicar of Bray (C.A.Raymond), he prayed with others while help was got. Spriggs was eventually taken to Maidenhead Cottage Hospital but died after an hour. (Why get married then?)

21/ Windsor Castle Lunatic, July 1885

22/ Royal Military College Murder, Sandhurst, December 1890 (Murder/Suicide)

A dreadful murder was committed at the Royal Military College, Yorktown, near Sandhurst.Mrs Gregg, wife of Major Gregg, of the Leicester Regiment, shot her mother who was sleeping with her and then cut her throat with a razor. It seems that 27-year-old Mrs Gregg got a severe chill a few days before and then dementia followed. The Major wanted to send her to an asylum but his mother-in-law, Mrs Atkins, who’d just arrived from Ireland, would not allow it. The husband called a doctor, and he pronounced them both dead, then the rooms were locked and sealed.

23/ Slough Murder, August 1900

The nine-year-old daughter of a bricklayer, named Smith, living at Colnbrook, was sent to the shops in the village. When she didn’t return, locals and police went looking for her. It was not until three days later her limp body was found in a shed at Poyle Mills. The clip says she was “fearfully treated”, (presumably been molested).

24/ Reading Gaol Suicide, April 1888

More famous for its ballad by Oscar Wilde, this was the scene of a suicide of an inmate. Henry Strong was charged with attempted murder on his wife, by beating her with a pair of tongs, and his punishment was incarceration in Reading Gaol. Rather than the usual hanging in his cell, he plummeted from a landing onto the stone floor below and died from his injuries.

25/ Windsor Suicide, September 1881

The village of Old Windsor, was the scene of great excitement, as news came through that a young man of the area had killed himself. John Dixon, the groom of Sir Reginald Cathcart, of Titness Park, had been going out with an 18-year-old daughter of Mr and Mrs Pullin. Recently she’d dumped him for another and his anger was uncontrollable. Dixon went to the Pullins house and hid in the garden till they returned. Mrs Pullin and her daughter had been to church, and when Dixon saw them coming up the road he slit his throat and ran towards them both. The daughter screamed “Mother, he’s cutting his throat!”, and Dixon with a razor in hand staggered towards them, they ran off to get help.When it all calmed down he was taken to Windsor Royal where he died despite all efforts by staff to save him, when he ripped open the wound in his neck.

26/ Maidenhead Mystery, July 1902 (Concealment of Birth)

Ellen Sarah Horwood, of White Waltham, stabbed her child fifty times in a bid to rid herself of the infant. Its lower jaw was smashed, back of the skull shattered, and the 50 little holes, some an inch deep, were probably from a hat-pin. they pierced her heart and lungs and the abdomen. It suffered so badly, but the jury came up with the verdict of “Accidental Death”. (What happened after?)

27/ Slough Suicide, March 1919

A young girl, Rose Florence Morten aged eighteen, was told by her father after rolling in late from visiting a picture theatre with a U.S. soldier that “her place was in bed”, she walked out and slammed the door behind her. She met the soldier but he told her to go home, and this depressed her. She went to the canal and plunged in. The coroner praised the soldier for his sensible advice, and it was ascertained she committed suicide in a fit of anger and while temporarily insane.

28/ Windsor Murder, January 6th, 1885

29/ Windsor Murder, January 14th, 1885

Windsor, January 14th, 1885

At Reading Assizes Joseph Shill, a tailor, was convicted of the murder of his wife at Windsor, on the 19th of December, was sentenced to death.

Windsor, January 30th, 1885

The High Sheriff of Berkshire Received an intimation yesterday of the respite of Joseph Shill, who is believed to be insane. His execution had been fixed for Monday next.

30/ Reading, July 1872 (Two Suicide Drownings)

The first was Rose Moore, a good-looking 20-year-old, had been seeing a bloke called Knapp, who was a brewer by trade. The two had a spat, and she sent him a letter (Victorian text) asking him to meet her that night at 8:30 p.m. He turned up at eight p.m., hung around for a bit then left. Rose looked for him at the meeting place but he didn’t turn up, so she went into The Forbury with her friend, wrote him a letter, then drowned herself in the Thames. The letter said: “To live without I could not. God forgive you, for you are the cause of my death, but I forgive you- Goodbye, and may God bless you, my darling boy, is the last prayer of your heart-broken Rosa”. The verdict was “Temporary Insanity”.

The other drowning was at Caversham(River Thames) and a young lass named Rhoda Piercey. She drowned herself because she thought her boyfriend was going to dump her for some other girl. Again the verdict was “Temporary Insanity”.

31/ Boveney Court, Windsor, December 1898 (Human Remains)

Near to the place where the Windsor servant girl was killed in the summer of 1898, some human remains were found. Three men digging at Boveney Court, owned by Mrs Fitz-Simmonds, were near a fruit tree when they found some arm and a pair of femurs and a spinal column. The Constabulary sent a couple of officers and they took them to a medical examiner who did tests on them and said they were of a female, and had been at least ten years buried in the ground. The murder last summer was on the Berkshire side of the river. (Who was she?/Murderer?)

32/ Maidenhead, October 1904 (Hanging for Five Weeks)

Two policemen entered a house by breaking the bedroom window in order to find out if the owner, a man called Webb, was inside and all right. He’d not been heard of for a number of weeks so his sister asked the police to search for him as she was worried something had happened to him. It was not unusual for him to float off for days at a time, but not weeks. The police saw his body hanging from the door. Webb had tied a rope to the handle, thrown it over the top of the door and made a noose and strangled himself. Coroner suggested he’d been there for five weeks or so. No reason is known as to why he did this.

33/ Oakley Green near Windsor, November 1886

53-year-old Joseph Harper was sacked from his job at The Hatch, the Marquis of Aylesbury’s home, where he’d been in employment for nine years, for no apparent reason. He had been depressed for a while and he was found with a razor in his hand with a huge gash in his throat. The verdict was “Suicide while Temporary Insane”.

34/ Old Windsor, June 1858

John Marlow used to go for a daily jaunt along the banks of the Thames, being drawn by two boys in an easy chair. He sent one of them to get some gingerbread from the Bells of Ouzeley, a fishing house, then he gave his hat and stick to the other lad, and said “Goodbye William”. He then rolled down the bank and into the river. The boy shouted for help but his body took a full day to recover. It was found near Magna Charta Island.

35/ Sonning Bridge near Reading, December 1910 (Suicide at Same Place as Friend’s Suicide)

Lilian Margaret Chambers, 26-year-old from Reading, was found on the GWR line at Sonning Bridge near Reading. Lilian was unemployed and lived at home and she had been seeing a man about four or five years ago, to whom she became very much attached to. However, he committed suicide at the same place as she had decided to, a couple of years before, and this had preyed on her mind. It is believed she stood on the bridge and when the train approached, she fell forward on to the rails where the carriages passed over her body. (Wanted to be with him?)

36/ Cranbourne Terrace, Windsor, July 1907

A house in Cranbourne Terrace, Oxford Road, Windsor, was the scene of the murder of a 14-year-old girl by the name of Unity Annie Butler, who was found under her bed with strangulation marks on her neck. The parents had taken in a lodger, William Austen, also known as Saunders, who was a brewer’s labourer. The father had left home at four, leaving Unity on her own. When they all got back they couldn’t find her and thought she’d gone to her uncle’s. Time began to tick on and still no sign of her, so Mr and Mrs Butler went to see the uncle, but no joy there! It got to eleven p.m. and even the lodger hadn’t turned up so they put two and two together, and searched the house. Sadly they came across a bundle underneath a bed, and obviously, it was Unity. The murderer had stuffed a handkerchief in her mouth to prevent screaming. A piece of cord was around her neck, and hands tied up too, both had left strong ligature marks. An immediate search was instigated to look for Saunders, and two men came forward to say they saw him on his way to Maidenhead. (Was he caught?/Was he the murderer?)

37/ Slough Murder, April 1881

38/ Eton Drowning, July 1882

39/ Windsor Theatre Fatality, December 1844

Just as the performance was getting ready to start, a tragic accident took place at the Windsor Theatre, when a man named Hume with his wife and daughter were about to get sat down, when the woman, who is about sixty, tripped on her cloak and fell over the railings and into the pit below. The fall was one of about 30 feet, and to make matters worse she landed on her back, causing massive spinal injuries, and broke both legs. The lady was taken to her residence in Eton but sadly died on the way. (Where was Windsor Theatre?)

40/ Ufton Gun Accident, September 1870

41/ Lunatic at Windsor Castle, August 1870

42/ Fatality in Windsor Park, July 18th, 1870

Frogmore House and Gardens are still there, with “Long Walk” nearby. Mausoleum, now the Duchess of Kent Mausoleum in Frogmore House Gardens.

43/ Fatality in Windsor Park,  July 19th, 1870

44/  Aldermaston Railway Fatality,  December 1870

Yesterday afternoon a labouring man was killed by a train near Aldermaston station, on the Hungerford branch of the Great Western Railway. His body was mutilated in a dreadful manner and both legs were cut off. It is supposed that he was crossing the line at the time the train was approaching. The remains were removed to a neighbouring public house to await an inquest.

45/ Bearwood Lake Drowning, December 27th 1870  (Bearwood Lake estate is now part of Bearwood Lake Golf Club. I presume the said lake is there still)

                                                                December 26th, 1870  (Sorry, this was the day befores headline!)

46/ Suicide at Rectory House, Datchet.  January 1866  (It is near Windsor Castle)

47/  Caversham Hill House Suicide,  January 1866  (Caversham is a suburb of Reading)

48/ Drowning near the Bells Of Ouseley, Windsor.  February 1866  (Bells of Ouseley pub is still there, and now a Harvester)

49/ Railway Fatality near Reading Station,  May 1866. (Flying Horse pub has long gone I expect)

50/ Fatal Gun Accident near Bray,  January 1866

51/ Gamekeeper Killed, Waltham St Lawrence.   October 1866

52/ Fatal Railway Accident at Reading,   December 1866

53/  Double Murder/Suicide at Newbury,  December 1866  (Crown- Northbrook St/ Rose & Thistle- 90, Northbrook St)

54/ Reading Railman Froze to Death, January 1867.

55/  Sonning Cutting Fatal Accident,  January 1867

56/ Bandman Killed by Horse, Windsor.  March 1867 (Household Cavalry Regiment, Combermere Barracks, St Leonards Rd- The Household Cavalry Museum is across the road)

57/ Fatal Carriage Accident, near Eton College.  October 1906.

58/  Suicide in the Old Malt House, Hurley, near Marlow.   June 1907

59/ Murder of Unity Butler, Clewer near Windsor.   October 1907. (What a beautiful name- Unity Butler)

60/ Slough Murder/Suicide.   November 1907 (Charles Squires kills Hilda Cooke)

61/  A Woman Killed at Twyford Station, near Reading.  December 1880

1/ Concealment of Birth, Roddington, near Dunstable, April 1899

Sarah Clark aged nineteen had an illegitimate child at her parents home. Police found the tiny body beneath her bed. Further examination provided evidence that an attempt had been made to boil the infant, before or after death was not yet determined.

2/ Arlesey, (Train Crash) January 1899

3/ Luton Suicide, June 1885

4/ Bedford, July 1883 (Murder/Suicide at Tennis Match)

One summer’s evening at St Cuthbert’s, Bedford, a group of men and women were playing lawn tennis. One of those was Mr Vere, a lieutenant in the army, and Miss Mackay, a young lady of 20 years of age. Everything was going swimmingly when all of a sudden Vere pulled out a gun and shot Miss Mackay. As the group watched in horror several men ran to overpower him but he put the gun in his mouth and pulled the trigger. Why he committed such a deed is beyond comprehension but thought to be the green-eyed monster, jealousy.

5/ Bedford Murder, June 1895 (Love Tragedy)

6/ Bedford Religious Suicide, January 1890

7/ Biddenham near Bedford, April 1898

There was a gruesome discovery at the River Ouse at Biddenham near Bedford, when the body of a man was found floating, much bloated, with the skin peeling off. It had been there about two weeks, and the legs were tied together with a red scarf. Also a couple of weeks ago were found a sack with umbrella handles in, and other stuff, on the bank of the Ouse nearby, and its believed they belonged to the deceased who was probably a hawker. No identification on him so it remains a mystery as to who he is.

8/ Ampthill, June 1844 (Sleepwalking Suicide)

This one is weird! The man in question is William Sexton, whose father is the White Hart Inn landlord, had recently had a bad bout of asthma, so was bed-ridden most of the time. One morning he went into to his sister’s room and woke her. Her brother was stood there with a huge gash across his throat, dripping with blood. He was taken care of and the wound was dressed. During his recuperation, he wrote down that he’d had a dream where a policeman had threatened to put him in the stocks and to prevent that, he slit his throat. He died a few days later.

9/ Luton, May 1885 (Gymnast Death)

10/ Soulbury near Leighton Buzzard, July 1868

There was a street fight going on in the village of Soulbury, and the lad that was getting a good kicking was a boy called Stone. His 65-year-old father intervened and he kicked one of the bullies in the nether regions. This caused the boy serious damage and he was extremely poorly. This worried the old man so much that he went to his W.C. and hung himself.

11/ Bedford, July 1908 (Body Found in Nettles)

A young lad made a horrific discovery when passing a hedgerow, it was the stiff, lifeless body of the young man which held a revolver in his left hand. He was identified as a pupil of Bedford Grammar School named Thomas Bear, who lived with his Mum in Devon Road. He went missing a week ago, and an ongoing search was being made by police. He had no discernible problems and just passed an exam for Woolwich.

12/ Luton Hoo Suicide, June 1885

A body was found in a spinney on the Luton Hoo estate, with with a single bullet wound to the head. He was 40-year-old Mr Lane, of Lane and Lambie, hat and bonnet makers in George Street, Luton. He went to Harpenden Races on Friday and was in London on Saturday, and nobody saw him until his body was discovered. Police and a doctor attended the scene, and it would appear that he attempted to shoot himself in the heart first, but failed, so put the gun in his mouth and fired. The London visit was to buy the revolver. He had £10 in money on him, gold watch, and a season-ticket between Luton and London.

13/ Bedford Train Death, July 1885

14/ Eversholt, September 1902 (Double Murder/Failed Suicide)

In the little village of Eversholt, a dreadful tragedy occurred when a man called Chambers shot his wife and her 80-year-old mother. Chambers tried to kill himself by shooting himself in the face but the attempt failed. It was such a failure that he walked to the local pub and ordered a brandy, but the landlord sent for a policeman. He was arrested and taken to Woburn, from there to the Cottage Hospital. Mrs Chambers was scared of her husband as he often beat her. Enough was enough and she went to a solicitor to see about a divorce, but Chambers became enraged when he was told and shot them both.

15/ Someries near Luton, June 1889 (Drowned in Well)

The body of Kate Cooper, a teenage girl, was found in a two hundred foot well on the farmhouse owned by her uncle, Thomas Purrett. His farm is one of the biggest on the Luton Hoo estate (owned by Madame de Falbe, wife of Danish Minister),  is situated near Someries Castle. Kate and her Mum lived with Purrett and by all accounts lived a happy life. One day she met a friend, Miss Louisa Dorrington who came from Luton and since then had not been seen, and friends and family thought she’d gone to Luton with her pal, but not so. Knowing that she was not there they searched the area when somebody found her hat on the edge of the well. They had to wait till morning as the candles kept burning out at that depth, and was then that they found her in the water. It is thought to be suicide as she had a brick in her pocket, but why is not known.

16/ Colmworth, (History of Suicide) March 1890

17/ Sundon- Cement Works Fatality, March 1899

18/  Little Staughton Murder,  December 3rd 1870

                                                  December 21st 1870  (Should read Sarah Marshall and Staughton, not Slaughton)

19/  Impostor Vicar at Biggleswade,  January 1866

20/  Skeletons Unearthed near Luton,  August 1905.

21/  Three Girls Drown, Lower Stondon.  November 1880