I tried to find this grave last year in the churchyard of Hoo St Werbergh but ran out of time. However, on a return visit this year I finally found it.
It’s dedicated to a man called ‘Time Of Day’ ( I kid you not). (1833-1890) with ‘Day’ being his surname. I did wonder if his siblings were called after days of the week with their surname providing the end as in ‘Sun – Day, Mon-Day etc.
He was a licenced victualler or publican who owned a pub in a nearby hamlet, Fenn Street, Hoo, called The Bell Inn from 1881. He died on 11 December 1890 and the headstone was erected by his wife, Martha, who was the executrix of his will. The value of his estate was £962.10s.3d which was a substantial sum at that time. There was no mention of any children.
The Fenn Bell Inn may have been named after one of several bells erected on nearby marshes. In poor weather they would ring to enable travellers to find a safe way to cross but The ‘Bell’ is a common name for pubs throughout Britain. The Fen Bell Inn has been in existence since the 17th century although it has been remodelled and restored since then. However, some of the original fabric still exists. Since 2014, it has housed the Fenn Bell Conservation project for rescued animals and a miniature railway. Recently, there has been controversy over the pub landlord’s plan to sell off land for housing but he has defended it saying that he needed to do it to keep his business going.
‘Time of Day’ is a very unusual name as you might agree but he was a man of some substance and is likely to remembered for many years to come.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Every September in Medway, Heritage Open Days take place. For a couple of weekends, I could gain access to buildings that are normally closed to the public such as the Rochester Bridge Chapel, almshouses and a synagogue amongst others. Despite Chatham’s somewhat dubious reputation nowadays, it has rich layers of history to be discovered due to its maritime past. Last year in 2024, I went further afield and visited the Hoo peninsula. This was an area new to me and I wanted to visit St Werburgh’s church. It’s reputed to date back to the 12th century although an earlier church was on the site around 1080-1086 and was recorded in Rochester Cathedral.
I followed a crowd who seemed to be heading in the right direction, some of whom were in costume, but once I saw the church steeple I knew where I was. You can’t miss it – the battlemented tower is 55ft tall but with the steeple it is 127 ft or 38.5 metres in total. There used to be a light within the steeple that guided ships around the peninsula and if you look up you can still see its little wooden door. It seems plausible, after all why else would a recessed door be set into the steeple. The steeple is covered with oak tiles with a weathervane on top. There are 73 steps in the stair turret which give access to the battlemented tower.
I’d never heard of the saint before but the guide leaflet has this to say:
‘St Werburgh was an English abbess known and loved for her great kindness and love to all living things. She is associated with geese because when a flock of geese settled in the convent land and were eating the crops, she ordered them into a fenced enclosure as punishment. That night a servant stole one of the geese, cooked and ate it, leaving only the bones. In the morning St Werburgh set the geese free with a warning not to eat the crops again. Instead of flying away, the geese circled the convent making a great noise. Realising that one goose was missing she had the bones brought to her and restored the goose to life. The whole flock flew away, never to be seen on convent lands again. She was therefore held to have possessed extra-ordinary powers over natural creatures.’ She also has a stained glass window dedicated to her inside the church.
The oldest headstone in the churchyard is dated 1681 and is dedicated to Richard Scott who was a yeoman farmer. He died aged 70 in 1677. There is also a yew tree which is reputed to be 800 years old and the award for the most unusual name has to be a man called ’Time of Day’. who died in 1890. Sadly I didn’t find his headstone on this visit.
Inside, the church possessed some unusual features. On display was a ledger stone which had been found under the floor and dated to the 12/13th century – the oldest I’ve seen. Two 14th and 15th vicars are also commemorated by memorial brasses. There are also two Royal Coats of Arms from the 17th century and a Norman font.
Indoor refreshments were in full swing and I enjoyed a cuppa while exploring. There were local history stalls which is how I discovered the 200 year old unsolved murder. When I came outside again, a ceremony was taking place and the reason for people being in costume was revealed. It was the 200th anniversary of the birth of Thomas Aveling, a local man who designed machines that didn’t require horsepower. Two men were there in Victorian dress from the Thomas Aveling Society. They were joined by children in costume and national treasure, Jools Holland OBE, in his capacity as Deputy Lieutenant of Kent – Medway.
Thomas Aveling. Shared under Wiki Creative Commons
Although he was born in Cambridgeshire in 1824, Thomas moved to Hoo when his widowed mother married the Rev John D’Urban, the curate of St Werbergh. He was apprenticed to a farmer, Edward Lake, and became one himself. But he had dreams of creating machines that could be powered by other means than horsepower. In addition to the farm he also operated a small millwrighting and iron foundry business. Thomas was a talented and determined man and in 1856, in partnership with two other companies, he introduced a steam plough which was incredibly successful. Two years later, in recognition of his achievement, he was awarded ‘a piece of plate’ and a purse containing 300 guineas by Kent farmers. But there was more to come.
He formed a partnership with Richard Porter in 1862. It was very successful and they sold their products worldwide. But, like most restless, energetic and talented Victorian entrepreneurs, Thomas was onto his next project. One that is still in use today. One that helped create roads the world over including the ones in New York’s Central Park – the steam roller! Virtually unchanged since its creation.
An Aveline/Porter steamroller.
Honours for his invention came thick and fast. Thomas was knighted by the Austrian Emperor after showing it at Vienna’s Universal Exhibition and the French Government awarded him the Chevalier of the National Order of the Legion of Honour.
Thomas was also the Mayor of Rochester and introduced many improvements to the town which sadly no longer exist. He also represented Strood and Frindsbury on the City of Rochester Corporation.
In addition, he was also an enthusiastic yachtsman and it is believed that he may have caught a chill which developed into pneumonia whilst on his 28 ton Yacht, ‘Sally’ at the end of February 1882. On 7 March 1882 he died at the age of 58. The funeral took place on 11 March 1882 and crowds lined the streets from his home at Boley Hill House in Rochester to St Werburgh’s church – a distance of 4.6 miles. The funeral procession began with 39 carriages which increased to 54 and his coffin was covered with beautiful wreaths not unlike the ones on his grave for his 200th birthday. He is buried with his mother, Sarah, his wife Sarah and his son Thomas. Two stained glass windows in the church commemorate him. There is also a secondary school in Chatham named after him and the road names on a housing estate in Hoo are associated with him.
But very near Thomas Aveling’s grave is one that is determined that the person which it commemorates and the way in which he died will never be forgotten.
shadows fly away 