On the morning of Sunday 7 October 1883 a forty five year old man called William Ratcliffe was found lying in the gutter of his house in a court off Boden Lane, Sheffield. Local newspapers described the yard as being ‘one of those miserable looking courts off Rockingham Street and one of the worst of its class in the town.’ The man was unconscious and multiple bruises were found about his head, so it was suspected that he had been attacked. Ratcliffe had also earned a reputation in the area as being a bit of a performer. He claimed to be a fortune teller and had also appeared as a ‘bearded lady’ travelling the country and appearing in various theatres and music halls under the name Poll Ratcliffe.
However because of his disreputable lifestyle, the deceased man had developed a reputation as being a bit of a wastrel. It was known that in his youth his doting father had given him £10 in order to forward his prospects. At first Ratcliffe had worked assiduously until he married a woman with some money of her own, and that was when he took up more idle pursuits. He squandered the money and, as a result his wife had left him years earlier. According to local gossip she was now living in America. Local newspapers also pointed out that Ratcliffe had a very effeminate appearance with his small face, thin long hands and an effeminate mode of speech.
This also added to the way in which he was successful by earning a living as a female impersonator. It was also rumoured that at one time Ratcliffe had walked about the streets of Sheffield dressed as a woman. At the same time he was known to eke out an existence by gathering herbs which he sold when telling fortunes in the public houses of the town. It was also reported at the time that:
‘Ratcliffe’s vaunted powers as a herbalist and a fortune teller do not appear to have caused him to be feared like the witches of old were by the lower classes. However he has been an object of scorn and banter to many “roughs” on account of his womanish ways. Altogether he was an extraordinary character and just as his career was singular, so is his death shocking.’
It was also known that Ratcliffe’s usual habits were to go to a public house called Wallace’s Vaults in Campo Lane, Sheffield. Sometimes, if he had no money to purchase beer, the landlord would often allow him to sit down and ‘hold court’ at one of the tables in the bar area.
On Saturday night, 6 October Ratcliffe had gone there and the landlord had served him a free glass of liquor. He seemed to be in a lively mood and it was reported that he stayed there for some time, having a couple of glasses of beer paid for by his friend Thomas Parkin. Around 9.30 the pair left for another public house called the Paradise Vaults where they both had more to drink. Eventually the pair left around 9.30 pm as Ratcliffe was known to not like to stay out late. As the Sheffield Independent stated once more ‘lest he should be set upon by some of the “rough’s” that infest that neighbourhood.’
Much later a neighbour, Mrs Darwent had heard a cry of ‘Oh, poor Poll’ at some time around midnight, but as she heard no more, forgot about it till the next day. Her husband Mr Frederick Darwent had been engaged to clean out the engine and boiler at Askhams Works, so he left the house around 6 am. Suddenly he saw his neighbour lying in the doorway face downwards in a pool of blood. Calling out to others they managed to bring the unconscious man inside and lay him out on the settle. Medical help was sought for him, but nevertheless he died shortly afterwards. Needless to say the death was reported at the police station and the Borough Coroner Mr. D Wightman was asked to arrange an inquest on the body.
Accordingly, it was held at the George and Dragon Inn, on Broad Lane, Sheffield on the afternoon of Wednesday 10 October 1883. However before the coroner arrived at the inquest, the jury was taken to view the body which lay on some boards, still at the house on Boden Lane. The members of the jury also noticed that there were large crowds of people collecting in the streets around the courtyard, all curious to see what had taken place. Police officers soon arrived to attempt to keep the crowd back and to stop them from trying to enter the house where the dead man had lived. As the inquest opened, it was noted that also present were Detective Inspector Thompson and Inspector Bird to watch the enquiry on behalf of the police.
Surgeon, Mr W Skinner of Brookhill was the first witness and he told the inquest that on the night in question he had received a parish order from the Workhouse Guardians requesting a visit. When he arrived at the house, he found Ratcliffe still alive, but in a dying condition. He stated that shortly after 8 am on Monday morning he visited again. He said that he found Ratcliffe still unconscious although, sadly he died around 9.30 am. The surgeon stated that he had also undertaken the post mortem on the man’s body. He made an external examination of the man’s body and described the severe bruise over his left eye.
Internally he found a fractured skull over the roof of the eye, under the bruised area. Mr Skinner reported that the skull was flooded with blood and his membranes very extended. He suggested that Ratcliffe’s fracture had been so severe, that he could not have moved after receiving that death blow. The coroner asked the surgeon if the fracture could have been caused by the man simply falling onto the ground, but Mr Skinner shook his head. The neighbour, Frederick Darwent stated that he had known the deceased man ever since he went to live at the house in Boden Lane about eighteen weeks previously.
The witness described finding him around 6 am the previous Sunday lying against his own, open front door. He described Ratcliffe as being fully dressed with his legs still inside the house, but his head and shoulders outside. Darwent was asked by Inspector Bird whether or not he had noticed any implements around the body, such as a poker, a brick or anything of that kind? However Darwent made it clear that there was nothing of that sort anywhere near the body. The witness said that he heard Ratcliffe earlier call out ‘poor Poll, oh poor Poll’ around half past midnight. The witness explained the fact that the deceased man had gone by the name of ‘Poll’ Ratcliffe.
At this point the coroner stated that the police were still continuing in their enquiries, so therefore he would adjourn the inquest for a week until Friday 19 October. On the afternoon of Friday12 October the funeral of William Ratcliffe took place at the Sheffield Township Burial Ground on Intake Road, Sheffield. In order not to encourage crowds of people at the house on Boden Road, the body had been removed the night before and taken to the home of his sister, Mrs Siddons on Milton Street. Thankfully there was only a small group of about forty women and children in attendance at the graveside. Indeed the funeral would have passed off without incident, apart from one strange occurrence.
During the graveside ceremony an unnamed young man, who it was reported had been a companion to the deceased, fell backwards into a fit. Thankfully someone nearby grabbed him quickly in order to prevent him from falling into the empty grave. When the inquest was resumed once again at the George and Dragon, another neighbour called George Richardson was the first witness. He described being called to help after the body had been found. He stated that he had not seen the deceased on the Saturday night, but had been called upon by Darwent around 6 am on Sunday morning. He confirmed that Ratcliffe was not dead then, as he had helped to carry him inside, although he could offer no explanation as to how he had come by his injuries.
In his summing up the coroner told the jury ‘that was all the evidence that could be produced and the only difficulty about the case was the evidence of the surgeon Mr Skinner.’ He had made it clear that the deceased man had not died from natural causes, but had been unable to state what had actually killed him. He said ‘if that were so, it was equally certain he did not inflict his injuries on himself. Therefore they must have been caused by another party.’ As the jury were considering this statement, one of the jury told the inquest about something which had happened earlier in the week, which threw a spanner into the work.
This unnamed juror said that a woman had approached him and asked him if he had been part of the jury in the inquest, and the man admitted that he was. She told him that she had spoken to William Ratcliffe on the Saturday night and he had told her that someone had threatened to kill him ‘between that night and the morning following’ and that he was in great fear. The juror stated that he had informed Sergeant Thompson about this conversation. The sergeant confirmed this and told Mr Wightman that he knew about the man’s statement, but had not been able to find anything else out about it all.
It seems that this unknown woman had met Ratcliffe by the Grapes Inn in Portobello around 11.15 pm as she was going home. The woman, knowing his aversion to being out late, asked him what he was doing out at that time of night. He replied that a man with the nickname of ‘Pork Pie’ had threatened him and he was anxious to get home. However the Mr Wightman dismissed this statement and told the jury that the police had enough time to make all their enquiries which had all come to nothing. Therefore the jury must arrive at a verdict or he would have to adjourn the inquest once again.
Sergeant McManus told the inquest that he had three officers who had devoted the whole of their time to the case, yet had come up with nothing. The matter of a reward was brought up for the name of the person who had killed William Ratcliffe, but once again the coroner stated that there was not sufficient evidence to show that the deceased had indeed been killed. If it had been proved to be a murder or an aggravated case of manslaughter, Mr Whiteman would be glad to have a reward issued, but he could not order a reward in a case of mere supposition. Finally the coroner once again requested the jury to decide on a verdict according to the evidence and the evidence alone.
The jury then retired before returning back around twenty minutes later. The verdict which they had decided on was that: ‘the deceased man, William Ratcliffe had died on the sixth instance from a fractured skull. But as to how the injury was inflicted, there is no evidence to show.’ Finally the coroner thanked the jury for their effort before terminating the inquest on William Ratcliffe – the bearded lady!