A Barbarous Sea Captain

A shocking case of cruelty on a vessel sailing from Barbados to Liverpool led to the captain of the ship being hanged in public at Kirkdale.

The Martha and Jane was a Sunderland registered vessel that sailed from Hartlepool to Calcutta in 1856, then on to Demerara and Barbados, where she underwent repair and a change of crew. On 29^th April 1857 an able seaman named Andrew Rose joined the crew but ran away after being beaten by the second mate, Charles Seymour, who found fault with his work. Rose remained at large for a few days but was captured by police and returned to the ship and put in irons.

On 11^th May the ship sailed for Liverpool and Rose was briefly freed, but he was suffering from diarrhoea and frequently beaten with a rope and whip by Seymour, Rogers and the chief mate William Miles for dirtying the decks. One Sunday morning, Rose was on deck singing a hymn and Rogers forced an iron bolt into his mouth, then Seymour and Miles secured it with a rope tied behind his head, leaving Rose like that for an hour and a half.

As the days went on the sadism increased with Rogers whipping Rose then setting a dog on him to bite the wounds, which covered his whole body as his clothes had been thrown overboard due to being soiled. Most of the time he remained in chains but on one occasion asked to go to the bows to relieve himself, a request which was refused. After doing what he had to do on deck, Rose was beaten by the two mates and then held down, while Rogers got a wooden stick and shoved the excrement up his nose and into his mouth shouting ‘isn’t it nice.’

A few days later Rose was put in a water cask by Rogers and rolled up and down the deck, then cast over the side of the ship for twelve hours. As the poor man begged for some food or drink, Rogers told him he wished he would drown or hang himself. When Rose replied that he wished Rogers would do it for him, the captain put a rope around his neck and hoisted him above deck, leaving him dangling for two minutes. As he was cut down his skin was black, his eyes were protruding and foam was protruding from the mouth. Rogers mocked that another half a minute and Rose would have been dead.

Two or three days later on the morning of 5^th June, Rose crawled along the deck until he could move no more, then laid down and died. When fellow crew members found him an hour or two later his wounds were maggot infested and they were loathe to touch him. At the order of Rogers, his body was hauled by a rope along the deck and thrown overboard. On 9^th June the ship arrived in Liverpool, where Rogers, Seymour and Miles were arrested, the three of them claiming that they had only been reported as the crew wanted 10 shillings a day for attending court.

The trial took place on 20^th August, with witnesses telling the court that Rose had been beaten daily voyage, including twelve times on one day. They had never seen him neglect his duty or orders and he got on well with the rest of the crew. Even though his contract stipulated he would receive meat and tea, his daily meals consisted of just dry bread and water. Three doctors were called and stated that if the witnesses were truthful, then Rose’s death would have been directly caused or accelerated by his treatment. In defence, it was claimed that any sores on Rose’s body were as a result of sleeping in fields in Barbados, while the defence counsel tried to suggest that the Martha and Jane wasn’t a British ship, therefore it wasn’t subject to British laws. Rogers defence was that any punishment was to keep discipline and that it was illogical to disable an able seaman when the ship was already short on crew. Miles and Seymour’s defence was that they were simply following the captain’s orders.

The judge took two hours to sum up, pointing out that the three defendants were of enough intelligence to know that what they were doing could eventually have fatal consequences. After an hours deliberation the jury found all three guilty of murder and there were cheers from the public benches when a guilty verdict was returned, although there was a recommendation for mercy. Passing sentence, the judge described Rose’s treatment as barbarous and it was right that their lives should be ‘forfeited to the laws of this country.’ No emotion was shown by any of the men and as they were taken to the cells word reached those gathered outside what had happened, leading to more cheering.

There were hopes all three convicts may be reprieved but two days before the execution word came from the Home Office that although Seymour’s and Miles’s sentences would be commuted to life imprisonment, Rogers would still be hanged. The following day Rogers’s wife and three of his five children visited him in the condemned cell, where he visibly shook as he was bade goodbye. They were then taken in a cab to their hotel in Lord Nelson Street, while Seymour and Miles remained with Rogers at his request. He accepted his fate and was prepared for it, believing his prayers of repentance would be acknowledged by the Redeemer. He did not however, accept that his actions had been directly responsible for Rose’s death. His main concern was for his children and the stigma such a horrible fate as his would have on them. That Friday night prison philanthropist Mr Wright arrived to see another prisoner, having been under the impression all three were reprieved. On hearing he was mistaken, he agreed to stay overnight to comfort Rogers, who then slept far better than previously.

Crowds began to gather at 6am on 12^th September, the morning of the execution and the Liverpool Mercury reported that a black man was seen on Walton Road asking for directions to the gaol. The paper said that the crowd was much more of ‘sober appearance’ than previous, with many passing the time before noon reading newspapers. On the periphery though, ‘shoeless and stockingless urchins’ spent their time rolling in mood and fighting each other with caps, presenting an ‘incongruous scene’. It meant the 200 police on duty were not totally unoccupied especially as noon drew near, the paper reporting that ‘a great portion of the scum of society were to be seen in large masses’ travelling up Walton and Vauxhall Roads in he direction of the gaol. There were also a number of seamen present of varying ranks, expressing little sympathy for Rogers and showing only regret that his two mates had been reprieved.

The 40,000 strong crowd was swelled by spectators arriving on trains from Rochdale and Manchester, and omnibuses from Liverpool were full to capacity. One 70 year old had come from Bolton and told a reporter it was such a terrible case that he would gladly have made the rope himself and he had seen his first hanging at Ipswich in 1804. Despite the early hour many were drunk, one man who was ‘in an advanced stage of intoxication’ staggered and fell into a gutter, while another fell asleep under a hedge and missed what he had gone there for.

Rogers refused a final breakfast, preferring to just have some milk. He remained in the prison chapel most of the morning and just after noon he was taken to the scaffold, accompanied by the prison chaplain and Mr Wright. As the rope was placed around his neck he said ‘Lord receive my spirit, Lord save me’ before the bolt was drawn. Calcraft had calculated everything perfectly and there were convulsions for just a few seconds.  Sailors in the crowd were heard to say ‘serves him right’ and as there was a surge towards the scaffold, one man had his arm broken and was taken to the Northern Hospital. After an hour Calcraft re-appeared and cut down the body, which was buried that evening in the gaol grounds. The clothes were given to Mr Allsop of the Crystal Palace waxworks in Lime Street, where  a model of Rogers was being put on display the following Tuesday.

Early Victorian Stabbing in Vauxhall Road

A man who stabbed another to death in Vauxhall Road  escaped a murder conviction due to him being outnumbered during a fight.

On the night of Saturday 14th July 1838 three friends John Colburn, Thomas Halligan and Pat Maude, who together worked in a soapery in Canning Street, were drinking at Mr Lane's public house on the corner of Naylor Street and Vauxhall Road. At midnight the landlord refused to serve any more ale and the three men went outside to decide and began speaking together about where to go next.

Whilst there they got into an altercation with a 30 year old called James Highams, at one point all three surrounding him whilst he was on the floor. Moments later he was kicked into the road but he then came back, stabbed Halligan and ran away, soon being caught by Colburn. Halligan, a  was then taken to the Dispensary by Maude but died about two minutes after arriving.

Mr Whitty, the head constable, took Maude and Colburn to the Vauxhall Road Bridewell to where Highams had been taken. Colburn confirmed it was him who stabbed Halligan and at the inquest on the Monday morning a verdict of wilful murder was returned after 20 minutes consideration by the jury. Highams responded to this by saying he still had the marks on him from being knocked down two or three times.

At the Assizes on 16th August, the prosecutor went through the evidence and said that he would not be pressing the capital charge, but instead allow the jury to determine if the evidence merited a verdict of murder.

Whilst giving his evidence, Maude was admonished by the judge for admitting kicking Highams whilst Colburn had already restrained him. Maude said that he had done so as he had struck Halligan and at that point didn't know that he had been mortally wounded. A female friend of Highams, Mary Sweeney told how he had said 'chaps thats not fair' as he was on the floor and surrounded and that Halligan had then moved forward to attack him again before being struck with the knife.

In summing up, the judge said that Highams had first been subjected to a cowardly attack as it was three on to one, and he had only used the knife after first being struck himself. This led to the jury returning a verdict of manslaughter and Highams being sentenced to two years hard labour.

Frying Pan Killing

The 1830s came to a tragic end for one married couple when the husband was killed after his wife hit him on the head with a frying pan during a row.

At around 9pm on New Years Eve 1839 William McEvoy returned to his Fontenoy Street home to find his lodger George Booth there but not his wife, 30 year old Elizabeth. George went to get Elizabeth, who was drinking ale with a neighbour and on her return William demanded to know why his dinner was not ready. She responded by taking the boiling potatoes and throwing them behind the fire.

The couple then began scuffling and fell on to the bed, but Elizabeth managed to get up and take down a frying pan that was hanging on the wall by a nail. She then struck William on the head with this and as he staggered towards the window, she picked up a brush and hit him, causing him to fall to the floor.

William vomited a few times that night and by 4th January he was in a feverish condition so a doctor was called by Elizabeth, who had been very tender in trying to bring him back to health.  When asked about the mark on his head William said a man he did not know had done it. The following day, William was shaking and suffering hallucinations so the same doctor was called again. He was deteriorating fast and died the day after, a post mortem concluding that extravasation of the muscles, caused by external violence was the cause.

Elizabeth was committed to trial at the next assizes and appeared before Judge Coleridge on 27th March 1840. He was angered when Dr McLellan from the Dispensary asked for a fee to give evidence, telling the surgeon that he should be ashamed not to say a few words without pay when a woman was on such a serious charge.'

After Elizabeth was found guilty the judge told her she had sworn to cherish and obey her husband, but she had been convicted of killing him. She was sentenced to one years imprisonment, with the last week of it to be in solitary confinement.

Workmates Ladder Prank Tragic Ending

A drunken workmate who played a prank on a colleague that caused his death was convicted of manslaughter.

The incident happened Weber's foundry in Wapping on Thursday 26th February 1847 when two friends, James Moore and John Berry, returned to work after drinking on their break. Berry, a 46 year old metal polisher was ascending a ladder through a trap door from the first to second storey where 35 year old Moore was working as a painter.


Moore decided to play a joke by pushing the ladder back and standing it upright, but Berry lost his balance and fell off, fracturing his skull. Berry was taken to his home in Grosvenor Street and died from his injuries the following Wednesday. The next day an inquest was held and the jury returned a verdict of manslaughter against Moore, who lived in Bevington Bush.

At the South Lancashire Assizes on 30th March Moore was found guilty and sentenced to one months imprisonment, to be served in solitary confinement.

Boy Killed by Stone Throwing Policeman

A policeman who killed a boy when he threw a stone at his boat after he ignored an instruction to come ashore was let off by just a shillings fine after being found not guilty of manslaughter.

On 7th February 1847, fourteen year old John Ryder and three friends were sailing in a boat in Clarence Dock basin when they were called to the quay by a policeman named William Warbrick. He told them to get out and come ashore but they laughed at him, leading to him picking up a stone with the intention of using it to splash them with water. Unfortunately, his aim was completely out and it caught Ryder on the head.

Ryder first went to his home in Prince William Street in Dingle, where it was found impossible to stop the bleeding from the scalp wound, so he was taken to the Northern Hospital where his condition gradually deteriorated over the following weeks. On 17th March he died and at the inquest two days later the surgeon said it was as a result of mortification of the scalp. The jury returned a verdict of manslaughter and Warbrick, who lived in Bevington Street, was committed for trial on a Coroner's Warrant.

At the South Lancashire Assizes on 31st March 34 year old Warbrick was found not guilty of manslaughter, but was convicted instead of committing an unlawful act in throwing a stone. The judge gave him a few words of caution for the future and he was fined a shilling.

Killed by a Cart

A float driver whose carelessness caused the death of a little girl was shown leniency in sentencing on the recommendation of the jury.

On the afternoon of Wednesday 6th January 1847 Mary Ann Weldon got jammed between a cart and a wall in Paul Street. She received considerable injuries and died a few hours later. 35 year old Michael Bird, who could neither read nor write, was arrested in relation to the death.

Two days later the inquest took place and returned a verdict of manslaughter against Bird, who was committed to the South Lancashire Assizes on a Coroner's Warrant. He was kept in gaol on remand until he appeared there on 31st March, where he was found guilty with a recommendation him to mercy. As he had already been in custody for twelve weeks, the judge sentenced him to just a further two weeks imprisonment.

Deadly Assault on Pregnant Woman

A woman who violently assaulted a neighbour led to the baby being stillborn and the mother dying of her injuries, with the killer being transported for seven years.

On 31st August 1844 Mary Sooghan and Catherine Gillis, who both resided in Craven Street, got into an argument which also involved Catherine's daughter Mary Quiggins. 58 year old Gillis then spat in Sooghan's face before pulling her up by her hair and throwing her to the ground.

3 weeks later on 22nd September Sooghan complained of a pain in her right side and a doctor was called. She was found to be in a slow labour and losing blood. Three days later she gave birth to a stillborn male child and was admitted to the Infirmary.

Sooghan's condition gradually deteriorated and she died on 9th October. A post mortem was carried out and found that was inflammation of the womb. At the inquest the following day Dr Callon told the Coroner that this was a result of external violence and had been the cause of death. A verdict of manslaughter was returned against Gillis, but Quiggins was acquitted of aiding and abetting.

On 17th December Gillis appeared before the Lancashire Winter Assizes and although she admitted what happened, maintained that she had been struck in the face first. Her defence counsel also alluded to her previous good character describing her as a 'quiet, peaceable, industrious woman.' This cut little ice with the judge and jury though and she was found guilty. Telling her that it was one of the most aggravated cases he had ever dealt with, the judge sentenced Gillis to seven years transportation.