Tag: genealogy

A gathering of 18th century symbols – St Nicholas, Strood, Kent

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St Nicholas church front entrance, Strood, early 20th century prior to clearances. Courtesy of Kent Archaeological Society

St Nicholas church, which sits in Strood town centre, once boasted a full churchyard of headstones, memorials and monuments as you can see from the above image. It was taken during the early 20th century and may include the original resting place of one or more of the little group now marooned in the South Western corner. It was during the 1960’s that the churchyard was cleared and, instead of a good selection of memorials to explore, there is now an expanse of grass with a few isolated monuments. There has been a suggestion that this wholesale clearance may have been to make the churchyard ‘easier to mow’ but I couldn’t comment on this. It’s just sad to think of what has been lost.

St Nicholas back entrance taken from train, apologies for the quality. This would once have been full of memorials.© Carole Tyrrell

It reminded me of another great cemetery clearance of the time, West Norwood Cemetery, in South West London where 10,000 memorials, headstones and monuments were cleared by Lambeth Council who had compulsorily purchased it due to it having become overgrown and neglected. The clearance was stopped by the Southwark Consistory Court in 1991. No records were kept of what was being destroyed and there was no acknowledgement that relatives might have been upset by it.

Group view of the 18th century headstones. © Carole Tyrrell

But near the entrance of St Nicholas is a small gathering of eighteen 18th century headstones which have been preserved under yew trees. However, it is undoubtedly not where the permanent residents that they commemorate are actually buried as they could be anywhere within the churchyard. The epitaphs may not be as crisp as they once were and the symbols on the stones may have eroded over time but they are a fascinating collection. My particular interest is funerary symbols and so this was a wonderful collection to explore.

This post features a small selection from the group. These photos were taken in 2020 so they may have deteriorated further since then as they are near a busy road.

It’s an assortment of familiar motifs such as winged souls or messengers, trumpets, skulls and also pictures. The latter are testament to the stonemason’s skill in that they have survived in such good condition. The men, their wives and their families that are remembered on the stones were well to do tradesmen, one was a former Mayor of Rochester, and several left substantial wills and bequests.  The trades represented are: two House Carpenters, a Fisherman, a Dredgerman, a Gentleman, a Yeoman, a Blacksmith, and a Tailor.  A Dredgerman was an oyster fisherman and a Yeoman was historically a free man who owned and cultivated his own land and had a social rank between peasants and the gentry.

I am indebted to the Kent Archaeological Society for their monument records pertaining to St Nicholas churchyard and also the epitaphs and information about related wills and bequests

WILLIAM PORTER

Full view of William Porter’s headstone. © Carole Tyrrell

Closer view of the Porter headstone. © Carole Tyrrell

The first one I noticed was ‘The Choice’ which is a familiar one in Kent churchyards. I first saw it in All Saints, Staplehurst, Kent and the scene is almost like a miniature Doom painting.  My interpretation of it is that it’s Judgement Day, the deceased has awoken from their eternal slumber and they are throwing off their grave clothes. As you face the stone, the King of Terrors is to your right brandishing ‘Death’s Dart’ while standing on top of a skeletal rib cage.  However, on the other side of the awakening person is a blank space except for some stylised clouds at the top. This is where I would expect to find an image of Heaven with perhaps an angel. However, it may have eroded completely.  It is a popular image. I found five versions of it in the churchyard of St Mary the Virgin in Newington, Kent.  One of the pleasures of exploring churchyards is following a stonemasons work. I may never know who they were but they have left their work as an example of where they have been.

The image itself may have come from a painting, a Bible or even one of the pattern books of the time. However, please bear in mind that the King of Terrors would have been on the deceased’s left hand side which is known as the ‘sinister’ side.  There are also rosettes and decorative swirls surrounding the image.

‘The Choice’ is dedicated to William Porter who drowned at Wouldham, Kent on 19 December 1773.

The epitaph reads:

IN MEMORY OF WILL. PORTER

OF THIS PARISH TAYLOR HE WAS DROWNED

AT WOULDHAM DIED 19TH [DECEMBER 1773]

AGED [  ] YEARS

ALSO HANNAH HIS WIFE

WHO DIED THE 17TH ? OF April 17[76]

Aged [     ]

In William Porter’s will he left all of his estate and effects to his wife Hannah for ever. She was also directed to give £100, (a sizeable amount at the time) to Hannah Robson, daughter of James Robson of Strood who was a fisherman. However, Hannah Porter renounced her role as executor of the will and it was subsequently undertaken by three creditors who were bound by a bond of £800 to administer the estate. Hannah herself left a will dated 27th September 1775 in which she left all of her personal estate after the usual expenses to James Robson, mariner, for ever.

William Batcheller’s headstone is behind the Porters and can also be seen in the photos.

WILLIAM BATCHELLER

Full view of William Batcheller’s headstone. © Carole Tyrrell

Close up view of William Batcheller’s headstone. © Carole Tyrrell

This headstone is dedicated to William Batcheller and his family. There are two winged messengers or souls which are a sign of resurrection. On the right hand side there appears to be a palm leaf beneath one and on the other side there are trumpets underneath. I thought at first glance that they were crossed bones, but, on a closer glance I could see that they were in fact trumpets. This is a reference to the Day of Judgement where the angel Gabriel would blow a trumpet to bring the dead back to life. The palm has many associations in ancient cultures. For example, in Egypt it represented immortality and it was a sign of victory in ancient Greece and Rome. It is most associated with Palm Sunday in Christianity.  This is when palm branches are distributed to a congregation for them to take home. The stone mason has also added decorative touches such as swirls and cartouches to enhance the design which is something that I haven’t seen in other churchyards or cemeteries. The epitaph reads:

SACRED

TO THE MEMORY OF

MR WILLIAM BATCHELLER

OF THIS PARISH

WHO DIED THE 2ND OF NOVEMBER 1776

AGED 60 YEARS

ALSO ELIZABETH WIFE OF THE ABOVE

WHO DIED 21ST? OF MARCH 1781 AGED 68 YEARS

ALSO CHILDREN OF THE ABOVE

WILLIAM DIED 26TH MARCH 1781 AGED 28? YEARS

WATKIN DIED 15th [   ] 17 [      ] AGED 16 YEARS

ALSO MRS SARAH BRIDGE

DAUGHTER OF THE ABOVE

WHO DIED [   ]  MAY 1806 AGED 7 [  ]  YEARS

William Batcheller left a will dated 14th January 1765 in which he left all his household goods, plate, linen etc to his wife, Elizabeth, who was also his executor. In addition, he wished his wife to have any money from lottery tickets that he bought in 1773.

Sarah, his daughter, also left a will dated 11 November 1805.

In it, she bequeathed various sums of South Sea annuities to three recipients totalling £3,750 and three months after her death they were to be transferred to other recipients including her servant. Any remaining ‘residue’ of her ‘personal estate after funeral expenses, etc.’ was to go to James Bridge.

There was also a codicil to the will, dated the same day, in which she states that ‘a bequest of £500 old stock’ was to go Mary, wife of James Bridge. Sarah had empowered him to buy £100 of old South Sea stock for herself on 11th November 1801. However, she had discovered that a further sum of £100 in this stock had been purchased in the names of James Bridge and his wife ‘contrary to her wishes.’ James Bridge was then told to alter the bonds into her name. and also ‘if he does not, in her lifetime’ then she would revoke his legacy given to Mary Bridge. In lieu of this she gave her £300 of the stock, ‘and no more’ The rest of the will was ratified.  A formidable lady.

JAMES BURR

Full view of James Burr’s headstone. © Carole Tyrrell

Closer view of James Burr’s headstone. © Carole Tyrrell

This is an image of the Good Samaritan and very similar to the example that I first encountered in St Margaret’s churchyard in Rochester. The Good Samaritan appears in the King James Bible Luke 10:25.37:

‘But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?

And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.

And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.

And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.

But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,

And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.

 Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?

And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.’

In this image the observer can see the victim being helped by the Samaritan whose horse is looking on. Two figures, presumably the priest and the Levite, appear to be moving away from the scene on the right hand side

It is dedicated to James and Elizabeth Burr and their daughter Sarah.  The epitaph reads:

IN MEMORY OF

JAMES BURR OF THIS PARISH

WHO DIED [  ]  AUGUST 17[  ]

AGED 36 YEARS

ALSO ELIZABETH HIS WIFE

WHO DIED 27TH OF JANUARY 1777

AGED 90 YEARS

ALSO SARAH THEIR DR

OF WILL. GREGORY OF YS PARISH

WHO DIED YE 2nd of July 1778

AGED 64 ? YEARS

However, James Burr does not appear in the Burial Register.

Sarah Burr, his daughter, married William Gregory in the same year as her death. Elizabeth Burr, her mother, left a will dated 25 June 1776 in which she left all her estate to her daughter.

An interesting selection of stones, not only in their symbols and images, but also what they tell us about a section of the local 18th century community’s life and occupations.

Text and photos© Carole Tyrrell unless stated otherwise

References and further reading:

Palm branch – Wikipedia

Monumental Inscriptions of St Nicholas Church, Strood — Kent Archaeological Society part of Churchyard, Strood. Recorded by D.E.Williams 2014

West Norwood Cemetery | London Museum

West Norwood Cemetery – Wikipedia

https://tedconnell.org.uk

Symbolism of cemetery plants: How flowers, trees and other botanical motifs honor those buried beneath

A Spring saunter in the footsteps of E Nesbit – Romney Marshes, Kent Part 1- Man size in Marble

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St Eanswith, Brenzett © Carole Tyrrell

The churches of the Romney Marshes are isolated and you’ll need your own transport to visit them. But there are hamlets and villages here and there and I could imagine how it must feel in mid-winter with dark short nights.

However it has long been one of my ambitions to explore the churches that are on the marshes. So when I was offered the chance I didn’t hesitate.  It was a wonderful Spring day, sunny and bright, and we were all eager to explore the Marshes.

Our first church was St Eanswith in Brenzett. This was a plain little church with a candlesnuffer steeple on top of a small slope and was surrounded by a small churchyard dotted with daffodils. There was an azure blue sky and a hare was spotted racing across a bare field at the back of the church. It’s one of the smallest churches on the Marshes and is dedicated to a 7th Saxon princess who founded a nunnery in Folkestone in 630AD. There is now nothing left of the Saxon building and the present church can only be dated back to the 12th century when the Normans rebuilt it.

A small statue of St Eanswith over the top of the porch. © Carole Tyrrell

A large Maine Coon cat, who was obviously returning from a night out through the churchyard to its home in the little straggle of houses nearby, caught sight of us and tried to hide by running from patch after patch of daffodils. Then its owner came out of the house that it ran into with another Maine Coon cat!

Hide and seek © Carole Tyrrell

Inside St Eanswith it was plain, with white washed walls and dark wood pews. The pulpit had a raised roof panel which I’d not seen before and at the altar end of the church was the table tomb that we had come to see. This was the Fagge monument and is the only monument in the church. It is dedicated to a father and son, both confusingly called John, and it is a pair of alabaster sculptures of two men in fashionable 17th century clothes. The man in the foreground is portrayed as lying on his back on a sculpted cushion with his left hand on his chest while the man behind is lying on his elbow with his right hand under his chin and his left hand on his left leg. There are visible cracks and damage with repairs which you would expect over the centuries. They are beautifully sculpted. There are small coats of arms beneath the figures at corners which bring a small splash of colour. John Fagge the elder died in 1639 and his son and heir died in 1646.

The Fagge monument, St Eanswith. © Carole Tyrrell

Close up of the Fagge monument. © Carole Tyrrell

Close up of hands showing the ravages of time. © Carole Tyrrell

Epitaph to the Fagges and one of their coat of arms.© Carole Tyrrell

This is the monument that inspired one of E Nesbit’s most famous stories, ‘Man Size in Marble’ which was adapted by Mark Gatiss for the 2024 BBC Christmas ghost story and retitled ‘the Stone Woman’.  A young married couple have moved to the country and their housekeeper tells them of a certain night when something walks from a local church to their house. They take no notice of this but when the husband is called away and leaves his wife alone in the house….you can read the story here:  The Project Gutenberg ebook of Grim Tales, by E. Nesbit.

This is English folk horror clashing with modern reasoning and belief. Nesbit creates the dark countryside so well and also the central characters incredulity at what they are being told. They are still in love with endearments such as ‘wifie’ and ‘dearest’ which makes the ominous events that are about to happen all the more shocking.

E Nesbit c. 1890 Shared under Wiki Commons

E Nesbit (1858-1924)  is most known for ‘The Railway Children’ which was first published in 1905 and has never been out of print. It was also a classic and well loved childrens film. Some of her other children’s stories have also been adapted for TV.  But she also wrote ghost stories, some of which were recently published by Handheld Press in the collection ‘The House of Silence.’

She was only 4 when her father, an agricultural chemist, died. Edith’s sister, Mary, suffered from ill health and as a result the family travelled in the UK and France. She died in 1871 of tuberculosis after becoming engaged to the poet Phillip Bourke Marston.  After Mary’s death, Edith and her mother lived in Halstead Hall, Halstead in Kent which is considered to be a possible location for ‘The Railway Children’.  When she was 17 they moved to Elswick Road in Lewisham. 

She married Hubert Bland on 22 April 1880. They met when she was aged 18 and at 21 and 7 months pregnant they tied the knot. It was a difficult marriage to say the least as he was always being unfaithful. Edith had 3 children by him and adopted 2 more from one of his long term affairs. It was a complicated family.  She and Hubert were both fervent socialists and joined the Fabian Society, jointly editing its journal ‘Today.’ But this work often took second place to Edith’s writing as she became more successful. The Fabian Society ultimately became part of the Labour party.

From 1899-1920 she lived at Well Hall Eltham. The house is long gone but the garden remains as a public park. She also had a second home at Crowlink, Friston, East Sussex when she entertained.

Bland died in 1918 and she married her second husband, Thomas ‘the Skipper’ Tucker in Woolwich where he was the captain of the Ferry.  They both lived at St Mary’s Bay, Dymchurch at their house ‘The Jolly Boat’ where she died on 4 May 1924. It may have been from lung cancer as she was a great smoker.  Tommy died at the same address on 17 May 1935. To read more about Edith and her life please visit: https://edithnesbit.co.uk

It was such a privilege to see the Fagge monument in the flesh so to speak and also a writer’s inspiration. I could easily imagine Brenzett on a winter’s night, the little terrace of houses with their curtains drawn and lights out as something stirs and moves within the small church and suddenly the top of the tomb is empty and something that shouldn’t be is walking…..

A Spring Saunter in the footsteps of E Nesbit Part 2 her late life on the Marshes

© Carole Tyrrell photos and text unless otherwise stated

Brenzett, Church of St Eanswith — Romney Marsh Historic Churches Trust

St Eanswith’s Church, Brenzett, Kent

The Project Gutenberg ebook of Grim Tales, by E. Nesbit.

https://edithnesbit.co.uk  The Edith Nesbit Society

E. Nesbit – Wikipedia

A 200th birthday and an unsolved murder – Part 3 The parson detective comes on the scene – a visit to St Werbergh, Hoo, Kent

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20th century headlines about the murder. © Carole Tyrrell

This is where Rev Jordan came in and he became known as the parson detective.  Such was the feeling in the community that he became determined to find the murderer and bring them to justice. So he set about disproving George White’s alibi.

At the time, George had claimed to have met one of his father’s employees, Joseph Green, who he had invited him to come with him. But a few yards away from the house, George had said that he had to return home to fetch his handkerchief. As a result, he was gone at least ten minutes which would have given him enough time to put the hurdle in place for the perpetrator’s gun to rest on. Joseph attested that the hurdle had not been standing at the pantry window during the day. Afterwards they had walked to the Chequers pub and Joseph said that it was the last time he saw George that night. Joseph had added that he had seen George ‘sitting up about upon the stiles’ near the murder scene before it was dark. Even more damning was that George didn’t get the handkerchief that he had said he went back home to get as, when everyone was assembled in the house after the murder, he hadn’t got one and had to go and find one.

A gun had been found in a clover stack near William’s house about a month prior to the murder and an employee called Francis Smith had put it in the hayloft. A short time afterwards he couldn’t find it and was told by George that William had taken it away, destroyed it the stock and lock of it and thrown the barrel into a lumber room.

Rev Jordan meanwhile had preached a sermon on the matter and opened a book, asking everyone in the congregation and village to write down exactly where they were at 8pm on that fateful Sunday evening.

‘Rev Jordan persuaded George to make a vestry statement and a meeting was then held to clear him of suspicion. So, he stood before 40 people on Easter Monday, 3 April 1809 after a dinner at the Five Bells Inn. After the parish accounts were settled, Rev Jordan insisted that George make a public statement. He told the audience what George had said in his vestry statement and demanded that George bring in witnesses to confirm that they had seen him at any time between 7.45-8.15 to which he said that he couldn’t as he hadn’t seen anyone at that time. Some of the audience questioned him and none were satisfied with his answers.‘

The Five Bells Hoo from Facebook photographer unknown

The Rev was able to prove that George had not bought a bag of nuts at 7.45pm as a witness had said that he had seen him cracking and eating them at 7.40pm. Also, George had claimed to be standing at the Five Bells Inn when the hulks guns were fired at 8.15pm but it had actually happened at 8.00pm. He had been seen coming from the farm at 8.20pm with laboured breathing when he reached the vicarage door. He had had enough time to murder his father and then double back to the village.

So what happened next?  Nothing. No one was ever charged with William’s murder and the case is still unsolved. George emigrated to Australia and that is the end of his story. There seems to be nothing more on the auction or the fate of William’s children.  I could not find an image of William or of Cookham Farm House.

The only reminders are the newspaper reports in florid Victorian language such as;

‘Dastardly murder.’

And, of course, the headstone.  It’s a reminder of an event that happened over 200 years ago which shocked a community. It’s not recorded if Rev Jordan went on to do more sleuthing but I think that he made a convincing case against George. William’s grave is situated 20 yards east of the main North church door and not faraway from Thomas Aveling’s resting place.

©Text and photos Carole Tyrrell unless otherwise stated.

Aveling and Porter – Wikipedia photos of steamrollers

Thomas Aveling Society

Thomas Aveling – Graces Guide

Celebrating the lifeNotable People – Hoo Parish Council Hoo, Rochester, Kent – Hoo St Werburgh and Chattenden Parish Council, Hoo, Rochester and legacy of Medway pioneer Thomas Aveling | Medway Council

Murder of William White 1808

 North Wales Gazette December 22 1808

Extracts from The Kentish Gazette

Monumental Inscriptions of St Werburgh Church, Hoo — Kent Archaeological Society

http://www.whitehousefarm.eclipse.co.uk/wwhite – a good selection of newspaper reports and Rev Jordan’s activities.

William Walter White (1751-1808) – Find a Grave Memorial

The Dastardly Murder of William – this site contains Victorian newspaper reports of the murder including 2 in London papers.  Also Rev Jordan’s thought on the murder and possible perpetrators.

GRIM HISTORIES: Premeditated Murder in South East England’s Medway Towns by Janet Cameron

A 200th birthday and an unsolved murder Part 2 – a visit to St Werbergh’s, Hoo

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William White’s headstone and fulsome epitaph. © Carole Tyrrell

You never know what you will find in a country churchyard; crumbling mausoleums associated with royalty, a fine selection of skulls on headstones and poignant memorials.

But what I didn’t expect at Hoo was to find one that revealed, positively shouted in fact, about a local unsolved murder from the early part of the 19th century. This is the headstone dedicated to William Walter White. This is the inscription:

‘IN MEMORY OF

WILLIAM WHITE OF THIS PARISH, YEOMAN

WHO WAS ON SUNDAY EVENING THE 11TH OF DECR.

1808 MOST INHUMANLY MURDERED

IN THE BOSOM OF HIS FAMILY

BY A GUN DISCHARGED AT HIM THRO A WINDOW

WHILST SITTING BY HIS OWN FIRESIDE

THE PERPETRATOR OF THIS HORRID DEED IS

NOT YET DISCOVERED BUT THERE IS ONE, “WHO

IS ABOVE OUR PATH AND ABOUT OUR BED

AND WHO SPIETH OUT ALL OUR WAYS”

WHO[O] [WI]LL SOMETIME BRING IT TO LIGHT

HE LIVED ESTEEMED BY ALL WHO KNEW HIM

[AND HIS] SAD END IS UNIVERSALLY REGRETTED HE

[LEFT ISSUE]6 SONSAND 5 DAUGHTERS TO BEWAIL

[HIS LOSS AND DIED [AT] THE AGE OF 58 YEARS

STONE WAS ERECTED JUNE THE 24TH 1809

“[By] whose Assa[ssinating} {H}and [I fell]

[Drop] Reader [o’er my Grave one] Silent Tear

[Live Well remembering that your God is Near]

[If Rich or Poor or Relative you be]

[Strike your own breast and say – It was not Me!]’

A more dramatic epitaph it would be hard to find and the stonemason certainly earned his money!  The case shocked the farming community of Hoo especially as no one was ever brought to justice and suspicions ran rife. It even led to the local vicar of St Werbergh’s at the time, Rev Jordan, deciding to become an amateur sleuth and unmask the perpetrator.

Death had already visited the White family when William’s wife, Jane, dropped dead with no prior indication of illness on 24 March 1808 aged 44. The murder left the 11 children orphans within a short space of time and more about what happened afterwards later. William was a man of some standing in the village. He was a yeoman which meant that, although he was a farmer, he wasn’t part of the gentry. In 1790, he was one of only two franchised householders in the village and so was eligible to vote.

A typical farm house in Hoo. © eclipse

The Murder

The facts are that, on Sunday 11th December 1808, William was sitting reading at home with his family when a shot rang out. A gun had been fired through an open pantry window which killed William outright. The shot entered the back of his head and exited under the right eye. The ‘cries and lamentations’ of his family could be heard in Hoo village a mile away after the body was found. An unsuccessful search was made immediately for the perpetrator. However, a recently discharged gun was found in a ditch roughly 200 yards away from the house near the River Medway which led to the assumption that the murderer had escaped by water.

Such was the notoriety of the case that reports of it appeared in London newspapers and the Bow Street Runners were called in. They were the forerunner of the modern police force.

Bow Street Runners c1800 from History UK website.

Whoever fired the fatal shot must have known the layout of the house and the family’s habits. It took place on a Sunday when there were no servants about and it would have been necessary for the pantry door to be open in order to have a good view from the window as the gun was fired at William sitting by the fire. It had been propped up on a hurdle in front of the window and this helped the murderer to have a good aim. The gun was an old musket-barrel which had nails in the breach fastening it to the stock. It was a very crude gun as the hammer would not hold at full cock but was fastened back by a piece of twine which was presumed to have been cut at the time of firing. The fatal shot was fired at the same as the nightly salvo of guns from convict hulks on the River Medway. 

The suspects

The gun’s owner was a man called Driver and he and another man called Day were picked up in Bapchild near Sittingbourne, Kent. It was assumed that they were on the run. The Coroner, J Simmons Esq, questioned them but soon realised that he didn’t have enough evidence to prosecute them. He then had them removed to one of his Majesty’s ships which was a euphemism for being ‘press ganged’. The Kentish Gazette described it like this:

‘as they were unable to give a satisfactory account of their mode of obtaining a livelihood, they were sent to serve their country on board one of his Majesty’s ships of war.’

 If that wasn’t enough, later on, they were marched back from Portsmouth to Rochester to be further questioned and then press ganged a second time before being finally released without charge.

As for motive, William had recently found a servant, possibly Driver, in the act of robbing a neighbour and had informed the appropriate authorities. He had sacked the man who had sworn to get his revenge. In fact, a week prior to the murder, the unnamed man, had purchased a gun:

‘for which he had no possible occasion, under some frivolous pretence’

according to newspaper reports at the time.

The inquest on William was held and a verdict was returned of:

‘Wilful murder against some per or persons unknown – Friday 23 December 1808.

Events began to gather pace as the executor of William’s will, Thomas Denton, was authorised to put William’s home, land, possessions and other assets up for auction. It was intended that the money raised would be distributed by him amongst the children as he thought best for them. Originally it had been intended that Jane White, William’s wife would be a joint executor but of course with her death it fell to Thomas alone. Understandably the children tried to stop him and suspicion began to fall on him.  In the space of a few months they had been left orphans with the loss of both their parents and now they were to lose the family home as well.

But another suspect had appeared who was much closer to home. It was George White, William’s eldest son. He was known to be on bad terms with his father and had been seen to threaten him. George wanted the farm and the land but William was considering writing a new will leaving him and another relative out. However, his will dated 22 January 1808 did not indicate.   

But George had convinced both the Mr Simmons, the coroner, and the Bow Street Runners that, during the vital thirty minutes between 7.45pm and 8.15pm he had been in Hoo village buying:

‘a penny’s worth of nuts.’

The shop was a good mile away from the farm. But someone else in the community had doubts about George’s alibi and was determined to disprove it as we shall see in Part 3.

©Text and photos Carole Tyrrell unless otherwise stated.

Part 3 – the parson detective comes onto the scene