Murder At The Café Royal

The Café Royal murder of December 1894 is one of those rare Victorian cases that sits between documented fact and enduring mystery. A man was killed inside one of London’s most prestigious establishments, yet despite immediate investigation and widespread press coverage, no one was ever convicted. For over a century, the case lingered in the […]

Miner Dies After Eating Pork Pie – 1917

Liverpool Echo – Saturday 30 June 1917 POISONED. MINER’S DEATH AFTER EATING MEAT PIE. An inquest was held at Blundellsands, before Mr. S. Brighouse, respecting the death of Peter Johnson (30), a miner, of Rainhill, who succumbed to ptomaine poisoning. From the evidence it appeared that the deceased, his wife, and two children came to […]

Man found dead near Wimbledon after falling from an express train – 1868

Morning Advertiser – Monday 23 March 1868 THE ALLEGED MURDER ON A RAILWAY. The Surrey coroner was on Saturday night occupied for three hours at the “Railway” Tavern, Surbiton, respecting the supposed murder of James Randel, aged twenty years. The case excited great interest, it having been stated that the deceased had been murdered and […]

New Probate Rules for Victorians – 1863

Lincolnshire Chronicle – Friday 13 February 1863 Friday, 13 February 1863COURT OF PROBATENEW RULES AND ORDERS AS TO PRACTICE. The new rules, orders, instructions, and tables of fees in respect of the business transacted in the country district registries attached to Her Majesty’s Court of Probate were issued to the district registrars on Saturday, and […]

Harvestman died in Whaplode, Lincs after stealing raw spirits – 1890

Hucknall Morning Star and Advertiser – Friday 22 August 1890 DEATH FROM DRINKING SPIRITS. Last Thursday night, the police at Whaplode, Lincolnshire, were sent for to arrest an Irish harvestman named Mace, aged about 35, for stealing spirits. The constable found the man lying in a corn field apparently under the influence of drink. He […]

69 Children Die in Paisley Cinema Disaster – 1930

South Wales Daily Post – Wednesday 01 January 1930 front 69 CHILDREN PERISH IN PAISLEY CINEMA PANIC INFANTS CRUSHED TO DEATH IN STAMPEDE OF TERROR Cry of “Fire” Causes Wild Rush For Picture Hall Doors CHILDREN’S LEAP FROM BALCONY Worst Disaster in History of British Cinema Industry PAISLEY, the Scottish cotton town where yesterday occurred […]

The tragic farming death near Aylesbury – 1913

Leighton Buzzard Observer and Linslade Gazette – Tuesday, 26 August 1913 THE INQUEST. The inquest was held at Winscott Farm, the home of the deceased, yesterday (Monday) afternoon, by the Deputy Coroner for the Aylesbury district (Mr. Stanley E. Wilkins). Mr. W. F. Herbert was foreman of the jury. Evidence of identification was given by […]

Bricklayer Kills Woman in Street Brawl – 1847

The Surrey Mercury – Tuesday, 20 July 1847 LAMBETH. MANSLAUGHTER.—On Wednesday an inquest was held before Mr. Carter, at the Windmill, High-street, Lambeth, on the body of Mary Allsworth. On Saturday night a man named Bruce, a bricklayer, went into a grocer’s shop kept by a person of the name of Bagweed, when he suddenly […]

Exeter Theatre Fire – 1887

Exeter and Plymouth Gazette – Tuesday 06 September 1887 DESTRUCTION OF THE EXETER THEATRE ENORMOUS LOSS OF LIFE THE DEAD LAID OUT IN ROWS AGONISING SCENES Last night, Exeter’s new Theatre Royal was destroyed by fire. Like its immediate predecessor, it succumbed to flames, but the circumstances of this destruction were far more tragic than […]

Murder in Rotherhithe – 1879

Lloyd’s Weekly Newspaper, 22 June 1879 The Murder at Rotherhithe (From our later editions of last week.) The adjourned inquest on the body of Robert Collins, a telegraph messenger, who was found stabbed about the body under a railway arch at Rotherhithe, and who died in Guy’s Hospital, was resumed on Friday at the latter […]

The Hexham Murder – 1898

North Cumberland Reformer – Saturday 24 December 1898 THE HEXHAM MURDER.THE ACCUSED MAN ACQUITTED. At the Hexham Police Court on Monday, George Dodd was brought up on remand charged with causing the death of George Schollick, gamekeeper, whose dead body was found in Yarridge Lane on Thursday, the 8th inst. Mr W. Pruddah, solicitor, Hexham, appeared for […]

Food Poisoning in Carlisle – 1889

Newcastle Chronicle – Saturday 16 November 1889 ALARMING FOOD POISONING IN CARLISLE DEATH OF A GILSLAND FARMER Alarming cases of food poisoning have occurred in the Carlisle district, and one case—that of Mr. Irving, farmer, of Long Top, Gilsland—has proved fatal. Mr. Slack, tolls collector, of Carlisle, on Saturday, the 2nd inst., and Mr. Irving […]

Suspicious Death and more in Darwen – 1877

Blackburn Times – Saturday 06 January 1877 DARWEN. SUSPICIOUS DEATH. On Thursday forenoon, Mr. Coroner Hargreaves held an inquiry at the George Inn into the circumstances attending the death of John Brannan, 38 years of age, a labourer, living at 13, Foundry Street, who died under suspicious circumstances. It appears that Brannan lived apart from […]

The Perils of Brakeless Bicycles – 1898

North Devon Journal – Thursday 22 September 1898 THE BRAKELESS BICYCLE DANGER TWO RIDERS KILLED Herbert Finnington, of Peckham, London, while riding a brakeless bicycle down a steep hill near Westerham, Kent, lost control of the machine, and failing to round a corner, dashed with terrific force into the bank. His head was fractured against […]

Sudden Death & Dockyard Drowning in Landport – 1903

Portsmouth Evening News – Monday 15 June 1903 CORONER’S COURT. This afternoon Mr. T. A. Bramston, Borough Coroner, held three inquests at the Town Hall, Landport. A PAINFULLY SUDDEN DEATH. The first inquiry related to the death of Mrs. Sarah White, wife of Mr. John White, landlord of the “Barleycorn” beer-house, Conway-street, Landport. The husband, an Army […]

Elderly Farm Labourer Dies After Fall While Picking Cherries – 1950

Chatham Standard – Wednesday 28 June 1950 FELL WHILE PICKING CHERRIES Misadventure Verdict At Inquest On Farm Labourer As the result of a fall from a ladder while picking cherries, 79-years-old Henry James Lockyer, a farm labourer, of 13, Pembury-st., Sittingbourne, died later in St Bartholomew’s Hospital, Rochester, from shock and a fractured pelvis. The […]