Foul Deeds & Suspicious Deaths in Leeds

By David Goodman

Foul Deeds and Suspicious Deaths in Leeds' is a collection of detailed accounts of foul deeds, usually murders, in the Leeds region during the period 1807–1926. The time period of 'Foul Deeds and Suspicious Deaths in Leeds' becomes a constant backdrop to the crimes committed. Many lived in cramped and over populated conditions. These appalling situations influenced some of the most notorious local crimes, which commanded the headlines at the time. 'Foul Deeds and Suspicious Deaths in Leeds' captivates crimes of passion in stark contrast to the seemingly calculated murders of Mary Bateman, known as the 'Yorkshire Witch'. The detailed approach to these individual cases tells us much about the people involved and how their lives were dramatically altered. Take a journey into the darker and unknown side of your area as you read 'Foul Deeds and Suspicious Deaths in Leeds'.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Sep 1, 2003
• ISBN: 9781783037926

David Goodman

David Goodman is an independent journalist, contributing writer for Mother Jones, host of the radio show, The Vermont Conversation, and the bestselling author of ten books. The author of Fault Lines: Journeys Into the New South Africa, and Democracy Now! (with Amy Goodman), his work has also appeared in The Washington Post, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Outside, The Christian Science Monitor, The Boston Globe, The Nation, and numerous other publications. He lives in Vermont.

Book preview

‘FOUL DEEDS AND SUSPICIOUS DEATHS’ Series

Foul Deeds and Suspicious Deaths series explores in detail crimes of passion, brutal murders, grisly deeds and foul misdemeanours. From Victorian street crime, to more modern murder where passion, jealousy, or social depravation brought unexpected violence to those involved. From mysterious death to murder and manslaughter, the books are a fascinating insight into not only those whose lives are forever captured by the suffering they endured, but also into the society that moulded and shaped their lives. Each book takes you on a journey into the darker and unknown side of the area.

Other titles in the series

Foul Deeds and Suspicious Deaths in Blackburn & Hyndburn, Stephen Greenhalgh

1 903425 18 2 • £9.99

Foul Deeds & Suspicious Deaths In and Around Chesterfield, Geoffrey Sadler

1 903425 30 1 • £9.99

Foul Deeds and Suspicious Deaths In and Around Durham, Maureen Anderson

1 903425 46 8, £9.99

Foul Deeds and Suspicious Deaths in Nottingham, Kevin Turton

1 903425 35 2 • £9.99

Foul Deeds & Suspicious Deaths In and Around Rotherham, Kevin Turton

1 903425 27 1 • £9.99

Foul Deeds & Suspicious Deaths In and Around The Tees, Maureen Anderson

1 903425 26 3 • £9.99

Foul Deeds & Suspicious Deaths in Wakefield, Kate Taylor

1 903425 07 7 • £9.99

More Foul Deeds and Suspicious Deaths in Wakefield, Kate Taylor

1 903425 48 4 • £9.99

Foul Deeds & Suspicious Deaths in York, Keith Henson

1 903425 33 6 • £9.99

Foul Deeds & Suspicious Deaths on the Yorkshire Coast, Alan Whitworth

1 903425 01 8 • £9.99

Other West Yorkshire titles

Aspects of Bradford, Bob Duckett • 1 871647 55 X • £9.95

Aspects of Bradford 2, Bob Duckett • 1 871647 82 7 • £9.95

Aspects of Calderdale, John Billingsley • 1 903425 20 4 • £9.99

Aspects of Huddersfield, Isobel Schofield • 1 871647 66 5 • £9.95

Aspects of Huddersfield 2, Stephen Wade • 1 903425 23 9 • £9.99

Aspects of Leeds 2, Lynne Stevenson Tate • 1 871647 59 2 • £9.95

Aspects of Leeds 3, Lynne Stevenson Tate • 1 903425 05 0 • £9.99

Aspects of Wakefield 2, Kate Taylor • 1 871647 68 1 • £9.95

Aspects of Wakefield 3, Kate Taylor • 1 903425 06 9 • £9.95

Boxing in Leeds & Bradford, Ronnie Wharton • 1 903425 10 7 • £9.99

Canals & River Section of the Aire & Calder Navigation

Mike Taylor • 1 903425 37 9 • £9.99

From Wakefield to Towton, Philip Haigh • 0 85052 825 9 • £9.95

Leeds Pals, Laurie Milner • 0 85052 335 4 • £17.95

Making of the West Yorkshire Landscape, Anthony Silson • 1 903425 31 X • £9.99

The Making of Huddersfield, George Redmonds • 1 903425 39 5 • £9.99

Trams Around Dewsbury & Wakefield, Norman Ellis • 1 903425 40 9 • £9.99

Please contact us via any of the methods below for more information or a catalogue.

WHARNCLIFFE BOOKS

47 Church Street • Barnsley • South Yorkshire • S70 2AS

Tel: [phone] • 734222 Fax: [phone]

E-mail: [e-mail] • Website: www.wharncliffebooks.co.uk

First Published in 2003 by

Wharncliffe Books

an imprint of

Pen and Sword Books Limited,

47 Church Street, Barnsley,

South Yorkshire. S70 2AS

Copyright © David Goodman 2003

For up-to-date information on other titles produced under the Wharncliffe imprint, please telephone or write to:

Wharncliffe Books

FREEPOST

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Barnsley

South Yorkshire S70 2BR

Telephone (24 hours): 01226 734555

ISBN: 1-903425-08-5

eISBN: 978-1-78303-792-6

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission in writing of the publishers.

This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

A CIP catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library

Cover illustration: Front – Marsh Lane Police Station. Leeds Library and Information Services

Rear – The grave of Barbara Waterhouse in Horsforth Cemetery. The author

Printed in the United Kingdom by

CPI UK

Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1 Influenced by a Wizard, 1856

Chapter 2 The Case of the Boot Fetishist, 1926

Chapter 3 Double Execution at Armley, 1864

Chapter 4 Peace in Our Time, 1879

Chapter 5 Horsforth Tragedy – The Murder of Barbara Waterhouse, 1891

Chapter 6 Murder at Star Fold, 1900

Chapter 7 A Watery Grave, 1900

Chapter 8 The Yorkshire Witch, 1807

Chapter 9 Murder in Batley, 1865

Chapter 10 The Resurrectionists, 1826-1831

Chapter 11 The Roundhay Murder, 1859

Chapter 12 Murders and Unsolved Mysteries:

1865: Irish Murder

1865: Murder in the Inn

1908: A Murder Waiting to Happen

1881: Batley Mystery

Chapter 13 Suicides:

1881: John Marks

1909: Barker Tragedy

1859: Edward Askin

1868: Matthew Atkin

1849: Elizabeth Goy

1856: James Foreman

1866: James Smith

1866: Samuel Birchall

Bibliography

Introduction

When first approached by Wharncliffe Books about writing Foul Deeds and Suspicious Deaths in Leeds I was somewhat reluctant. It is not the most pleasant topic on which to write, even though there is now considerable distance between the crimes and the present day. However, I need not have worried. It has been a fascinating venture and I only hope I have done justice to it.

The book features many of the murders, which shocked Leeds during Victorian times. Many people with an interest in local history will have heard of Charlie Peace, one of the most notorious murderers of the nineteenth century. Also, Mary Bateman’s name was known outside of Leeds through the nature of the crime and being known as the ‘Yorkshire Witch’. However, there are many other stories in the book, which have been largely forgotten for over one hundred years. Whether it be Louie Calvert, known as the Boot Fetishist, William Dove who slowly poisoned his wife to death or Thomas Mellor who drowned his daughters in the Leeds/Liverpool Canal, they are all interesting stories which deserve re-telling.

Part of my interest in the research for this book was in looking beyond the bare facts of each individual case. William Dove killing his wife is not, in itself, particularly interesting. However, it was the method behind his crime, what drove him to commit such an act and how he was detected that makes this case and others so compelling. I have also tried to convey, in some small way, the conditions in which people lived during the nineteenth and early twentieth century. Many of the victims and murderers featured lived in poverty and this makes an interesting backdrop to the stories.

There are many people who have helped me in the researching and writing of this book. Firstly Brian Elliott, Rachael Wilkinson and all at Wharncliffe Books who have always been available and willing to give advice and support when needed. The staff at the local studies libraries in Leeds, Bradford and Batley have also been very helpful during the long hours of research. Apologies to the poor people sat next to me at the microfilm machines who heard me dictate, in a sinister whisper, the most fearsome details. I hope I didn’t give you nightmares!

The Horsforth Village Museum Society was extremely helpful with regard to the Barbara Waterhouse case, providing photographs as well as supplementary information and I am very grateful to the staff at the museum.

The majority of the photographs and cartoons of Armley Prison are being held at the West Yorkshire Archive Service in Wakefield. However, permission to use them had to be given by Armley and I have Richard Branch, Human Resources Manager at the prison to thank for the fact that they are featured in the book. Also Ruth Harris at Wakefield Archives deserves my thanks for her help with the matter. Colleagues and other staff at West Yorkshire Archive Service have always been helpful when I have asked for advice and I am very grateful.

Alan Humphries at the Thackray Medical Museum was also a great help when I was researching the Mary Bateman case and the resurrectionists, as were the staff at York Castle Museum archives.

Finally, a huge thank you to my wife Julie. When I suggested a family outing last New Year’s Day she probably did not imagine that we would be taking photographs of graveyards and other sites in Leeds with links to one or more of the murders. Did she complain? Well, frankly yes she did, but she has been a huge support in every way, often making phone calls on my behalf when I pretended to be too busy. She was also a rather too critical proofreader of a couple of the chapters!

I do hope you enjoy reading Foul Deeds and Suspicious Deaths in Leeds. I can honestly say that, despite the gruesome nature of the crimes involved, it has been a huge pleasure and privilege to write.

Chapter 1

Influenced by a Wizard 1856

Harriet Dove’s death in 1856 was a puzzle to the surgeons who had come to know her in the weeks leading to her death. A complaint that affected her stomach and nervous system increased in intensity until she eventually died in agony. However, what caused her death? Her grieving husband gave no hint as to his part in her death, but sharp-eyed detectives soon saw evidence leading directly to William Dove.

William Dove’s parents, Christopher and Mary, hailed from Darlington but moved to Leeds and built up a successful leather business. Their son, Christopher Junior was planning to enter the family business but fell ill with tuberculosis and he died in 1836, aged sixteen, becoming the first person to be buried in Oxford Place. Exactly twenty years later, at York Castle, Christopher’s brother William would die at the hands of a hangman.

William did not show the same aptitude for business as his brother, failing at school and college before briefly emigrating to America. On his return to Britain he settled in Leeds and eventually met Harriet Jenkins. The couple married in 1852 but it was a desperately unhappy marriage. Dove was twenty-eight years of age, thin, middle-sized and respectable looking. However, he was a heavy drinker and possessed a violent temper. On 22 August 1854 he was taken into custody on a charge of threatening to shoot his father and attempting ‘self-destruction’. There were moments when William was kind and thoughtful to his wife but they became less frequent as time wore on and his behaviour deteriorated into brutal and violent outbursts, usually drink-related. In addition, Harriet was often ill and her costly medical bills infuriated her husband.

He became so violent towards her that Harriet grew concerned about her welfare. She told her servant, Elizabeth Fisher, that in the event of her death, she should call on friends to insist upon a post-mortem, as she was worried that foul play might be the cause.

In the meantime William Dove had met a man called Henry Harrison who described himself as a wizard. Impressed by Harrison’s alleged gifts, Dove allowed the ‘wizard’ to influence him in all his decisions, including the thorny problem of his relationship with his wife. Harrison preyed on Dove’s own doubts about his marriage, saying that he would never be happy until his wife was dead. Dove asked Harrison to put a spell onto his wife so that the two of them could live happily together.

However, this did not work and thoughts began to turn to how Dove could rid himself of Harriet. One day Dove was in Harrison’s warehouse, opposite his home when the ‘wizard’ told him that belladonna could not be found in the human body after death, especially if it was in a crystallised state.

In 1856 William Dove became obsessed with the case of the notorious Staffordshire poisoner William Palmer who had made the headlines with his crimes. Palmer set up practice as a GP in Staffordshire. However, through gambling he acquired large debts and as his debts increased, members of his family began to die off in mysterious circumstances. He killed his mother-in-law, then his wife, brother, four of his children and several of his known creditors.