Henry Fair worked as a collier’s labourer in Rotherham in March of 1877, where life should have been perfect for him. Six weeks earlier he had married a woman half his age, called Elizabeth Richardson, who despite her young age was already a widow. The wedding had taken place on Sunday 12 February 1877, and the couple settled together in a house in Parkgate. However, since that time they had quarrelled so violently, that they had mutually agreed to separate. Consequently, Elizabeth had gone back to live with her mother and father, Mary and George Richardson on Chapel Street, Parkgate, whilst her husband moved into lodgings in Rotherham.

Henry burned with resentment at what should have been a happy and contented time of his life. On Monday 26 March 1877 he made a most dreadful decision. Going into ironmongers, Messrs Haggard’s shop on the High Street, Rotherham, he asked for 2lbs of blasting powder and a ring of fuse about eight yards long. Mr Haggard, who knew Henry worked as a colliers labourer, thought nothing of supplying him with the dangerous items required. Later that evening when it was already dark, Henry then proceeded to Elizabeth’s fathers house at Parkgate. He then poured the blasting powder into a cellar grating underneath the front window of the house and lit the fuse.

It would be hard to describe his emotions as he was completing his task, as he knew that Elizabeth’s her father also took in lodgers. Therefore he was aware that there would have been at least twelve people in the house at the time. As Henry was lighting the fuse, some children who had been playing nearby, started to shout out a warning to those in the house and consequently some of them rushed outside to see what the matter was. One of them was a lodger who worked at the same colliery as Henry, a man called Thomas Phipps. Henry told him to ‘keep those children back.’ Pointing at the grating he said ‘there’s 20lbs of blasting powder in there, and it will blow us all to hell in about two minutes’.

Without hesitation, Phipps cut the burning fuse and threw it into a nearby pond. George Richardson meanwhile grabbed hold of his son-in-law and held tightly onto him whilst shouting for someone to call the police. Meanwhile George’s brother, Richard who was also at the house, took the grating off and scooped up the powder into a bucket. Incredible as it seem, whilst waiting for the police to arrive, the prisoner got one of the bystanders to buy eight quarts of beer. He shared this with the crowds of people now being attracted to the spot. Thankfully Police Constable Jowett soon arrived and took the prisoner into custody

Henry Fair was brought before magistrate, Mr H Jubb the following day on Tuesday 27 March where he pleaded guilty. The first witness was the police officer who told the court that he had arrested the prisoner at the scene. PC Jowett was asked if the man had been sober at the time, and he gave the bench his opinion that Henry had been drinking at some point, but seemed sober enough to know what he was doing. The officer commented however that throughout the whole proceedings, the prisoner showed absolutely no remorse. In fact, he reported it was just the opposite. All the way to the police station Henry Fair expressed regret that he had not succeeded in his diabolical attempt.

The Chief Constable asked for a remand of seven days for the prisoner which was granted, The case was therefore re-opened on Monday 2 April where the prosecution was Mr C Hoyland, although the prisoner was undefended. Elizabeth Fair was the first witness and she told the court that she had known the prisoner for three years when he lodged at her fathers house. She described him as being very controlling and that five weeks previously she had been forced to take him before the magistrates for using bad language towards her. She stated that he had been bound over to keep the peace for six months. Nevertheless she truly believed that once married, Henry would settle down and make a good husband.

Elizabeth stated that even as a lodger he had been in the habit of drinking too much and she only agreed to marry him on the understanding that he would stop drinking altogether. However within five weeks Henry had broken that promise and since then he had barely been sober. The witness said that at first, she had tried to avoid him, so did not go out of the house for a few days. Then she described hearing the children making a noise outside on the night in question and seeing the powder in the grate. Elizabeth’s younger sister, Ann also described going home on that Monday night and seeing the prisoner lighting a fuse. She ran inside her fathers house and told him what Henry had done.

A lodger called Thomas Phipps also gave evidence of seeing the prisoner near to the Richardson’s house through their front room window. Some children were shouting and looked frightened, so he went outside to see what the matter was. That’s when he saw that the fuse attached to the grating was burning. As an experienced collier, he estimated that it would have taken just two minutes to have ignited the blasting powder. He also knew from experience that it would have blown up the whole house along with all the people inside. Phipps stated also that where the prisoner had been standing at the time, he too would also have been killed in the explosion, if the powder had ignited.

At this point the prisoner pointed out that the powder had not been confined to a small area, but through open grating and therefore Henry argued that it would not have blown the whole house up. He said at the very best it might have blown the grating out of its setting. John Allen, an assistant at Messrs Haggard and Sons at Rotherham gave evidence that at the time the prisoner bought the powder and fuse ‘he appeared confused.’ The bench concluded that Henry Fair was to take his trial at the Assizes for ‘maliciously placing into or against a building a quantity of gunpowder, with intent to do bodily harm.’ Accordingly the prisoner appeared at the Wakefield Sessions on Wednesday 4 April 1877.

Henry’s defence was that he was well experienced in using blasting powder in his line of work and that if he really intended to blow up the house, he would undoubtedly have succeeded. He claimed that instead of having a settled married life, his honeymoon had barely been over before Elizabeth had taken him to court for his controlling behaviour. Henry also stated that his wife had then stripped the house of all the furniture, just leaving him a few necessary items. Despite his denials of any intention to blow up the house, the bench found the prisoner guilty and sentenced him to five years imprisonment.

But that was not the end of Henry Fair.

In May 1877 he was taken to the Model Prison at Pentonville in order to serve his time. However on Monday 27 August, Elizabeth Fair was informed that her former husband had died. It seems that Dr Hardwick the London Coroner had held an inquest into the prisoner who had died at the prison, barely three months into his sentence. Newspaper reports stated that since Henry had arrived, he had slowly declined in health and died on 23 August 1877. After hearing evidence from the staff and other inmates of Pentonville, the verdict was given that Henry Fair ‘died by the visitation of God.’