Best wishes, David Higham
David attached this remarkable post script:
I have spoken to the Land-owner and I have permission to take photographs in the field when FMD restrictions are lifted which will show it more clearly. Interestingly, although rather eerily, she told me that her terrier always behaves most strangely when they approach an ash tree right next to where I think the incident took place.
I thought his addressing me as Margaret Sheelagh was a nice touch.
Victorian Times — The Machinery of Justice
Mrs. Gardner arrived by train from Cumbria. She was not yet fully recovered from her illness, but felt compelled to make the journey in fear for her daughters’ lives. She resolved to be a help around the house for John with the meals and the children. Her children had already caused him enough trouble to last a lifetime.
Compelled by necessity, John went to Clitheroe to find a lawyer for his wife and her sister. There was a firm his family had dealt with for minor disputes in the past, and it was there he headed, accompanied by his brother-in-law Tom for moral support.
“Thank goodness for family,” he mused. “I can barely think straight at present, and I surely need help to explain our situation.” Tom’s quiet presence in the intimidating chambers in which they found themselves was a great help, and John was able quickly to secure the services of an advocate to appear with the sisters at the Magistrate’s Hearing scheduled for the next week in Bolton-by-Bowland.
John’s next job was to go visit Grace and Isabella in gaol and tell them what he had arranged. He had not yet been able to speak to Grace without crying, and he was irritated by Isabella’s cool manner. He wanted to hug Grace and shake Isabella, both at the same time.
John tried not to spend their precious few minutes together recriminating Grace for failing to tell him about Thomas. It was clear from her floods of tears that she had been afraid and was full of regret for her failure to tell him all.
The truth was that it had upset him to realize that Thomas had been Grace’s own child all along, although he had begun to suspect something of the sort during the lengthy visit. It wasn’t that Tom had looked for mothering to Grace, or that she had sought him out, it was more that Isabella’s story about being hired to care for the child just didn’t ring true. He knew that Isabella was well regarded as a domestic servant, but he doubted that many people would consider her apt for childcare or that she would normally be willing to accept such a task. There had to be some special circumstance involved.
John had spent long hours pondering the morals of his new wife, even before he knew of this other child, and he had decided that she was more unlucky than she was corrupt. He simply couldn’t think of her as a loose woman. Now, after demanding that she make a clean breast of it, he had concluded that in the first instance she had been young and trusting, and in the second she had been grievously treated. How he yearned to bash his solid mason’s fists into the faces of those two men.
Grace had sworn to him there had been no others, and he believed her, at least for the present.
MAGISTERIAL PROCEEDINGS
PRISONERS BEFORE THE MAGISTRATES
Wednesday May 27th, 1885.
The prisoners, Grace Isherwood and Isabella Gardiner, were brought up before the magistrates at the Bolton-by-Bowland Police Court, yesterday.
The Old Courthouse, Bolton-by-Bowland.
Photo by Brian Dugdale
Considerable interest was manifested in the proceedings, and the space in Court allotted to the public was fully occupied. The prisoners when brought into Court exhibited signs of great distress and when walking had to be supported by police officers. Gardiner was quite overcome, and sank to the floor. She was raised by two officers and placed on a form, and immediately supplied with a glass of water. At the request of the Bench prisoners were accommodated with chairs, and they sat together in front of the prisoners’ dock, which screened them from the gaze of the public. Gardiner seemed to realise her position far more than she did at the inquest. The husband of the prisoner Isherwood and the mother of both prisoners occupied seats in Court, and were visibly affected. During the proceedings prisoners scarcely looked up, their eyes being concentrated on the floor, and each held a handkerchief, which almost concealed their features. The case
Thomas Lister, Lord Ribblesdale, master of the queen’s buckhounds.
Portrait by John Singer Sargent, 1902.
for the police was conducted by Supt. Inman. He first called John Bargh, farmer, Field Head, Slaidburn, who repeated the evidence he gave at the inquest on Tuesday as to the finding of the body of the child in a brook about a mile and a half from Slaidburn, on Sunday evening, and as to seeing two women at nine o’clock the night previous near to the place where the body was found. Margt. Isherwood, a little girl, and stepdaughter of Isherwood, also recapitulated her evidence as to the identification of the child and its clothing. On being asked if she had any questions to ask her step-daughter, Mrs. Isherwood looked up and replied in the negative, and added that what the girl had stated was true. Supt. Inman then informed the Bench that he did not propose to call any more witnesses that day. The full particulars of the case would have to be reported to the Public Prosecutor to see what course he would pursue. He therefore applied for a remand until Thursday next the magistrates then remanded the prisoners. They gave them the choice of either being sent to Armley or Preston gaol, and they accepted the latter. Yesterday afternoon prisoners were conveyed to Clitheroe in a conveyance and thence to Preston by the 3.15 train.
THE SUSPECTED MURDER AT SLAIDBURN.
MAGISTERIAL PROCEEDINGS
Saturday May 30th, 1885.
The hearing of the case against Grace Isherwood, 26, wife of John Isherwood, farmer, Meanley Farm, Newton, and Isabella Gardiner, 18, domestic servant, Dalton-in-Furness, for causing the death of Thomas Gardiner, aged two years, was resumed on Thursday at the Bolton-by-Bowland police court. The court was crowded, and many were unable to obtain admission. The magistrates on the Bench were Mr. John Howarth (chairman), Lord Ribblesdale, Major Trappes, Mr. C. J. B. Trappes, and Mr. C. B. E. Wright. Prisoners were conveyed from Preston Gaol to Gisburn by train, and thence to Bolton-by-Bowland in a trap early on Thursday morning. When brought into Court, Isherwood had again to be supported while walking, and both were accommodated with chairs. Neither exhibited the same despondency as they did at the previous hearing, and they seemed to be more cheerful, the prisoner Gardiner being observed to smile on several occasions. The husband of the prisoner Isherwood, and the mother of the prisoners were in court, the latter of whom was much affected. The prisoners were defended by Mr. Baldwin, of Clitheroe, and Mr. Superintendent Inman conducted the case for the police.
The evidence given at the previous sitting by John Bargh, farmer, Field Head, Slaidburn, was read. Bargh found the body on the 17th inst. in Easington Brook, near to Langcliffe Cross Bridge, Slaidburn, in a pool of water about a foot deep. He went for the Slaidburn police constable, and returned with him to the brook, and the child was found to be dead. He stated that about 9 p.m. on the previous evening he had been walking by Langcliffe Cross road, and saw two women with a child walking a little in front of them. He afterward met the same women, but could not tell how they were dressed or who they were. They appeared to be about the same height. In reply to Mr. Baldwin, witness said: The brook flows westward, and runs into the Hodder. The place where the child was found was immediately below the bridge, about a mile from Whiteholme, Slaidburn. The child was on the Slaidburn side of the brook, and the nearest way to the place was over the wall, which was 5ft. high.
The evidence of Margaret Isherwood, aged 9 years, step-daughter of the prisoner Isherwood, was next read. She identified the deceased as Thomas Dockrah, who had been living at Isherwood’s house for a week. The child was taken to the house by the prisoner Gardiner, and went away with the prisoners on Saturday week. Her mother said they were going to Clitheroe. She identified the clothes as those w
orn by the child. By Mr. Baldwin: I remember prisoners coming back from Clitheroe on Saturday week at night. I did not speak to the boy Dockrah. Gardiner was carrying him, and he was wrapped up in a shawl. I could not see his face, as he was turned to Gardiner’s breast. He did not speak. Gardiner walked away with the child, which I did not see again. The same morning my father (John Isherwood) took the conveyance out of the yard, and the boy Dockrah was in the trap with him. My mother, Aunt Isabella, and the baby went across the field to Chapel Croft farm. My father came back directly. My mother, Gardiner, Dockrah, and the baby had gone to Clitheroe in the conveyance. When my father took the conveyance out of the yard, Dockrah was laid down on some rushes in the bottom of the carriage with a rug over him. By Lord Ribblesdale: I had breakfast with Dockrah that morning.
Mrs. Lofthouse, wife of Young Lofthouse, master of the Clitheroe Union Workhouse, repeated her evidence as to the attempt of Mrs. Isherwood to get deceased admitted into the Workhouse. Cross-examined by Mr. Baldwin, she said that Isherwood appeared to be taking every care of the child, as any mother would do. The prisoners went to the front entrance of the Workhouse and were visible to anybody about.
Edwd. Hanson, earthenware dealer, 22. Shaw Bridge, Clitheroe, stated: On Saturday, May 16th, the prisoners came to my house between 12 and one o’clock, and stayed about an hour. They had two children with them. They came about three o’clock up to my stable, and Mrs. Isherwood wished me to put the horse in the trap. They had the little boy with them, but had left the baby at our house until the horse was put in. Whilst I was putting the horse in Mrs. Isherwood said “The little boy’s mother should have come by train but she had missed.” She then got into the trap and arranged the seat and rugs, and then got out again. Isabella Gardiner then got in and sat down, and I lifted the little boy in. She placed him in the bottom of the trap.
Cross-examined: They had dinner at our house between 12 and one o’clock. The boy also had some dinner. They appeared to take every care of both children. They went away to do some shopping, and came back about three o’clock. After I had lifted the child into the trap Mrs. Isherwood took hold of the horse’s head and went in the direction of our house, where they had left the baby. I did not see them start for home.
Walter Embley, shopman at the Co-operative Store, Lowergate, Clitheroe, said: On Saturday, the 16th inst., a little before twelve o’clock, I saw the two prisoners at the shop door, in a trap. They had two children with them, and after I came back from dinner, at one o’clock, they were in the shop. The children appeared to be about nine months and two and a half years of age respectively. I cannot swear to anything the children wore. They left the shop about 1:15 p.m. I saw them again about 3:30 p.m., when they came in the trap to the door for the groceries they had bought. I put the basket in the trap, and they drove off toward home. I saw the two children in the trap. Gardiner was holding the baby, and the little boy was sat in the bottom.
P.C. Sutcliffe recapitulated the evidence he gave at the inquest as to the finding of the child, and also to the statement made to him by Gardiner respecting the child belonging to Dockrah. In answer to Mr. Baldwin, he said anyone passing along the field where the child was found would have to be within a few yards before they could see the child as it lay in the water. He did not think it had been placed there dead, but thought the child had struggled in the water, from the position of the foot between the stones and the hands being partly clenched. When he was at Meanley Farm, Gardiner asked him what had become of the child, and he told her it had been found drowned. She said they had just been talking it over, and wondering what sort of breakfast the child had had that morning. She also said her sister, Mrs. Isherwood, was uneasy about it. He did not charge them with anything, but asked them to come with him and see if it was the child they had had. Mrs. Isherwood did not seem fit to go, but her husband said he would go; he would know whether the child was Thomas Dockrah — the child which had been at his house.
Jane Hayhurst, of Slaidburn, who laid out the child, and found no marks of violence on the body, repeated her evidence.
Dr. Bridgman again gave his evidence. He had made a post-mortem examination of the body, and found that death had been caused by asphyxia arising from immersion, the probabilities pointing to drowning. He did not use any test for poisoning. Cross-examined: Asphyxia might be caused by smothering, suffocation, or anything preventing the free admission of air into the lungs. It was quite possible for young children to be smothered accidentally when asleep by their clothing. But he knew of no disease, nor any other cause but drowning, that would cause the distension of the lungs to such an extent as to completely overlap the heart, as in this case.
John Walmsley, labourer, Waddington, stated that on Saturday night, the 16th inst., he was going from Waddington to Slaidburn. About half-past ten, as he was going on the carriage drive by Dunnow, near Slaidburn, he met John Isherwood and two women near to Dunnow Bridge. They were going in the direction of Meanley Farm. He did not know the women, but one was rather taller than the other. He did not see any child with them.
Jane Gordon, widow, Dalton-in-Furness, repeated her evidence identifying the child as one which she had nursed for the prisoner Isherwood; also identifying the clothing worn by the deceased.
Supt. Inman, after the repetition of his evidence, was cross-examined by Mr. Baldwin. He said he did not caution Gardiner before she made the statement at Meanley Farm. Supt. Inman was proceeding to put in a number of letters written by the prisoner Isherwood to the witness Gordon in reference to the nursing of the child, when Mr. Baldwin objected, and said they would first have to prove that the letters were in Isherwood’s handwriting before the letters could be put in as evidence.
Inspector Prosser having given evidence as to the app-rehension of the prisoners, the case for the prosecution closed.
Mr. Baldwin said he had no doubt the magistrates would send the case to a superior Court and he would reserve his defence.
Prisoners were then charged and they made no reply. They were then committed for trial to the Leeds Assizes which are fixed to be held in July. The hearing of the case occupied four hours.
Signs of Great Distress
On the day of the inquest, Grace was described by the Preston Guardian report as “in a delicate condition, seeming to feel her position acutely, and had to be supported by an officer when walking from the Slaidburn Police Station to the room in which the inquiry is held.”
Isabella, on the other hand, “wore a look of quiet unconcern, as she walked by her sister’s side accompanied by two police officers.”
When John Isherwood arrived and was seated “both he and the prisoners burst into tears.”
So much information in so few words. We learn that Grace was pregnant, and that she is overwhelmed by the dreadful circumstance in which she finds herself. We learn that Isabella, like many a teenager, may not yet have fully realized how perilous a position she and her sister were in and how unhappily things might all turn out.
Stalwart John — in that flood of tears we are reminded that he is faced with the prospect that the woman he loves will be tried for murder. An almost unimaginable plight.
That was Wednesday, May 20th.
The report of the first day of the magisterial proceedings on May 27th paints a picture of the sisters, their mother, and John all stunned by anxiety and distress. The sisters had been in gaol for over a week, and the gravity of their situation had almost certainly come home to Isabella. The entire family seems to be in the grip of an almost paralyzing fear.
In fact, the brief report of Margaret’s testimony seems laden with subtext about the relationship between the nine-year-old girl and Grace, the woman she had only recently learned to call “mother”:
Margt. Isherwood, a little girl, and stepdaughter of Isherwood, also recapitulated her evidence as to her identification of the child and its clothing. On being asked if she had any questions to ask her step daughter, Mrs. Isherwood looked up and replied in the negat
ive, and added that what the girl had stated was true.
Margaret Isherwood, a mere child, compelled to repeat a set of facts about a night that was clearly so fateful, and then required to stand there as her dejected stepmother was asked if she had any questions for Maggie. To Grace’s credit, from her miserable position she supported her stepdaughter as best she could, underscoring, even if it might somehow be damaging to herself, that what Maggie had testified was the truth.
Between the beginning of the Magisterial hearing on Wednesday, May 27, 1885, and its continuation on the following Saturday, John seems to have engaged a lawyer to defend the sisters, and it appears that they now better understood the legal process that they were caught up in, and how things were likely to proceed. That in itself must have been reassuring for the two women. For Mrs. Gardner, the continuing prospect of two of her three daughters being hanged for murder left her as disconsolate as ever.
The witnesses called on Saturday painted a picture of two women going about their errands in Clitheroe while taking “every care” of the two children with them, including having dinner at Edward Hanson’s home between noon and one o’clock. Surprisingly, not a lot was made of the fact that after feeding Thomas a nourishing dinner, they had then tried to commit him to the care of the Clitheroe Union Workhouse.
Dr. Bridgeman’s testimony seems likely to have been the greatest cause for concern on the part of the defence, with his assertion that “he knew of no disease, nor any other cause but drowning, that would cause the distension of the lungs so as to completely overlap the heart, as in this case.”
The Slaidburn Angel Page 8