Margaret Drinkall - 19th Century Barnsley Murders

First published in Great Britain in 2015 by
Pen & Sword True Crime
an imprint of
Pen & Sword Books Ltd
47 Church Street
Barnsley
South Yorkshire
S70 2AS

Copyright Margaret Drinkall 2015

ISBN: 978 1 47382 735 6
EPUB ISBN: 978 1 47383 015 8
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The right of Margaret Drinkall to be identified as the Author
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Contents

Acknowledgements

W riting a book is always teamwork and I would like to thank Roni Wilkinson from Pen and Sword Books for his encouragement. I would also like to thank Matt Jones for his help with the production of the book, Linne Matthews for her skilful editing, and Mat Blurton for the book design. I have also had occasion to pick the brains of retired Detective Constable Philip Howling, who has been unfailing in offering advice about police and legal matters, for which I am truly grateful. I would also like to thank the staff of the Barnsley Archives and Local Studies department for permission to print several old photographs from their collection.

Last, but never least, my son Chris, whose expert knowledge of IT systems and photography I would be lost without.

Introduction

T he town of Barnsley has great historical significance. It was first mentioned in the Domesday Book, where it was referred to as Berneslai. Barnsley originally developed as a centre for linen weaving, a trade that attracted many artisans to the town. The downside to industrial growth and rapid urbanization resulted in the development of slums, which spread as more and more people flooded in. Where there are slums it is almost inevitable that crime will flourish. But the boom was not to last and soon the cotton districts of Yorkshire overtook the linen trade, leaving behind chronic unemployment and terrible living conditions. Modern-day Barnsley still shows signs of having lost the glory it enjoyed in the nineteenth century, when it was recognized as an important manufacturing town.

Thankfully, coal mining was another staple industry for the area, and the rich Barnsley seam provided work for many. This was one of the most important coal seams in the country during the nineteenth century, which produced 50 per cent of the whole output for South Yorkshire. With the introduction of canals such as the Dearne and Dove to transport the coal, miners came to the area seeking work. With the mining of a rich seam of coal, accidents were bound to happen. On 19 February 1857, it was reported that 189 men and boys were buried alive at Lundhill Colliery following a heavy underground explosion. Sadly, only 185 bodies were recovered. On 12 December 1866, several explosions caused by the ignition of flammable gases resulted in 360 miners and rescuers being killed at the Oaks Colliery at Stairfoot, Barnsley. With accidents like these, and the influence of Chartism and the spread of other working-class movements, it was not surprising that Barnsley became a centre for Radicalism. Such a history made it inevitable that socially concerned writers such as George Orwell would draw inspiration from the town, as is evidenced in his The Road to Wigan Pier. In 1887 Barnsley established its own football club, which is still known throughout the land by its nickname of the Tykes.

Thankfully today, Barnsley is a peaceful, quiet town. Situated between Sheffield, Leeds and Doncaster, and bordering on the Peak District, it is popular with tourists who flock to such sites as Cannon Hall, Wentworth Castle Gardens and the ruins of Monk Bretton Priory. The weekly market, which was established in 1849, is reputed to be one of the best in South Yorkshire.

But Barnsley is also the place where many murders have been committed

CHAPTER ONE

Bodysnatching in Barnsley

I n the year of 1829 it seems that the whole world was in a state of alarm as the deeds of the Scottish resurrectionists Burke and Hare were being reported in the newspapers. Their crimes in Edinburgh were so notorious that they affected people throughout the rest of the country who had recently buried a relative. People were appalled by stories of newly buried bodies being dug up and sold to dissectors. Methods were put in place to prevent such a thing happening, such as keeping watch over a recently interred body until putrefaction had set in, rendering the corpse useless to medical schools. Others surrounded the graves with wrought iron railings, some of which can still be seen in our churchyards today. The crime of bodysnatching was thought to be so heinous that those people even suspected of being resurrectionists were hated and were likely to be subjected to mob violence. So when it was reported that a case of bodysnatching had been uncovered in Barnsley that same year, there was a complete state of panic around the town.

The crime only came to light due to the vigilant nature of a Barnsley police constable named John Gamble, who noted a strange man and woman walking about the town. His suspicions were aroused because the couple appeared to be without any employment or purpose. A few days later, on Tuesday, 3 February 1829, PC Gamble was still keeping a watchful eye when he saw the man leaving a box at the Courier coach office. When he enquired about it with one of the officials, the box was brought to him and he saw that it was addressed to Mary Jones, No. 1 Princes Street, Edinburgh. The writing was almost illegible and Gamble asked the coach office official to contact the man to ask him to write out the label more legibly. A watch was kept on the office and later that day the constable saw the same man remove the box. He then followed him back to a lodging house belonging to Samuel Howarth. PC Gamble went into the house and enquired about the name of the lodger concerned, to be told that his name was William Yeardley. When Yeardley was summoned, Gamble demanded that he open the box. At first the man refused. Yeardley saw that Gamble was determined, and suspecting the hostile reaction of the townspeople if the contents had been revealed, he implored of the constable, Do not open it here. When Gamble questioned him on the contents, he replied, It contains what you suspect to find. Gamble arrested the man, along with an unnamed woman who lived at the lodgings and was posing as his wife, and who was suspected of being an accomplice. (Women were known to play an important part in bodysnatching; they were often seen following a funeral and making note of whereabouts in the churchyard the grave had been dug.) The property was searched and what were called the usual tools carried by resurrectionists were found. It was reported that these consisted of a large shovel with a small handle, hooks, screwdrivers and other tools of this unhallowed crime.