The Ratcliffe Highway Murders 1811.

 

Murder.

Mr Timothy Marr was the proud owner of a silk, mercery, lace, pelisse, mantle and fur shop at 29, Ratcliffe Highway, an ex sailor with the East India Company aboard the Dover Castle, and now a shopkeeper, Mr Marr was a hard working family man. Late on the evening of the 7th December Marr sent his servant, Margaret Jewel, out for some oysters and to pay an outstanding bill with a local baker, it had been a busy Saturday and a little treat would be most welcome.

Jewel went upon her errand but unfortunately Mr Taylor's oyster shop was shut, as was the bakers, Jewel then wandered around the area for twenty minutes searching for a place to buy oysters, but failed. Heading back she found the shop shut up and in darkness; "I rang the bell, but received no answer. While I continued ringing repeatedly at the door, the watchman passed by at the other side with a person in charge (a police officer); at this time I heard a foot on the stairs, and I thought it was my master coming to let me in.

I also heard the child cry in a low tone of voice, I then rang again and again, and knocked at the door with my foot, while I was doing so, a man came up to me, abused me very much, and used very insulting language to me.

The watchman and policeman came at last, at one o'clock, and desired me to move on, I told him I belonged to the house, and that I was locked out, I remarked to him that the pin of the shutters was not fastened, he called Mr Marr several times through the keyhole, but there was no answer."

At this point the next door neighbour Mr Murray, a pawnbroker, came out to find out what all the fuss was about, having been told, he went back inside. Appearing again Mr Murray said there was a strong light out the back, he went through his house and over the fence to investigate. Gaining entrance to the back door of number 29 Murray called out to Marr several times. Seeing a light upstairs Murray ascended the staircase, he called out "Marr, Marr, your shutters aren't fastened," but he got no answer.

Going back down the stairs Murray opened the street door to let the watchman, police officer and Jewel in, but before he could he saw the body of James Biggs, their servant, dead on the shop floor, his brains had been bashed out. Towards the shop door was Mrs Celia Marr, her face downwards and her head bleeding, rushing forwards Murray opened the shop door to let the watchman, the policeman, and Jewel in.

Looking around the shop Murray then spotted Mr Marr behind the counter quite dead, Jewel had gone to the kitchen and found Timothy Marr, a baby of fourteen weeks, dead in its cradle, the police officer found a maul spattered with blood and hair. At the inquest watchman Olney stated the he was present when the police officer found the maul with the head on the ground and the handle standing against a chair, "the blood was running from it upon the ground," he also found a chisel, but there was no blood on it. He went on to state that he had seen Marr close his shutters at twelve o'clock, midnight.

A verdict of "wilful murder against persons unknown" was delivered, it was now up to the police to find this vicious criminal, they were still considered a new novelty and the country was watching.

Reward and Interment.

Evening Mail - 13th December 1811.

"We are glad to find that the Government has taken the same means which we suggested, to discover the murderers of Mr Marr and his family, by offering a reward to any one of them, except an actual perpetrator, whose evidence may lead to conviction.

Yesterday the following advertisement was struck up in large characters, in the neighbourhood of Ratcliffe Highway, and other parts of town:- Whitehall, December 12th 1811.

On the 16th December the Marr family were buried in the churchyard at St, Georges In The East, it is located across the road from their shop, a stones throw from the scene of horror on Ratcliffe Highway.

Author's photo taken from where the Marr's shop was located

According to London Chronicle - Monday 16 December 1811;

'Yesterday the neighbourhood of Ratcliffe Highway presented a scene of sorrow and lamentation. Crowds assembled from the house to the doors of St George's Church, waiting for some hours.

The congregation in the church, attending divine service, remained in their stations, to witness the afflicting spectacle. At half past one the procession entered with some difficulty. No language can describe the grief depicted in every countenance on witnessing the coffins containing the unfortunate bodies of Mr Marr, Mrs Marr, and her infant.

The procession entered the aisle of the church in the following order :-

Body of Mr Marr;

Bodies of Mrs Marr and Infant;

Father and Mother of Mr Marr;

Mother of Mrs Marr.

The affliction of the aged parents, and the brothers and sisters of the deceased, was the most heartrending spectacle. After the church ceremony, the corpses were conveyed into the burial ground, and deposited in one grave."

The investigation went on, suspects arrested, The Star - Thursday 19th December 1811;

"Whitechapel Office.

Yesterday the two Portuguese, Le Silvoe and Bornard Jovoe, who were apprehended on Friday last, were brought to the above office and examined near two hours, on suspicion of being concerned in the late murders at Ratcliffe Highway.

It appeared that Le Silvoe and Bornard Jovoe were at the Artichoke public house, near Mr Marr's drinking at half past eleven o'clock, and that they were seen by many of the inhabitants between the above time and a quarter before twelve; also that they were seen near one o'clock, in the streets adjoining.

Le Silvo lodges in Marmont Street, and came home for admittance at one o'clock, and knocked at the door; and his wife let him in as the watchman was going by, and crying past one o'clock. His landlord was waiting to give evidence to the above effect. Mrs Le Silvoe offered to prove that her husband was at home at eleven o'clock, but her testimony was not admitted.

A woman who lives with Bornard Jovoe wanted to prove an alibi, but the evidence appeared very doubtful. The prisoners were committed for another hearing."

Another Dreadful Murder.

The Sun - Friday 20 December 181;

"Another horrible murder was committed last night, between eleven and twelve o'clock, at No. 81, New Gravel Lane, not two minutes walk from the former scene of blood in Ratcliffe Highway.

Between eleven and twelve o'clock , the neighbours opposite were alarmed by a cry of murder, from a person in his shirt (John Turner), who was descending from a two pair of stairs window, by a sheet of his bed knotted together. On his reaching the bottom, he informed those assembled, that murderers  were on the house, committing dreadful acts of blood on the whole family.

An alarm was instantly given, and two resolute men, named Ludgate and Hawse, armed themselves, and broke open the doors - when, horrid to relate! They first found the mistress of the house and the servant maid lying one on the other by the kitchen fire, quite dead, with their throats cut from ear to ear.

In the cellar they found the master of the house quite dead, one of his legs broken, and his head nearly severed from his body. The scene of this bloody dead was the King's Arms public house, and the unfortunate persons murdered are Mr and Mrs Williamson, the landlord and landlady, and their servant maid, Biddy, an Irish girl.

The person who descended from the window is named Turner, and was a lodger; he states, that being alarmed by a great noise, he went down stairs, where he saw two men, one in a large watchcoat, and the other in a flannel jacket, rifling the pocket of the mistress, who was then lying near the kitchen fire; he immediately came to the resolution to get out of the window, and by the aid of the bedclothes he effected his purpose, leaving up stairs in bed Mr and Mrs Williamson's granddaughter,Catherine Stillwell.

It is with the deepest sorrow we have to state, that the perpetrators of this horrid deed have escaped, they got out of the back doors, and crossed Dock Hills."

The Sun of Friday the 20th went on to observe the efforts of the police in their endeavours on the docks, searching various ships and suspicious characters all the way to Gravesend. All the iron shops and blacksmiths were also investigated, particularly with reference to the maul, but without any result.

The inquest was held at the Black Horse on Gravel Lane, Mr Unwin, the Coroner said; 

"The frequent instances of murder committed in the eastern part of the metropolis, which no vigilance has been successful to detect - in a vicinity, where the population of the lower classes greatly preponderates, increased by the number of strangers and seamen discharged from the different docks, and the influx of foreign sailors from all parts of the globe - imperiously call for the solemn attention of those more immediately entrusted with the administration of the Government; for the late and present murders are a disgrace to the country, and almost a reproach on civilisation.

While the excursions of the police, with the ordinary power of the Parochial Officers, are found insufficient to protect men's persons from the hand of violence, and the Coroner has to record the most atrocious crimes, without the possibility of delivering the perpetrators to justice and punishment; our houses are no longer our castles, and we are unsafe in our beds."

This pub was about two building to the left of the Marrs Shop

Stern and terrifying stuff indeed, the verdict was predictable...."wilful murder against some persons unknown,," but the police had not been idle.

The survivor Mr Turner stated he had heard just after he had retired for the night Mrs Williamson go down stairs, soon after he heard the front door bang to very hard, immediately afterward he heard the servant cry out "we are murdered," or "shall be murdered," two or three times, then there was the sound of two or three blows. Shortly after Mr Williamson cried out "I am a dead man," I was still in bed. Hearing nothing more Turner crept down stairs to the first floor, there he heard the sound of heavy sighs.

Naked Turner crept further down stairs, there he saw a man in a large Flushing coat rifling the pockets of the Williamsons who were lying on the ground and not moving, he was putting several items into his pockets. He was dreadfully frightened, so he went back upstairs as carefully as he could, took the bed clothes and made his escape out of the window.

In the street he saw a watchman and he told him of the murders going on inside, the watchman summoned assistance with his rattle, and a Mr Fox, who lived opposite, came running up saying "break the door open." While this was happening Mr Fox ran back inside his house to fetch his hanger.

Once gaining entrance to the pub they saw the carnage wrought by the murderer, Mrs Elizabeth Williamson and the servant Ann Bridget Harrington both lying on the kitchen floor with their throats cut, and in the cellar Mr Williamson, leg broken, hand almost severed and his throat cut, before he was killed the perpetrator must have given him a good beating with a crowbar.

Police officers from Shadwell were soon at the scene and a manhunt was started, the pub was thoroughly searched, upstairs, still in bed was the completely unharmed granddaughter Catherine, who had slept through the entire ordeal.

Suspects.

Morning Post - Tuesday 24 December 1811

Shadwell Office - yesterday.

"John Williams was brought up for examination, under suspicion of being concerned in the murder of Mr and Mrs Williamson. The story which the prisoner gave of himself was far from satisfactory, and being interrogated how he gained his living, a circumstance was revealed sufficient to substantiate his detention.

It appeared that the prisoner, on the day of the murder, borrowed 6d from the landlady of the Pear Tree public house, in Wapping; when he was taken into custody the next day £1 14s in silver and a pound note, was found on his person. The account he gave of his possession of the money was from pawning his shirts ect. The fact was not clearly ascertained, nor the alibi to the time he was at home on Thursday night. Accordingly he was remanded for another hearing."

Whitechapel Office - yesterday.

"John Le Silvoe, Bornard Jovo, Joseph Antonio, and a girl, underwent a third interrogation, on suspicion of being concerned in the murder of Mr and Mrs Marr and family. The Magistrates investigated the additional evidence against the prisoners in private, which continued for some time. The girl was discharged, but the three Portuguese are kept in custody.

Queens Square - On Saturday, Symonds, the man in custody for being concerned (at his own confession) in the murder of the Marrs, underwent a final examination before Mr Colquhoun and Mr Fielding, Magistrates. The prisoner's landlady and father both gave evidence that he was at home on the night of the murders and he was declared innocent, he was warned to avoid intoxication in future. On the payment of 20s to the Recruitment Officer Symonds avoided being detained as a soldier."

Of all the suspects John Williams stuck out, examined again suspicion grew. The maul used to kill the Marrs had been missed from Mr Vermillion's house where Williams had lodged, it had belonged to a ships carpenter called John Peterson, and was marked J.P. Mr Vermillion at this time was incarcerated in Newgate Gaol for debt, but although he couldn't swear it was the same maul, it was marked with the same initials and there was some damage to the maul caused by breaking up firewood, which made it look the same.

Messers Harrington, Austin and Emery were examined for the Williamson murders, Harrington matched the description of the man seen by Turner rifling the pockets of Mrs Williamson. Harrington said that both he and Emery were on board the East Indiaman Astel for the last week, and that his other shipmate, Austin, had only been discharged from the King's Bench after ten days confinement. They were remanded for further investigation.

A certain W. Mitchell was questioned concerning the Williamson murders. After hearing of the murders officers on London Bridge began stopping "persons of notoriety" and searching them. Mitchell was stopped, searched, asked his name, where he had been ect, his answer was that he had been out looking for smugglers, so the officers let him go.

Soon after a description was circulated and this Mitchell's appearance corresponded with it, going to the address he gave, it turned out to be a false one. A search for the man was commenced but nothing was found, he was six feet in height, wearing a watchman's coat which he said he had borrowed, and clay on his trousers.

Two Irishmen, both named Dennis Mahony were detained after one of them was seen with a limp, they were examined and discharged.

Seven men were detained as they were found with shirts and a waistcoat stained with something that resembled blood. They said it was staining from hop vines, as they were hop pickers, they were all detained until a surgeon could be found to substantiate their claims.

A bricklayers labourer called Bailey was taken up by Mr Cook, Magistrate, on suspicion of a felony, while searching his apartments he found a quantity of silver plate and some linen stained with a blood like substance. 

Thinking he could have something to do with the murders Bailey was put into Cheshunt Cage. The next morning when the Constable went into the prison Bailey was found suspended from a beam by his handkerchief, and completely lifeless.

John Williams.

The Sun - Saturday 28th December 1811.

Cold Bath Fields Prison.

"Yesterday morning, when the Turnkey of Cold Bath Fields prison went to the cell where this wretched man was confined, for the purpose of preparing him to go before the Magistrates of Shadwell Police Office, for further examination, he found him suspended by the neck, from an iron bar, crossing the cell, on which the prisoners hang their clothes.

He was quite cold and lifeless - his coat and shoes were off. The night before, when he was locked up, he appeared tolerably cheerful, and spoke in terms of confidence that he would be speedily liberated. The Magistrates proceeded to examine evidence."

Inquest.

The inquest was held at the House of Correction in St. James, Clerkenwell, before Coroner John Wright Unwin.

Surgeon Thomas Webb stated that he found Williams in his cell lying on his back on the bed where he had been placed after he had been cut down, he was dead, cold and had been dead for many hours.

"On his neck, on the right side, is a very deep impression of a knot, and a mark all round the neck as from the handkerchief by which he had been suspended, I saw no other marks."

Mr Unwin addressed the Jury;

"The miserable wretch, the object of the present inquiry, was committed here on suspicion of being one of the perpetrators of the late alarming and most inhuman murders, and that suspicion is greatly increased by the result which has taken place; for how much augmented is the suspicion of guilt against a man, who, to escape justice, has recourse to self destruction!

All homicide is murder till the contrary shall be shown. The law ranks the suicide in the worst class of murderers, and this is a case of most unqualified self murder.

I have applied my attention to the conduct of those entrusted with the custody of this wretched man, a subject interesting to the public mind, and I leave it with you; I think there is no culpability attaching itself to them. 

It only therefore remains that we consign the body of the self murderer to that infamy and disgrace which the law has prescribed; and leave the punishment of his crimes to him who has said 'vengeance is mine, and I will repay,'  - Verdict; Felo De Se."

A Strange Funeral.

The Sun - Wednesday 1st January 1812.

"On Monday, at midnight, the body of this wretch was removed from the House of Correction, Cold Bath Fields, to the watch house, near Ratcliffe Highway; and yesterday morning, at about 10 o'clock, he was placed on a platform, erected six feet above a very high cart, drawn by one horse.

The platform was composed of rough deals battened together, raised considerably at the head, which elevated the corpse. A board was fixed across the lower end, standing up about six inches, to prevent the body from slipping off. On this platform the body was laid; it had on a clean white shirt, very neatly frilled, quite open at the neck, and without a neck handkerchief or hat, but the hair neatly combed, and the face clean washed.

The countenance looked healthy and ruddy, but the hands and the lower part of the arms were of a deep purple, nearly black. The whole of the arms were exposed, the shirt being tucked quite up. The lower part of the body was covered with a pair of clean blue trousers, and brown worsted stockings, without shoes. The feet were towards the horse.

On the right leg was affixed the irons Williams had on when he was committed to prison. The fatal maul was place upright by the left side of his head, and the ripping chisel, or crow bar, about 3 feet long, on the other side.

About 10 o'clock, the procession, attended by the Head Constable and Head boroughs of the district, on horseback, and about 250 to 300 constables and extra constables, most of them with drawn cutlasses, began to move, and continued at a slow pace, until they came opposite the house of the unfortunate Marr, in Ratcliffe Highway, where they stopped about quarter of an hour.

By the shaking of the cart the head of Williams had got turned to one side, and looked from the house where the murder was committed; but before the cart left the place, a person ascended the platform, and placed the face of the corpse directly opposite the scene of atrocity.

The procession went down Old Gravel Lane, along Wapping High Street, entered New Gravel Lane, by Wapping Wall, and continued slowly to approach the spot where the second murder was perpetrated; on reaching which, it stood for another quarter of an hour, and then proceeded, again entering Ratcliffe Highway, and passing along it until it came to Cannon Street, where it turned up; and on reaching the top where the New Road crosses, and the Cannon Street begins, a large hole being prepared, the cart stopped.

The procession outside the King's Arms.

After a pause of about 10 minutes, the body was thrown into its infamous grave, amidst the acclaimations of thousands of spectators. The stake which the law requires to be driven through the corpse had been placed in the procession under the head of Williams, by way of a pillow; and after he was consigned to the earth, it was handed down from the platform, and with the maul was driven through the body.

The grave was then filled with quick lime, and the spectators quietly dispersed. During the whole procession all ranks of persons who were present conducted themselves with a solemnity rarely witnessed in the east part of town; and until the body was lowering into the earth hardly a whisper was to be heard in the street. Not a single accident happened. Williams is buried close to the Turnpike Gate in the Cannon Street Road."

Afterwards.

But was John Williams the murderer?

Public Ledger and Daily Advertiser - Monday 27th January 1812.

"Mr Graham particularly examined the late Mr Marr's premises on Thursday, and investigated some witnesses on the spot. Hart and Alblass are kept in close confinement, not being able to account for about a quarter of an hour of their time on the night of the murder of the Williamson's; it having been ascertained that a man can walk at a very quick pace in less than five minutes from that house to the Pear Tree public house.

On Saturday a man and woman who lived next door to Mr Marr, gave evidence respecting the horrible transaction. We understand it is their opinion that they heard three persons walking about at the time these murders were committed."

Cornelius Hart was a carpenter who had done work in Marrs shop on the day of the murders, he had lost his chisel, he denied any involvement, and also denied knowing Williams although  witnesses were found to prove otherwise. Hart lived opposite the Pear Tree public house, on the night of the Williamson murders he was found drunk on the step of his house and was arrested on suspicion.

William Alblass was a seaman who had served with Williams on the Roxburgh Castle, a rather unpleasant man with a limp, he fitted Turners description better than most, it is suggested that Alblass, Williams and Marr had all been shipmates and the motive was robbery. Alblass admitted to drinking with Williams on the night of the murder but left his company and went home. 

 On the 7th February both men were acquitted and set free.

Postscript.

The Crown and Dolphin, Williams Cross Roads.

On the 1st August 1886 it was reported that whilst excavating a trench for laying gas pipes by the Commercial Gas Company, a skeleton was unearthed with a stake driven through it at a depth of six feet, lying next to the bones were some chains. Allegedly the skull was given to the landlord of the Crown And Dolphin on the corner, but it has since disappeared.

The Vampire Epidemic - An Explanation, 1737.

The Vampire epidemic of the early to mid eighteenth century made news all over Europe, I have taken this report and explanation of this curious outbreak verbatim from the wonderfully named Fog's Weekly Journal - Saturday, 30th April 1737.

We have lately seen published in several of our papers an article of foreign news from Moldavia, relating to some strolling Ghosts which do great mischief in that country, but as this story is more particularly told us in the Mercure Historique & Politique of October last, we shall give our readers a faithful extract of it, tho' it seems to dumbfound all philosophical speculation and human reasoning; however we shall not pass over these marvellous facts without offering our sentiments on the subject. 

This account comes from Gradisch in Slavonia;

We have in these quarters, not many days since, a new scene of Vampirism, which is formally attested by two officers of the Tribunal of Belgrade, who went purposely to the very spot, and by a noted Commander in the Imperial Garrison at Gradisch, who was present at the whole proceeding.

Kisiljevo Cemetary 

Early last September, at a village named Kisilova (Kisiljevo, Serbia), three leagues from Gradisch, a man died aged sixty two years. On the third night after his burial, he appeared to his son, and asked him for something to eat. The young man sat before him what was at hand, when the father  ate, and then vanished.

Next morning the son acquainted his neighbours with what happened. That night the father came not; but the next he returned, and again asked for victuals. It is not known whether his son gave him any, ot no; but on the morrow he was found dead in bed. 

That very day, five or six of the village were suddenly taken ill, and in a short space of time they all died, one after another. The bailiff of that place sent thereupon a particular account of all this to the magistrates of Belgrade, who forthwith dispatched away to this village two of their officers, together with the executioner, to examine into the affair.

One of the Imperial Commanders at Gradisch, and from whom came this intelligence, is repaired likewise thither, in order to be eye witness of a fact whereof he had before heard so much discourse.

They caused the graves of all those who had been buried within six weeks, to be opened, when the said old fellow had been dug up, they found him with his eyes wide open, his countenance fresh and ruddy, with a natural respiration tho' dead and utterly motionless; from whence they absolutely concluded, that he was a notorious Vampire. The executioner then drove a stake thro' his heart, which done, a great fire was kindled, and the carcase reduced to ashes. No token of Vampirism was found on the body of the son, nor on those of any of the others.

God be praised we are not any way inclined to be over credulous. We withal avow, that none of all the physical lights, we can make use of with regard to this fact, do not discover to us any one of its causes. Nevertheless, we are not in a capacity of absolutely disbelieving a fact juridically attested, and confirmed by persons of credit and probity; besides its not being the only one of the kind. 

We shall here copy out what did occur in the year 1732, and which we then inserted in the Glaneur, Number XVIII:

In a certain Canton of Hungary, the Latin name whereof is Oppida Heidonum, beyond the river Tibiscus, vulgarly called the Teysse, (that is to say, between the said river, which waters the fine and happy territory of Turkey, and the Principality of Transylvania) the people, commonly known by the appellation of Heyduques, do firmly believe, that dead bodies of persons, by them stiled Vampires, sucked out the blood of living persons; insomuch that many who undergo it waist away visibly.

Whereas the carcases of those Vampires, like unto leeches do fill up with blood in such abundance, that is seen distilling out from all the natural conduits, and even thro' the very pores. This opinion of theirs has lately been confirmed by divers facts, the truth whereof seems to be beyond all dispute, considering the quality of those eye witnesses by whom they are certified. We shall here relate some of the most considerable.

It is now about five years since a certain Heyduque, of Medreiga, whose name was Arnold Paulo, was accidentally crushed to death under a waggon loaded with hay which fell upon him.

Just thirty days after his decease, four persons of the neighbourhood died suddenly, and in the very same manner with such as, according to that country's tradition, are molested by the Vampire. It was thereupon recollected, that this Arnold Paulo had often been heard to say, that while he lived near Cassova, and on the frontiers of the Turkish Servia, he had been tormented by a Vampire.

They also believe, that they who, in their lifetime, have been passive Vampires, do become active ones after their demise; which is to say, that such as have been sucked, do themselves, in their turn suck others.

But he had found a cure, by eating earth taken out of the Vampire's grave, and anointing himself with some of the blood of his carcase; a precaution which did not, however, prevent his coming abroad after his burial, since, on the fortieth day, he was dug up again, and found with all the marks of a consummate Vampire.

His flesh was of a lively hue; the hair of his head and beard were considerably grown, as were likewise his nails; and he was withal very full of fluid blood, which ran a pace from every part of his body all over the shroud wherein he was wrapped.

The Hadnagy, or Bailiff of the place, in whose presence the examination was made, and who was an expert on matters of Vampirism, did, as is customary, cause to be driven thro' the defunct Arnold Paulo's heart and body a sharp stake, which made him, as they affirm, give a loud cry, as if he had been alive. This done, they cut off his head, and burned that with the corpse of him, the ashes whereof were cast into the river Save.

The like course was taken with the other four bodies of those who died suddenly, tho' fear lest they, in their turn, should be the death of others. However, all this could not prevent, that, towards the close of last year, that is, at the end of five years, these fatal prodigies recommenced, and that several of the same village died miserably.

Within the space of three months, seventeen persons, of both sexes and different ages, are actually dead of Vampirism, some without any sickness, others after two or three days languishment. They report, among others, that one Stanoska (daughter of a certain Heyduque named Jovitza) who went to bed in perfect health, waked about midnight trembling every joint of her, shrieking very frightfully, and saying, that the deceased son of Millo, the Heyduque, wanted little of strangling her while she was asleep.

From that moment she did nothing but languish, and at the end of three days she died. What this girl reported, concerning the said Heyduque's son, immediately gave people to understand, that he was a Vampire. His grave was thereupon opened, and he found to be such; he was buried nine weeks before.

The chiefs of those quarters with several physicians and surgeons, set themselves on examining, how and by what means Vampirism could have revived after the precautions which had, some years ago, been taken. At length, after many diligent researches, they discovered, that the defunct Arnold Paulo had not only sucked the above mentioned four persons, but also divers cattle, whereof the new Vampires had eaten afterwards, and among them this Millo's son.

Upon these tokens and discoveries, it was resolved, that they should dig up all such as had died within a certain distance of time; and, amidst about forty, no fewer than seventeen were found with all the most evident signs of Vampirism, and accordingly, stakes were driven thro' their hearts, their heads cut off, after which they were all consumed by fire, and the ashes thrown into the river.

All these informations and executions were taken and performed juridically, in due form, and attested by several officers quartered thereabouts, by Head Surgeons of Regiments, and by the principal inhabitants of the country. The verbal process of all was, towards the end of last January, remitted to the Imperial Council of War at Vienna, whence a Military Commission had been issued, purposely to examine into the truth of all these matters. 

This was the Declaration made by Barriabar the Hadnagy, with the oldest Heyduques, and signed by Battuer; first Lieutenant of Alexander Wirtemberg's Regiment, by Flickenger Surgeon Major of Furstembusch's Regiment, with three other Surgeons of Companie's, and by Captain Gubsebitz, quartered at Stallath.

I judged proper thus to collect what I find published relating to Vampirism, the better to enable you to pass a judgment on this matter, by the number of facts; and, 'till I can have your sentiments thereupon, I will venture to give you my own.

There are two different ways to destroy all opinions of the existence of those pretended returners from below ground, and to show the impossibility of such effects as these carcases, utterly void of all sensibility, are affirmed to produce. The first is, to explain the prodigies of the Vampirism by physical causes,. The second is, totally to deny the verity of these facts; and this latter method is, undoubtedly, the most certain, and also the wisest.

But, as there are in the world people to whom the authority of a certificate given and signed by men in offices seems a manifest demonstration of reality of the absurdest stories, I will (before I demonstrate how little we ought to build on the formalities of justice in matters which only regard philosophy) for a while admit that a number of persons do really die of a distemper called Vampirism.

I first lay down this principal, that it actually may be, that there are certain dead bodies which, tho' they have been several days inhumed, put forth, from their several conduits, a quantity of fluid blood. I farther allow, that it is early enough for certain people to imagine that they are sucked by Vampires, and also that the fear, wherewith this fancy inspires them, causes in them a revolution sufficiently violent to deprive them even of life itself.

Being all day taken up with the dread of these imaginary strollers from the grave, is it any extraordinary thing that, in their sleep, the ideas of these phantoms should present themselves to their imagination, and cause in them a terror so violent, as to kill some instantly, and some others in a short time after? How many have been known to die on the spot with a sudden fright? And has not excess of joy frequently produced effects equally fatal?

In examining this recital of the death of these pretended martyrs of Vampirism, I discover all the symptoms of a mere epidemical fanaticism, and very plainly perceive, that the impression which fear makes on them is the sole cause of their loss. They report among others, (say they) that one Stanoska, ect.

Whoever has the least notion of philosophy, this sole passage is sufficient to convince him, that Vampirism is nothing but pure imagination. Here is a girl, waking in a fright, who says that such a one buried nine weeks before was about to strangle her, yet was not sucked, because her cries prevented the Vampire from taking his repast. 

Nor was she, according to appearance, ever so served afterwards, since doubtless she was not left alone during any part of the other nights she survived, or at least had the Vampire attempted it, on any such occasion, her crying out again would have alarmed those within call, already apprised of his former visit.

However, on the third day from her fright, she dies; and her dispiritedness, her melancholy and her languishment, most evidently denote how deeply her imagination was wounded.

They who have lived in towns afflicted with the pestilence, know by experience how frequently people have lost their lives purely thro' fear. When a person is seized with the least ailing, he immediately fancies himself stricken with the epidemical disease, and that causes in him such a revolution, that it is in a manner impossible for him to surmount the disorder.

At Paris, a friend of mine assured me, that, being at Marseilles when the plaque raged there, he saw a gentlewoman actually die of the fear she conceived at a slight indisposition of her maid's, which she thought to be the pestilence.

This woman's daughter was also at death's door, on the same account. Two other persons, living in the same house, took likewise to their beds, sent for a physician, and affirmed to him, that they were seized by the plaque. He presently made a visitation of the maid, and all the other patients, and found that not one of them had the least tincture of contagion, and thereupon strove to calm their minds, ordering them to get up and live just as they used to do before; but all his care had no effect upon the Mistress of the house, who died in two days after having frightened herself.

Now consider, in the other passage, touching the death of a passive Vampire, wherein are most evident proofs of the terrible effects of dread and prepossession - on the third night after his burial, he appeared to his son, ect. - Who can be so blind as not to perceive in those words, the most evident marks of fear and prejudice? The first time the imagination of this pretended martyr of Vampirism was attacked, the attack wrought not it's whole effect, but only disposed his mind to be more susceptible of a stronger shock.

Accordingly that did not fail to happen, or to produce the very effect which might therefrom be naturally expected. Take notice that the walking corpse did not return that night which succeeded the day whereon the son had related the vision, or dream, to his neighbours, because, very seemingly, they watched with him, and kept him from giving way to his fear.

I come next to those dead bodies found full of fluid blood, with their hair, beards and nails growing. We may, I believe, abate at least a third of these prodigies, and yet it will be a compliance to abate only so small a portion.

All men of any discernment know how greatly common report, and even several historians, do stretch and enlarge things which seem ever so little supernatural, however, it is no impossibility to explain the causes thereof physically.

Experience teaches us, that there are certain earths proper to receive human bodies in their whole freshness. The reasons thereof have often enough been explained, without my being at the needless trouble of making recitals. At Toulouse, in a church, is a vault, wherein bodies remain so perfectly entire, that there are some of more than two centuries standing which feel actually alive.

They are ranged upright along the wall, and dressed in their usual apparel. But what is the most peculiar, is, that the bodies which are placed on the contrary side of this vault, do, in two or three days, become full of worms.

As to the growth of hair and nails, the very same is observed frequently in dead bodies. While a carcase has any quantity of moisture remaining in it, there can be nothing surprising in the case, if we see, for some time, a visible augmentation in such parts as require not vital spirits.

The fluid blood, flowing thro' the natural conduits, do indeed seem to advance a greater difficulty; yet we may be able to produce some physical reasons for such flowings. It may very well happen, that the heat of the sun, affording a strong degree of warmth to the nitrous and sulphurous parts of the earth, which is proper to keep fleshy bodies from consuming, these parts, being incorporated with the newly interred bodies, occasion their fermenting; and so, uncoagulating and unfixing the curdled or clotted blood, render it liquid, enabling it to distil gradually thro' the canals.

This is the more probable, as it is confirmed by a known experiment. If we boil in a vessel of glass, or earth, one portion of chyle, or of milk, mixed with two portions of oil of tartar, made by decantation, the liquor, from white as it was, will become red; because the salt of the tartar will have entirely rarified and dissolved the most oily part of the milk, and have converted it into a sort of blood.

That which is formed in the corporeal vessel is somewhat redder, but not at all thicker. It is not therefore impossible, that heat causes fermentation which produces near a like effect with this experiment; and this will be found the more feasible when we consider, that the juices of the flesh and of bones bear a great resemblance with chyle, and that fat and marrow are the most oily parts of the chyle.

Now all these parts, being in a ferment, must, by the rules of experience, be changed into a sort of blood; so, besides that which is uncoagulated and unfixed, the pretended Vampires will also void that which is formed from the melting of the fat and marrow.

This is what may be advanced by such as are disposed not absolutely to give the lie to those formal certificates which are given concerning false prodigies. Indeed, it would be more than absurd to imagine that there can be in them any tincture of reality.

For, the bodies of these imaginary Vampires either do quit their graves to come and suck people, or they do not. If they do suck, they ought to be visible. Now they are not seen; for, whenever the complainants call out for assistance, they who run in at the out cry never see any such matter. They therefore do not come abroad.

If the bodies come not out, it must then be the soul, and spirit. Now, can the soul, or spirit, composed of so subtle a matter, can it, I say, gather up and contain, as in a vessel, a quantity of such a liquid as blood is, and convey it into the body?

Really this spirit is sent on a very pleasant errand. But it would make me blush to employ any more time or pains about proving the impossibility of Vampirism.

Grace Darling And The Forfarshire Wreck.

 

Grace Horsley Darling

Grace.

Grace Horsley Darling was born on the 24th November 1815 to her parents William and Thomasin Darling, she was the seventh child out of nine. She was born in her grandfather's cottage at 3, Radcliffe Road, Bamburgh.

Horsley Cottage, 3 Radcliffe Road, Bamburgh

Lighthouse keeping was, as is now, a very important calling. The Darlings were first put in charge of Brownsman Island lighthouse, then Trinity House, before finally Longstone Lighthouse on Outer Farne, which was a much better proposition for a family with its superior accommodation.

It was from this lighthouse that Grace would find her place in history, the year was 1838.....

The Forfarshire.

The Forfarshire was a 400 ton steamship that was on course from Hull to Dundee, she set off at 6.20pm on the 5th September 1838. At about 4am the boiler became "leaky", after a partial repair the ship carried on, at St. Abbs Head (between Berwick and the Firth Of Forth) the boilers became useless. The order was given to set the sails fore and aft to keep the vessel from the mainland, the ship was at the mercy of the elements, a heavy gale coming in from the north made the vessel unmanageable.

One can only imagine the fear of those on board as the ship was now obviously out of control, with a very heavy sea throwing the pitching vessel ever southward, those in the know would have been well aware of the only obstacle, apart from the mainland, was the Farne Islands off the coast of Northumberland.

SS Forfarshire

Alas, the night was black as pitch, and with rain and a thick fog even Captain John Humble was quite unsure of how close they were to the dangerous rocks, it wasn't until the stewards saw the breakers hit the rocks with their own eyes that an alert was shouted to the passengers, but it was too late. 

Some of the crew, taking the larboard quarter boat, abandoned ship immediately with one passenger leaping in at the last moment, this left the Captain to stand by his ship and manage the situation to the best of his ability. The crew drifted south in their boat, and were later picked up by the Montrose sloop and taken to South Shields.

Tragedy At Sea.

The ship was drifting and not answering to her helm. At 3 am she struck Outer Farne Island. As the Captain struggled to control the doomed vessel a huge wave carried him and most of the passengers into the sea. 

The Times; "Perhaps the most heart rending circumstance connected with the subject is, after the fatal occurrence, a female was seen clinging with two children to the fore part of the vessel until stern necessity compelled her to let go the children in order to save her own life." She was later found to be alive but very weak, she was brought ashore and was the only female to survive.

After the Forfarshire had hit the rocks she split in two, that second wave drowned 38 of those left on board, part of the vessel was washed up at Beadnell Quay, a little way to the south. 

As The Times stated; "We regret to to state that the true particulars have realised our worst fears, about 38 individuals having met a watery grave; many of them were in bed at the time the vessel struck, and only rose to meet the cold embrace of death, as they sank beneath the angry and foaming waves."

The Times ran an account of the crew taking the ship's boat, this was from the passenger, a "young man from Dundee" who was travelling back north and relaying his story to the driver;

"He stated that he was in bed, with merely his trousers on, in which was his money, when the alarm was given, and on rushing to the deck he saw the crew, eight in number, in the boat, four or five yards off, leaving the vessel. With a desperate effort, which only the peculiar situation in which he was placed could have made effective, he made a bound which placed him in the middle of the crew.. One instant to have awakened an uncle who lay asleep could not be spared of his own doom would have been sealed."

The Rescue.

The Times - Wednesday, 19th September, 1838;

John Wilson Carmichael (1799–1868)

"Connected with this, the most calamitous case of shipwreck....is an instance of heroism and intrepidity on the part of a female unequalled perhaps, certainly not surpassed, by any on record.

I allude to the heroic conduct of Miss Grace Horsley Darling, who, together with her father, Mr William Darling, are the sole occupants of the Outer Farne Lighthouse, which is situated in the immediate vicinity of the scene of the accident, and completely surrounded by the sea.

The cries of the sufferers on the remaining part of the wreck were heard during the night by this female, who immediately awakened her father. At that time, however, the darkness of the night was such as to preclude all possibility of their rendering any assistance to the individuals in distress."

As day broke movement could be seen on the wreck, the Darlings launched their small boat despite the awful weather, and made their way across to the survivors. They expertly navigated their craft over the stormy sea to where some people were clinging to the rocks, the most dangerous time was now at hand, how to get to the rock and not be dashed to pieces.

With a combination of skill and sheer luck the boat was safely brought alongside the rock where five crewmen and four passengers were trapped, loading them on board the Darlings then made for the lighthouse. It was a perilous journey, the bravery of Grace and her father was extraordinary.

When they got safely back to the lighthouse it took three days for the survivors to gain the mainland, all that time they were looked after by Grace and her father, who administered to their every needs.

The Times - Wednesday, 19th September, 1838;

"In order to arrive at anything like a correct idea of the danger of the undertaking, and of the fortitude and disinterestedness of the individuals who encountered and overcame it, at the imminent risk of their own lives, let the reader reflect for a little time on the attendant circumstances.

On every hand danger presented itself in a thousand forms. The ocean, lashed by the tempest into the most tumultuous commotion, presented a barrier which would have seemed to all but those two intrepid persons wholly insurmountable by human energy.

Again, on the other hand, there was no hope or reward - no encouraging plaudit, to stimulate to brave exertions, or to awaken emulation. Nothing but the pure and ardent wish to save the sufferers from impending destruction could have induced those two individuals to enter so perilous an expedition, fraught as it was with the imminent hazard of their own lives.

Surely, imagination in it's loftiest creations never invested the female character with such a degree of fortitude as has been evidenced by Miss Grace Horsley Darling on this occasion. Is there in the whole field of history, or in fiction, one instance of female heroism to compare for one moment with this."

Melodrama worthy of the stage, from the pen of M. S. of Morpeth!

A Victorian Heroine

Grace, the rather shy young woman of 22 years was now a celebrity, the Glasgow Humane Society presented her with a gold medal, which was inscribed "Presented by the directors of the Glasgow Humane Society to Miss Grace Horsley Darling, in admiration of her dauntless and heroic conduct in saving (along with her father) the lives of nine persons from the wreck of the Forfarshire steamer, Sept. 6, 1838."

Her reply to the Society was printed in The Times - 20th October 1838;

"Sir, I own the receipt of yours of the 29th ult., which has been delivered to me by R. Smeddle, Esq., of Bamburgh Castle, and in reply most respectfully beg leave to thank you as President, also the committee and the members individually, for the kind present which they have thought proper to confer upon me.

Be assured that I lament most sincerely the awful loss of human life caused by the wreck of the Forfarshire. It affords me great pleasure to think my humble endeavours, assisted by Divine Providence, have been instrumental in saving the lives of nine persons; but ah! how much my heart yearns within me to think how many valuable lives have been lost to their mourning friends, and to society at large, on this most melancholy occasion.

I sincerely thank you on behalf of my dear father, and beg leave most respectfully to say that the medal which your noble institution has been please to confer upon me shall be considered a valuable relic so long as it shall please Almighty God to spare me in this world.

I have the honour to remain , Sir, your very humble servant,

Grace Horsley Darling."

By November 1838 a "Grace Darling Fund" had also been set up to "reward that intrepid female.....who succeeded in rescuing nine lives from the wreck of the Forfarshire under circumstances of unparalleled difficulty.....the list of subscribers will be published in the Shipping and Mercantile Gazette."

The fund raised £700 (approx £80,000 today), £50 of that came from Queen Victoria. Money, portrait artists, marriage proposals, and tourists flocked in, so overwhelming was all the attention that the Duke of Northumberland took the role of a self appointed guardian. The Darling family were guests of Hugh Percy the 3rd Duke of Northumberland at his ancestral seat at Alnwick Castle, the people of Alnwick flocked to see them. The Duke's present to the family was a clock and a silver teapot.

Latching onto the whole melodramatic scene The Adelphi Theatre was quick off the mark,

The Times - 4th December 1838;

"Last night , the Wreck At Sea, a dramatic representation of the courageous conduct of Grace Darling, was brought out, with all the appliances and apparatus of scenic effect. Rarely have the walls of a playhouse resounded to more mimic thunder, hail, rain, wind, and elemental uproar, than did the walls and roof of the Adelphi on this occasion.

There was enough of each to satisfy the veriest cormorant that ever glutted on the scenic horrors of a modern melodrama. The last scene was excellently managed; the whole stage was made to represent the sea; the waves raged furiously; it seemed as if the pit would have been deluged in the briny conflict of wind and water.

A huge steamer was seen struggling in the storm, and in a crazy boat were beheld Grace and her father, buffeting the billows, and saving the crew of the sinking wreck. There was not much plot or tale in this drama; but there was some good acting on the parts of Mrs Yates and Mrs Keeley, and Messers Cullenford, Lyon ,and Wilkinson.

It was well put upon the stage, and it secured a very favourable reception from an overflowing audience. At half price there was a rush to get a peep at Nicholas Nickleby, but Grace Darling had so filled every berth, that there was nothing but standing room for the friends of 'Dotheboys Hall.'"

If the theatre was full you could always head off to the concert hall and listen to the new ballad by George Linley called "Grace Darling," or listen to The Grace Darling Quadrilles playing selections from Beethoven, John Davey and Johann Strauss!

Back in Northumberland the ever popular boat trip to the Farnes started, in 1838 it was a trip out to the lighthouse to see where it all happened, these days the puffins and seals steal the limelight.

Grace Horsley Darling died in 1842 tragically young, she was only 26, a victim of tuberculosis. She had been staying in Wooler, but was taken to the place of her birth in Bamburgh to die. She is buried in St. Aidan's Churchyard.

She was given a headstone (which has since been replaced due to weathering), an effigy of her lying with an ore (which has been taken inside the church due to weathering), and a stained glass window, a fitting tribute to a brave lady.