Sarah Hewitt was a young woman who was the landlady of a public house in Masbrough called The Queens Arms. She also took in lodgers to make a living and a pair of lodgers who had stayed with her from April to December 1850 were a Mrs and Mrs James Whitehouse. He was a 28 year old puddler who worked at the Midland Iron Works, and the couple stayed at the public house while trying to find a place to rent in the town. At Christmas 1850 the pair, having found alternative accommodation left the Queens Arms, however Whitehouse continued to call in for a drink from time to time. On Wednesday 25 June 1851 he arrived at the Queens Arms around 6 pm and asked Sarah if he could stay overnight.

He said that his wife was away from home and he was joining some friends for a late night out in the town. Although she had rather a full house, the landlady agreed to squeeze him in somewhere. Sarah had employed a Scottish piper to play that evening, so the Queens Arms was quite full of dancing couples. Nevertheless she managed to find him a small room, but when he returned earlier than expected around 9 pm, it was obvious that he was already quite tipsy. Nevertheless the landlady cheerfully served him with a pint of ale, as he chatted to some of the other people who had gathered in the tap room.

Around 10 pm, Sarah could see that Whitehouse was getting more and more drunk and so suggested that it was time for bed. She carefully lit a candle and offered to escort him upstairs, being more concerned that in his drunken condition he would fall on the stairs which were quite dark. As he left the tap room, Whitehouse was carrying his coat, boots and waistcoat, and proceeded to follow her upstairs in his stocking feet. Entering the bedroom, Sarah went over to pull the curtains across one of the two windows in the room. She was about to pull the second curtain closed, when Whitehouse came up behind her and put his arm around her waist. Turning round she saw that he had already taken off his trousers.

Sarah pushed him away saying ‘go away Whitehouse; don’t be foolish’ but with that he struck her hard on the chest, knocking her to the floor. Kneeling on her, he struggled to pull at her blouse before she managed to push him off and get to her feet. Sarah made a dash for the door, but he roughly grabbed her and threw her onto the bed. There he sexually assaulted her, as she struggled to get free. Sarah cried out for help to the people collected in the room below, but unfortunately the piper was playing quite energetically so there was no immediate response. Eventually she was forced to scream out ‘murder’ as loud as she could.

Thankfully at that point, three of her lodgers finally rushed into the room. They were a woman called Mrs Caroline Appleton and two male lodgers called William Bottom and Francis Bretnall. Bottom pulled the man off the woman struggling on the bed, and Sarah ran to the door before briefly fainting in the arms of Bretnall. Meanwhile Whitehouse lashed out at the female lodger Caroline Appleton, striking her hard on the mouth. Bretnall thrust Sarah’s who was now slowly recovering towards Mrs Appleton, before he too smacked Whitehouse hard in the face. This last blow seemed to finally bring the attacker to his senses.

Then the two male lodgers took Whitehouse by his arms and dragged him downstairs, before locking him in a small room which led off from the bar. Sarah sent a boy to fetch a police officer and a few minutes later Constable Benjamin Caldwell arrived. He found Whitehouse bleeding from his eye where Bretnall had hit him. Whilst he was being taken into custody, Whitehouse told the officer that he had done nothing amiss, but the men in the house had half killed him. On Friday 27 June 1851, James Whitehouse was brought before the Rotherham Magistrates charged with a serious assault on Miss Sarah Hewitt. He was described as being ‘a strongly built young man, who still bore evidence on his face of the serious attack.’

When Whitehouse was asked by the bench if he had anything to say in answer to the charge, he simply shook his head. When asked to explain why he had attacked Sarah, the prisoner claimed that ‘what I have done was with her full consent’ which she denied absolutely. Evidence was heard from the other lodgers in the house, before the magistrates sentenced James Whitehouse to take his trial at the next Rotherham Sessions. Only then did he show any remorse. He looked across at Sarah and said to her ‘if I have done wrong, I am sorry for it, and I hope you will forgive me.’ Sarah simply looked at him with contempt as he was removed from the court.

James Whitehouse was brought before the Rotherham Midsummer Quarter Sessions at the Court House on Monday 7 July 1851. Naturally as Sarah was so well known, the curiosity of local people had resulted in the courtroom being packed. Some of the salacious details about the case seems to have already been spread by the gossips of the town, and there appeared to be a determination to turn the whole spectacle into a comical farce. A reporter from the Sheffield Independent stated that:

‘The court was most densely crowded throughout the trial, and during the cross examination of the prosecutrix, the conduct of the spectators was characterised by the most unbecoming levity.’

Mr Pickering, as the prosecution opened the case by stating from the outset that this was a very sordid crime to be placed before the bench. He then outlined the details of the case before Sarah was called to be the first witness.

The landlady gave her version of the sexual assault, before it was time for the prisoners defence, Mr Overend to state his case. His questions swiftly indicated little doubt as to the way in which he intended to defend his client. He began by making a reference to the sordid attack and bluntly asked the witness if she had kissed Whitehouse upon them entering the bedroom. Sarah swiftly denied this, saying that even if he had tried she would have spit in his face. He then asked her if it was true that on most night she would be found in a drunken condition in the public house, which again Sarah hotly denied. Mr Overend then got down to brass tacks.

He asked her if it was true that a servant, Ann Heppenstall who had since been dismissed, had ever caught her in a compromising situation with two different men. The defence claimed that the girl had not only witnessed the first one, but had been paid off with a sum of money to keep quiet about the incident. Sarah denied this allegation before Mr Overend quietly asked her if she knew a man named Joseph Warris. The witness stated that he was a customer who used to frequent the Queens Arms. Mr Overend then asked her if it was true that she had once told him that if he bought a gallon of ale to share amongst her customers, he should have as many kisses as he liked from her. Once again Sarah denied she had ever said such a thing to any customer. Mr Overend’s next question was to ask the witness why it had taken so long for someone to come to her rescue on the night in question, when the taproom downstairs had been filled with people?

Sarah said that she did not know and claimed that she had been screaming for four or five minutes before anyone came. The prisoners defence was to offer a different scenario. He suggested instead that she had been in the room for a considerable time before she started screaming, and that during that time ‘some liberties had been allowed by her’. Once again Sarah shook her head. Mr Overend then referred to the improbability of her needing a candle to see the prisoner to his bedroom. He pointed out that the prisoner had lived there previously for eight months with his wife, therefore he was well aware of the layout of the house. Sarah rebuffed this suggestion saying that she thought it best, given his drunken condition and that fact that the stairs were so dark.

William Bottom was the next witness and he reported how he had been in the tap room when he saw Sarah light the candle to take the prisoner upstairs. The witness said that about a minute or so later he thought he heard a cry of ‘murder’ and went over to where Francis Bretnall and Mrs Appleton were watching the dancing. Bottom told them what he thought he had heard, but was unsure over the sounds of the piper playing at the time. Nevertheless the trio ran upstairs and entered the bedroom. This witness too was questioned by Mr Overend as to whether or not it was a loud cry he heard, but Bottom replied that it was difficult to tell over the noise of the bagpipes. William Bottom was then asked if he had ever seen Miss Hewitt drunk, but he replied that he had never seen her drink anything stronger than a cup of tea.

The next witness was Mrs Caroline Appleton who told the court that on the night of the attack, after hearing what William Bottom had said, she too had run upstairs. As they approached the top of the staircase, they could clearly hear ‘shrieks of murder’ coming from inside a room. Barging into the nearest bedroom she could immediately see what was happening. The witness said that she asked the prisoner what he thought he was doing, and in reply she received a smack on the mouth with his fist. The next witness was the other lodger, Francis Bretnall who said that he too saw Miss Hewitt light the candle to see the prisoner to bed, and shortly afterwards he too heard a noise which he thought was a shriek of some kind.

The witness described how he, Caroline Appleton and William Bottom went to the bottom of the stairs, before hearing Sarah scream out ‘murder’ again. The three of them then raced upstairs and rescued the landlady from the attack. Constable Caldwell gave his evidence of being called to the house before apprehending the prisoner. The officer was asked to give his professional opinion on the way in which Miss Hewitt had run the Queens Arms during her tenancy. He told the jury without hesitation, that ‘her public house was always well conducted and orderly’. Mr Overend offered an alternative proposition. He stated that what the witness Bretnall had heard at the bottom of the steps was not a shriek of alarm, but a laugh of pure delight.

The defence claimed that when the three witnesses broke into the room, Miss Hewitt’s first thought was to defend herself and that was when she made the allegation of a sexual attack. Referring to the fact that Miss Hewitt had ‘briefly fainted’ but recovered herself just a few seconds later, he suggested that she had dropped ‘comfortably’ into Bretnall’s arms, before realising her position. Mr Overend then brought out the big guns. His next witness was the 17 year old girl previously referred to. She told the court that her name was Ann Heppenstall and that two years earlier she had been a servant for Miss Hewitt, working for her from April to November of 1849.

She claimed that one of the regulars at the Queens Arms was a man called Woolgar, and stated that she had once seen Miss Hewitt lying on the floor with him in a compromising position. Later Woolgar gave her 2s to say nothing about what she had witnessed. At this point in the courtroom there was such an outcry of people laughing and clapping their hands together, that the witness joined in. The chair instantly shouted out that this was disgraceful conduct in a court of law, and warned that the room would be instantly cleared if it happened again. The witness then continued with her evidence, but the farcical tone was set for the rest of the hearing. She swore that Miss Hewitt was there when Woolgar gave her the money and she too had asked her not to tell anyone.

When Mr Overend asked her what time this impropriety had taken place, the servant girl said it was sometime between one and two o’clock in the morning. Heppenstall said that she had gone to bed around 11.30 pm that night, and was already in bed when she heard Miss Hewitt opening her bedroom door. The witness said she heard her softly call out her name, but admitted to pretending to be asleep. When her employer went downstairs again, she heard her say ‘she’s asleep’ to someone. As only Woodger had been awake in the public house at the time, Heppenstall knew it must be him. That was when the girl admitted that she had crept downstairs and found the pair on the floor together.

Miss Heppenstall was asked if she had seen such depravity before, and she boldly answered that it was not the first time that such a thing had happened. Once again there were smirks and laughter in the court, as the girl claimed that she had seen similar misconduct between her mistress and a man named Harrison. She said that he was a traveller for Bentley’s Brewery and regularly called in at the Queens Arms. When Miss Heppenstall was asked by Mr Overend why she had left Miss Hewitts employment, the girl stated that her employer’s father had tried to take liberties with her. She explained that the man was employed at Sheffield during the week, but usually spent the weekends with his daughter at Masbrough.

The witness said that when she told her employer, she had shrugged the matter off telling the girl, she was as bad as her father was, before dismissing her. Heppenstall also told her mother who had made her come back to live at home, where she was now earning her living working as a dressmaker. Mr Overend asked her ‘was it not true that Miss Hewitt had in fact sacked her for staying out all night’, a suggestion which the witness quickly denied. The girl, then referred to having to stay up all night with Miss Hewitt when she was ‘entertaining old Woolgar.’ When asked to describe what she had witnessed between her ex-employer and the man, once again the witness burst out laughing.

When the people in the court joined in, Mr Overend had no option but to remonstrate with Heppenstall on the way in which she had given her evidence. The next witness was a neighbour who introduced herself as a widow named Mrs Rebecca Mortimer. She was asked if she was acquainted with a Mr Joseph Warris of Kimberworth and the witness agreed that she knew him. The woman was asked by Mr Pickering if she had ever seen Miss Hewitt kiss the man, and she stated that she had seen her do it ‘many times and in the full presence of a large number of persons’. Mrs Mortimer swore that Sarah had also told Warris that if he paid for a gallon of ale to share amongst her customers, she would kiss him in return. Mrs Mortimer pulled a face as she added ‘even though he was nearly as old as I am and I am 72’.

Once again there was much laughter in the court as the witness gave her evidence. Mr Overend roundly condemning the kind of defence which threw doubt on Miss Hewitt’s conduct and morality. He stated that as most of this condemnation had come from the prisoner himself, and that it only added to the offence with which he was already charged. He claimed that the prisoners had made one of the most cowardly accusations to bring against a woman and the most difficult to prove, as the offence had been committed when just the two of them were present. Mr Overend also condemned the levity he had experienced in the courtroom which he said, had made a painful enquiry into a topic of indecency when the subject of the chastity of the prosecutrix was openly questioned.

He appealed instead to the higher feelings of the jury, rather than to those people who, he said had disgraced the court and themselves with their unseemly conduct. Mr Overend reminded them that instead of levity, they should have shown greater sympathy to a woman placed in the position of having to give evidence on such a charge. The prosecution asked the jury ‘would any woman without motive subject herself to the torture and misery, as had been seen in the courtroom that day?’ He also blasted the evidence of the servant girl Ann Heppenstall, and claimed that she had shown shameless impudence in her answers, which could not be trusted.

Mr Overend reminded the jury not to forget that Miss Hewitt had been given a good character by an officer of the law, a person whose professional evidence was completely trustworthy. He asked them:

‘If Miss Hewitt was the disgraceful, drunken and abandoned prostitute which had been suggested, could her house be known for seven or eight years to the constable as an orderly and well conducted one?’

Finally, he asked the jury to compare the victims demeanour when giving evidence to that of the girl Heppenstall, who had laughed at the disgraceful scenes she had openly described. The chair summed up the evidence for the jury, and suggested that they might consider reducing the charge to one of common assault. The members of the jury consulted between themselves for a few minutes before agreeing that the prisoner was guilty of common assault. The chair then sentenced James Whitehouse to be imprisoned for six months with hard labour. As Sarah Hewitt left the courtroom, she must have seriously considered whether it had all been worth it.

One of the earliest recorded wife sales took place in Sheffield in 1796, when it was noted that the clerk to the Sheffield Markets had been paid 4d for his part in the sale. We only know about this case from a much later enquiry, sent to the editor of the local newspaper, the Sheffield Independent dated June 1876. The enquirer, only known by his initials of ‘JB’ was asking for information about the case. It seems that he had found a reference to the sale in an unnamed book. His curiosity had been aroused, not by wishing to know more details about the woman involved, but rather wanting to know who the clerk was! The excerpt from the book had stated:

‘SALE EXTRAORDINARY.

On Saturday evening last, John Lees, steel burner, sold his wife for the small sum of 6d to Samuel Hall fell-monger, both of Sheffield. Lees gave Hall one guinea to have her immediately taken off to Manchester the day following by coach. She was delivered up with a halter round her neck, and the clerk of the market received 4d for his toll.

It was reported that this case actually took place under the direction of the local Lord Mayor of Sheffield, who also was unnamed.

Another recorded wife sale took place in 1807 when a man brought his wife to the market place, once again with a halter around her neck. When a bystander asked him ‘how much?’ the husband replied ‘a guinea.’ ‘Done’ said the other. The halter was removed from the woman before she was immediately led away by her new buyer. It was reported that the new owner looked very pleased with his bargain.

However a more recent sale took place on Tuesday 12 January 1847 when the Mayor of Sheffield, a man called Edward Vickers was making his way to the Magistrates Court at the Town Hall. He was due to take his place on the bench, when suddenly he noted that even though it was a market day, the crowd was much more extensive than usual. Consequently Mr Vickers had to almost fight his way through the throngs of people to get to the courthouse. The situation was exacerbated by carts which had been driven into the town, by farmers anxious to sell their wares. The crowd seemed to be larger in the area around the Exchange Inn on Exchange Street, Sheffield. There Mr Vickers saw that many of them had climbed onto the empty carts, eager to get a better view.

To make things worse, arguments had broken out between the farmers and the men who had climbed onto their carts, trampling what produce had been left. The resulting fistfights made the Mayor think that the world had gone completely mad. Mr Vickers was finally driven into making enquiries into the reason for the huge crowds, and was informed that a wife sale was due to take place shortly. Only then did the Mayor see an object of pity, a young woman who looked terrified at the scene that was unfolding in front of her. Unable to do much in view of the large crowds, Mr Vickers went immediately to the Town Hall, where he ordered police officers to bring the husband and his wife before him.

However by the time the constables returned, they were forced to admit that the man, whose name was Robert Trotter had absconded, leaving only his wife in the market place. She was brought into the court room, where she sobbed bitterly as she told the bench her tale. The young girl said that her name was Harriet Trotter and although she and her husband Robert had only been married for twelve months, he had treated her so cruelly that she had been forced to take him before the magistrates charged with assault. Because of this, her husband informed her that he intended selling her to one of his workmates. Mrs Trotter said that at that point he produced a gun, and had threatened to shoot her if she did not agree to the sale.

Questioned gently by Mr Vickers, the young woman admitted that she did not know the man into whose possession she was to be sold. The Mayor, after hearing her shocking evidence, dismissed the woman and issued a warrant for the arrest of Robert Trotter. Accordingly the next morning the man was brought into court, where he appeared to be completely unrepentant for his actions. Mr Vickers castigated him for his brutal behaviour, but however disgusted he felt at the circumstances surrounding the sale, the Mayor had little option but to stick to the word of the law. As the crime was legally classified as a misdemeanour, the magistrates simply ordered him to find sureties to keep the peace between himself and his wretched wife for the next six months. The couple then left the courtroom together.

Appalling though this case appears to be, research shows that the practise was still flourishing in the town thirty years later. In that particular case not only his wife was sold, but also the couple’s four children aged from five years to just three weeks. It seems that the unnamed man was an edge tool grinder of Trippet Lane, Sheffield who had been drinking freely in a public house when his wife appeared. She was trying to entice her husband to accompany her home for dinner and as such brought all the children with her. When his friends began to chaff at him, one of them enquired of him ‘how much will you take for the lot?’ and he answered that he would sell them all for a quart of beer.

Haggling commenced and eventually the two men settled on a price of 2½d. Unfortunately the buyer was already married, so there was some ribald speculation as to what kind of reception he would meet from his wife, when he returned home with the woman and her four children. As proof of the sale the receipt for the transaction was given to a reporter for the Sheffield Daily Telegraph. In the copy dated Saturday 21 July 1877 the report concluded by stating that ‘the receipt for the 2½d now lies at our office.’

Almost a carbon copy of this case was heard by the magistrates at the Sheffield County Court, four years later on Wednesday 25 May 1881.Indeed the case, which was referred to as ‘one of shocking immorality’ was so significant that the subject was actually referred to in the House of Commons. The case which was heard before judge, Mr Justice Ellison had been brought by a woman called Mrs Henderson of Pye Bank, Sheffield. She was bringing an action against Henry Moore of Dun Street, Sheffield to recover £1.10s as four weeks maintenance of his wife. Mr Clegg appeared as the prisoners defence. Mrs Moore was the first witness and she told the court that on 30 January 1881 her husband returned back home and with him was a married woman called Wood

When she remonstrated with him and told him that she would not have the woman in the house, her husband began to assault her. He savagely kicked and punched out at her, saying that if she tried to turn the woman out, he would kill her. Moore finally succeeded in pushing his wife out of the house and locking the door against her. Looking through the window she could see that he had a quart of beer with him, which he then proceeded to drink with Mrs Wood. Knocking on the window she cried out to be let back inside, but the pair simply ignored her. Mrs Moore told the court that following the attack she went to a neighbours house, a woman called Mrs Beresford.

Mr Moore had put in a counter claim that it was whilst his wife was stayed at Mrs Beresford’s house that she committed adultery with another unnamed man, which she heartily denied. Mrs Moore stated that her injuries from the attack made on her by her husband were so bad, that such a thing could not have happened. A doctor had been called and as a result of his violence, she was unable to leave her bed for some days. Mrs Moore told the judge that after a week or so she was forced to leave the neighbours house, and being unable to return to the marital home, was forced to have herself admitted to the workhouse in Sheffield. However on 18 March she went to stay with another friend called Mrs Henderson and was still living there, hence the demand for maintenance from her husband.

Mrs Henderson was the next witness and she corroborated Mrs Moore’s evidence. Mr Clegg admitted to the judge that his client, Henry Moore was now living with the married woman. The judge condemned the fact that the court was having to hear evidence in a case of such immorality. However Mr Clegg stated that because his wife had been unfaithful, his client should not be forced into paying for her maintenance. Henry Moore was then called to give his evidence and he readily admitted that the woman he was now living with, was married to a friend of his called Wood. He was cross-examined by Mr Fairburn, and asked how he had managed to induce his friend to allow his wife to live with him. Moore answered simply ‘well, he sold her to me.’

He readily admitted that he had bought the woman from his friend for a quart of beer. He was questioned as to why he was not paying his wife any maintenance, and he stated that on the night in question he found his wife ‘acting in an improper manner with another man.’ Mr Fairburn summed up the case and told the bench that Moore was not a man who should be believed. He said ‘the real facts are that he wanted to get rid of his wife, and to continue to live with the woman he had bought. The judge than adjourned the case for a week in order that Mrs Beresford could be summoned to give evidence. She was the neighbour to whose house Mrs Moore had been forced to flee, and would be able to clarify the supposed adultery which it had been alleged had taken place whilst staying there.

However a week later when Henry Moore’s name was called he did not appear. Mr Clegg explained that he had seen his client who told him that he would not be attending the court. Mr Justice Ellison stated that if he remembered the facts correctly, this was simply a case of the husband being an adulterer and his wife was alleged to be an adulteress. When Mr Clegg agreed that was true, he asked his Worship if he would pass a judgement on the case or strike it out. The judge agreed that under the circumstances he would just strike it out. However that was not the end of the matter.

Five days later on Monday 30 May 1881, Mr T D Sullivan, the MP for Westmeath asked the Secretary of State, Sir W Harcourt in the House of Commons if he had heard about the recent case of wife selling which had taken place in Sheffield. He urged the Secretary of State to take some action in order to:

‘Remove the impression which appears to exist in some parts of England, that the sale of wives is a legitimate transaction.’

Sir Harcourt refused to get involved, saying that ‘I can find nothing in this affair except the casual utterance of a drunken ruffian, who was simply finding excuses for his own immorality’ and with that the whole subject was dropped.

Perhaps Mr Sullivan’s comments had some resonance in Sheffield, as six years later a case was heard which suggests that wife selling was to be placed on some kind of legal footing. It started at the Sheffield County Court when the same judge, Mr Justice Ellison was hearing the case of Hall v. Smithies on Wednesday 13 July 1887. A fish dealer called William Hall was brought before them, who was attempting to sue for loss of goods amounting to £28.2s.6d. The action was brought against the landlady of the White Horse Hotel on Grammar Street, Walkley, Jessie Smithies. The prosecution, in an attempt to cast doubt on the evidence of William Hall, asked him if he had bought a wife in Sheffield three years earlier.

Hall freely admitted he had done so and he had paid the sum of 5s for her. The witness seemed to show no sign of remorse at his own behaviour, on the contrary he seemed proud of the fact. The receipt for the sale was flourished at the court before being shown to the bench and passed around among the magistrates. On the paper, which had been witnessed by two other men, the heading showed that it had been written at the Royal Oak in Sheffield and dated 6 June 1884. The receipt stated:

‘I, Abraham Boothroyd, agree to sell my wife (Clara) to William Hall of Sheffield for the sum of 5s. Witnessed my hand.’

The signatures of both Boothroyd and Hall were on the paper, as were two witnesses to the sale named as George Green and Benjamin Hancock. As proof of the levity which surrounded the whole subject, there was laughter in the court as Hall admitted that he had spent the 5s in drink. Thankfully, this is the last case of wife selling that I have been able to find which took place in Sheffield. Its to be hoped that this case signalled a new more enlightened age, where such barbaric practises finally ceased.

Mary Ann Thornton was known as what the Victorians called ‘a woman of the town’ in other words a prostitute. She lived in one of the most squalid courts off Wellgate with her pimp a man called John O’Neill. The couple were well known to the legal authorities in Rotherham, as both had previously appeared before the bench charged with many offences. O’Neill, who was known to live off Thornton’s earnings, had been a prize fighter in the past and therefore had a history of brutality. At one time the couple had lived amicably enough together, but when he became more aggressive towards her, Mary Ann had no option but to ask him to move out. O’Neill agreed on the understanding that she give up her former career and remain faithful to him, to which Mary Ann finally agreed. He found lodgings not too far away on Westgate, but continued to visit her on a regular basis.

However when she asked him for money, he told her that he would not maintain her if she would not allow him to return to live with her. This she refused to do because of his violence. Therefore she informed him that he left her with no option, but to continue to earn money in the only way she knew how. At this point he became completely wild and threatened to kill her once again. On Sunday 25 August 1872 he visited her as usual, and once again swore that he would kill her if he found out that she had been unfaithful to him. In vain Mary Ann tried to re-assure him, but O’Neill just became more and more angry. At the time several woman friends had gathered at the house, and he non too politely ordered them all to go. Mary Ann assured her friends that she was alright and would soon calm him down, so they left.

However on this occasion, she was unable to divert O’Neill’s anger and almost immediately he started to punch her. Mary Ann was used to his violence, so she simply tried to protect herself as best as she could. But she knew that she was in trouble when O’Neill grabbed the fire poker and started hitting her over the back with it. Knowing that she would be seriously hurt if he continued, Mary Ann made a break for the door, but O’Neill swung the poker at her face hitting her just above the right temple. The wound immediately started to bleed profusely, but the poor woman managed to wrench open the door and stagger out into the yard. As a result O’Neill threw the poker at her hard, striking her across the back with it. He then followed her outside and commenced beating her once again in the yard.

Hearing her screams, many of the neighbours collected at their doors and began to shout abuse at her attacker. However no one tried to interfere because O’Neill’s brutality was well known. He hit Mary Ann again and again until she fell onto the cobbles. Still not satisfied O’Neill continued to kick out at her prone body. Now in a senseless rage, he stamped on her head and at this point the neighbours were forced to interfere. Finally dragging O’Neill away from the prone woman, several neighbours held onto him, whilst one went to fetch a constable. Some of the woman managed to carry the now unconscious Mary Ann back into the house she had once shared with O’Neill, and a surgeon was called. An assistant surgeon called Mr Yates soon arrived and he did the best he could for the badly injured woman.

Meanwhile a search was made for O’Neill who was quickly found and taken into custody charged with the assault. The following morning he was brought into the magistrates court charged with unlawful wounding. However it was impossible to proceed with the case, as Mary Ann was too badly injured to attend. Consequently the prisoner was simply remanded until the following Thursday in the hope that his victim would have recovered sufficiently to be able to give her own evidence. Mr F Parker Rhodes, who was defending O’Neill asked the court for bail for the prisoner, but it was rejected by the bench given his past history of violence. Sadly Mary Ann was no better by Thursday 29 August 1872 and the Superintendent of police, Mr Gillott, was forced to produce another medical certificate. Once again he requested that the prisoner was to be remanded until the following Monday, which was agreed.

Subsequently on Monday 2 September 1872, Mary Ann Thornton was finally well enough to appear in court to give her own testimony on the terrible assault. Despite the fact that she was still looking very shaky and pale, Mr Parker Rhodes questioned her on the reasons why she had been too ill to attend the court until now. He suggested that she had been out drinking several times since the alleged assault, and that was the real reason the case had to be delayed. The witness staunchly denied the accusation and said that she had only been out of the house twice for very short periods, and had never been in a public house since the attack. Mary Ann told the bench that it was around 2.40 pm when O’Neill came to her house on Westgate. The witness related how he began to quarrel with her almost immediately, even though some friends of hers were present at the time.

She stated how O’Neill had unceremoniously thrown them out, before accusing her of going with other men. She told him that she ‘would do as she liked, if he was not going to maintain her.’ Mary Ann described how the prisoner then lost his composure altogether and began to beat her unmercifully. As the witness was describing how the prisoner had stamped on her head, Mr Parker Rhodes intervened. He asked her if O’Neill had been wearing his boots at the time, but Mary Ann told him that he hadn’t, that he had taken them off as he came into the house. She continued with her statement to say that nevertheless he had kicked out at her until she became senseless. The witness claimed that when she came to, she found herself lying on the ground in the yard. By that time the prisoner was being held by some of her neighbours.

When Mary Ann finally recovered her senses she told the court that she was in one of the neighbours houses, which belonged to a Mrs Kenney. That kindly woman helped her into a chair and gave her some brandy to drink. The next witness was the surgeon, who introduced himself as Mr Knights assistant, and gave his name as Mr Donald Frazer Yates. He said that he had attended the injured woman firstly on 25 August and had visited her several times since. Upon examining Mary Ann, Mr Yates had found her suffering from a contused wound on the head, which was about an inch and a quarter in length. He immediately saw that it was very deep, had been inflicted with some force which had penetrated down to her skull. He explained that the wound was in a very dangerous place, as it was close to the temporal artery.

Since that time the surgeon told the court that an infection had set in, which he had treated her for. Thankfully Mr Yates said that he was now able to state that his patient had fully recovered. The witness was shown the poker which had been seized from the house, and he identified it as being the most likely weapon to have been used in the attack. A man called Thomas Johnson confirmed Mary Ann’s account of the vicious assault, and how the neighbours had been afraid to intervene due to O’Neill’s violent nature. Police Constable Clarke was the next witness and told the bench that when he had gone to arrest the prisoner, O’Neill had claimed that Mary Ann had attacked him first, and he had only acted in self defence. The prisoner had also stated that he had not thrown the poker at her, but rather that she had fallen against a wall in the yard and hurt her head.

At this point Colonel St Leger who was one of the magistrates, stated that as far as he was concerned all the evidence pointed to the fact that the assault had been proved. He also told the court that the prisoner had a history of aggression and had been before the bench 12 times in all charged with similar offences. The colonel said that these crimes ranged from drunkenness, prize fighting or assaulting the police in the course of their duty. For those offences the prisoner had been fined or sent to prison for a term of incarceration. Addressing the prisoner he told him:

‘John O’Neill, this is a very serious crime. Under the circumstances we shall sentence you to imprisonment with hard labour for four calendar months. We also order you to be bound over in your own recognisances to keep the peace for six months, at the expiry of your term of imprisonment.’

The prisoner was then escorted out of court to begin his sentence.

There is no evidence of what happened to John O’Neill when he finished his prison sentence, but Mary Ann Thornton continued with her disreputable life. A year later on Thursday 30 October 1873 she was brought into court again this time charged with overcrowding in the house on Wellgate, which she had previously shared with O’Neill. Mr C E Parkin, the Borough Inspector of Nuisances, whose job it was to regulate all lodgings houses, told the court he had visited on 19 October. He said it was about 1.30 am when he went to the house in the company of a police constable.

The Inspector claimed that there was only one bedroom at the house, but it held four beds all of which were occupied by couples. He said that the female prisoner had claimed that they were all visitors who had stayed for the night and they would have been gone in the morning. The unnamed police officer who had accompanied Mr Parkin, told the court that in his official capacity he knew the house to be a disreputable one, which was known to be a brothel. He stated that because of this there had been many complaints. Mary Ann was found guilty by the bench and fined 20s and costs. It seemed evident that Mary Ann Thornton had not suffered unduly from her terrible attack, and that she was still up to her old tricks!

LOOKING FOR A GREAT XMAS GIFT.

*** LOOK NO FURTHER ***

ROTHERHAM’S BLACK HEARTED VILLAINS

In searching out some of Rotherham’s Black Hearted Villains the author had to travel along the streets of Rotherham. Through Masbrough, the High Street and some of the murky courts off Westgate. Others were to be found living in some of the outlying villages of Swinton, Wath, Rawmarsh or Greasborough.

Some were navvies who robbed shopkeepers and assaulted police officers when they came to arrest them. Another man stabbed two strangers for no reason at all. These villains were not always men, some were women, such as the mother who burnt her three-year-old son with a red-hot poker. Or parents who neglected their children so badly that the youngest one was described as being ‘a parcel of bones.’

Sometimes these black hearted villains, were not always criminal, some of them could be found within the Rotherham’s police force itself.

To downlad this book or to buy a paperback go to http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/BO9MC3D78P

Many people only feel really safe when they are within the bosom of their own family, surrounded by loved ones in a place where they can relax and throw off the cares of the day… But what if that home is a place of fear and dread? What if your home contains the one person you want to get away from? We present to you: SHEFFIELD’S TOXIC RELATIONS

There was the case of the husband who was so insanely jealous of his wife that he killed her at the Alexandra Opera House before hanging himself among the stage ‘flies.’ There is the case of Peter O’Neil who murdered his wife right in front of lodgers.

Spare a thought for little Elizabeth Waddington who was killed by her own father, who also tried to kill her mother in the most barbaric of ways. Albert Hodgson neglected his own three children to the point that they would have starved to death, if they weren’t rescued by the NSPCC.

Whilst it is more than fair to say that most elements of society have improved a great deal, since Victorian times. Even just in this year of 2021, stories in the news show that family relations can, even today, be appalling, or murderous….

You can get your hands on a e-book or physical book today, at: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09CRW9CKB/

Pause for reflection on how safe and peaceful your life today is, and be thankful that, hopefully, you are not at risk, from some of Sheffield’s Toxic Relations. A collection of true tragedies that really happened in the streets of Sheffield, in the 19th Century.

We are proud to present ‘Rotherham Scamps and Scallywags’ which hold several curious cases which were brought before the Rotherham magistrates during the nineteenth century. The cases include a man spending the night jailed in the Chapel on the Bridge, a wealthy farmer who could not resist the impulse to steal small inexpensive items he did not need and sisters who turned shoplifting into a mini crime wave.

Perhaps “Scallywags” might be a bit light of an attribution, for the murderous grandmother who drowned her own granddaughter at birth like an unwanted animal. The deliberate highway robbery at Rawmarsh where so much violence was used that a man was hanged for it. The real scamps and scallywags were the Derby butcher who went from selling unsound meat in the Shambles to living in style in Ferham House. Or the 16 year old lad whose larking about at the Midland Iron Works cost a man his life.

These real, Rotherham people, were hauled before the magistrates for their crimes. Reading between the lines, the book also reveals a time when absolute poverty was rife, and crime was the only choice for some.

To buy in paperback or to download as a kindle edition, please click here.

Thankfully Rotherham is certainly a better place now, than the one of our grand and great-grand parents’ time.

Our best wishes, and health to you.

Margaret and Chris Drinkall

June 2021

It is now nearly a year since the first Rotherham LOCKDOWN book was published. It has been a tough year for many of us, who have suffered in the pandemic, suffered from loss, and suffered from isolation. However, from the very first, our NHS has striven to meet the demands of a sudden and deadly disease which brought the world to it’s knees.

It was in the spirit of thanking the NHS, that we started to release these LOCKDOWN books, with any profits going wholly to Rotherham NHS and the Sheffield Hospitals Charity.

We are happy to report that, at present, thanks to those of you who have bought these titles, that we have raised just over £400 for Rotherham and £620 for Sheffield, giving a grand total of £1020. If you have bought any of those books, thank you sincerely, for you have personally contributed to the well being of critically ill people of Rotherham and Sheffield during this dark time.

Thankfully we are now on our way out of the worst of Covid-19. We have no current plans for further LOCKDOWN books, but you can be sure there are still plenty of stories that Victorian Yorkshire’s past has to tell us. The reception of the Sheffield’s Evil Women book has been very good, and if you ever wanted to know more about Rotherham’s Scamps and Scallywags, you wont have to wait long.

Feel free to share this status, if you have contributed or want to raise awareness, as any sales from those books will be donated in the future too. A link to all the books on Amazon is right here:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=Margaret+Drinkall+Lockdown+Book

Margaret and Chris Drinkall

May 2021

Following the success of the Sheffield Dark Trilogy here is another book about crime in the city during the 19th century. This time it concentrates on the female side of Sheffield’s criminal underground. Here you will meet criminal women transported to the other side of the world for crimes as simple as stealing a few shillings, some boots or some brushes. One appalling women threw her daughter into the Rivelin Dam, not once but twice. There are tragic cases of those killing new born babies in order to hide the crime of unmarried conception. There is one woman who set her husband on fire, whether by accident or intentionally, I leave you to judge’

Some committed crimes against other women. Such as using the art of fortune telling to relieve one woman of her money. or another young girl who thought she was doomed, to kill herself. There was an ignorant midwife who killed two women with her incompetence. But perhaps the kind of woman most feared by the Sheffield authorities were the prostitutes. They were seen as duping innocent young men out of their well earned wages. Sheffield in the 19th century was seen as a hotbed of vice, and the woman who worked in such professions as the most depraved imaginable. All these cases are true and really happened in Sheffield.

The books are available to buy or download from Amazon

Margaret and Chris Drinkall

March 2021

Just in time for Christmas… The Dark Sheffield trilogy concludes with a menagerie of cases fuelled by desire and hate. For example there is a man who suffered a rejection, and in revenge plotted the death of the woman herself as well as her two sisters. Business rivalry takes a bitter twist, between two milkmen brothers, ending in something much more fatal than milk being delivered.

Buy the book here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08R6NB4WN

Hate and desire are not limited to adults… There is the case of a young boy who killed another boy he saw as a rival. Another tragic case is that of the five week old baby never wanted by it’s father, and desire was truly devoid, in the case of a baby’s body found in a railway carriage.

Men are not the only instigators here, there is a case of a mother killing herself and her small daughter for which no reason was ever established. There is a wife playing a double game with her lover. Within these pages, you’ll find gruesome tales of areas you know or may have lived in, but a warning… these are not tales for the faint of heart!

All proceeds from this book and the others in the trilogy will go to the Sheffield Hospitals Charity (SHC), which helps support the hospitals in the city, as a token of our appreciation for all the extremely hard work they are undertaking during this present COVID-19 crisis.

Have a healthy and happy Christmas holiday,

Margaret and Chris

This is the fifth Lockdown Book of Rotherham Criminals. Who knows? Perhaps it is the last, with all these vaccinations emerging. As with all previous Rotherham Books, any royalties we raise will go to Rotherham NHS Trust.

Buy in paperback or kindle format here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08QFZYJC9

There is no end to the cases from Rotherham’s murky past. They include murderous attacks on officers from the emerging “Police force”, a body of men who were at first hated by local citizens. Following their arrest of a soldier from the Boer War, there was once a riot on Frederick Street.

Children were not exempt from criminality. There are a series of petty crimes from children as young as six. The accidental death of a 13 year old boy killed whilst playing marbles by a 15 year old boy at Parkgate. Also there is a shocking sex scandal which took place when a ‘madame’ tried to get her nieces involved as prostitutes.

And if you were of diminished mental abilities, you could also be treated as a criminal… we have details of suicides who were buried in unconsecrated grounds at midnight without a Christian burial, like a criminal. And spare a thought, for the girl with limited understanding; being rejected by her family, and her subsequent desperate attempts for someone to look after her illegitimate baby.

I continue to be fascinated (and hope you do too), by the incidents of murder and crime which took place in the 19th century Rotherham. So although this may just be the last ‘lockdown’ book in the series, it wouldn’t be the end of books on that subject. I look forward to introducing you to many more in the future.

Have a happy and healthy Christmas holidays, and a prosperous new year,
From Margaret and Chris.