Tag: MURDER

ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL 2023 “THERE SIMPLY MUST BE A CORPSE”

Celebrating 6 years of the podcast. I delve into the world of detectives in England during the 1840s. It’s time to explore the fascinating development of Victorian detective work, and how it was used to solve some of the most notorious crimes of the era, including the Bermondsey Horror.

I begin by looking at the emergence of detectives in England during the early 19th century. Learn how detective work evolved from the work of primitive thief-takers and the Bow Street Runners, and how the creation of the Metropolitan Police in 1829 helped to professionalize the field of criminal investigation. 

Then I’ll show how one of the most sensational crimes of the era: the murder of Daniel Good in 1842, turned into the catalyst for the new kind of policeman – the detective. I’ll show how the case showed a desperate need for detectives as an essential part of the criminal justice system, but also highlights the barbarity of the Victorian public execution. Then I’ll put it all in context, bringing together changes in society & technology, set against the background of crime & then look at what kind of people these early detectives were.

With the detectives in place, I’ll help you explore another gruesome crime that shocked Victorian England: the Bermondsey Horror of 1849. A descent into the slums together together to see detectives working tirelessly to unravel the mystery of the crime, and. We’ll also discuss how the case highlighted the darker side of Victorian society, including poverty, vice, and crime.

Finally I’ll show you the inevitable outcome of the crime; a scaffold and a rope. I’ll help you understand the fear of the victim and criminal to leave you to muse philosophically on crime and the death penalty. 

If you want to get in touch, I’d love to hear from you. You can email me at ageofvictoriapodcast@gmail.com, follow me on twitter @ageofvictoria, visit the website at www.ageofvictoriapodcast.com. The show also has a facebook page and group. Just search for Age of Victoria. Don’t forget to leave a review on Apple Podcasts, it takes less time than making a coffee. You can also subscribe for free on most major podcast apps. To support the show on Patreon, either CLICK HERE or you can go to Patreon and search for Age of Victoria podcast or my name. Take care and bye for now.

EP045: THE GRAVEST CHOICE – VICTORIAN ERA ABORTION

This episode deals with the real and harrow position for women during with contraception, pregnancy, and abortion in the Victorian era. Campaigners like Annie Besant attacked the patriarchy, and fought for the right to be heard. Women risked their lives getting dangerous abortions, in constant fear of the law, whilst the great scandal of the Victorian era, infanticide, loomed in the background. From the courts to the back alleys, join me in experiencing the reality of life before the pill. 

This episode covers. 

Intro & reviews.

Musings on the direction of the podcast

The basics of periods

What the doctor though – 1840s style.

Women’s underwear and period pain.

Menstrual leave, a feminist issue.

Ovulation and fertility.

Birth control.

Annie Besant goes on the warpath.

Mortality and unstable families.

Victorian Birth Control

Abortion and the criminal law

Religion and gender.

Abortion in practice.

Abortion – a personal account by Mary Wolfe

Murder charges

When things went wrong.

Illegitimacy as a motivation.

Infanticide, the great scandal.

The crime of concealment of birth.

Criminals preying on the vulnerable.

A tough lot.

If you want to get in touch, I’d love to hear from you. You can email me at ageofvictoriapodcast@gmail.com, follow me on twitter @ageofvictoria, visit the website at www.ageofvictoriapodcast.com. The show also has a facebook page and group. Just search for Age of Victoria. Don’t forget to leave a review on Apple Podcasts, it takes less time than making a coffee. You can also subscribe for free on most major podcast apps. To support the show on Patreon, either CLICK HERE or you can go to Patreon and search for Age of Victoria podcast or my name. Take care and bye for now.

MINI017 Great things are done when men and mountains meet

“Great things are done when men and mountains meet; This is not done by jostling in the street.” -William Blake

Join me for this adventurous minisode.

This show has

  • Setting the scene; literature and the quest for adventure.

  • How Victorian masculinity was shaped by adventure literature.

  • How the mountains effect our minds

  • An ordinary boy from Surrey gets a job oversea’s.

  • The philosophy of mountains in the Victorian era.

  • A dangerous climb.

  • A woman’s place is seeking adventure..

Follow the show on Facebook on our Facebook Page or in the Facebook group for Victorian trivia or the latest news.

You can listen on iTunes and subscribe for free to get all the latest episodes, or even leave me a review. The show is also on Spotify, Stitcher, Podbean and you can also listen via the website at ageofvictoriapodcast.com. Don’t forget to tell your friends.

Support the show on Patreon, and get an exclusive patrons only episode plus other goodies.

2ND Anniversary Special (pt2) – Charles Peace, Master of Disguise

What makes a master criminal? That type of person who goes beyond the normal petty crime or brute violence. Charles Peace was one of the most notorious criminals in the Victorian age, but why? He didn’t kill many people, or steal the crown jewels, or overthrow a government.

He had that special star quality the newspapers loved though. He was a master of disguise, constantly escaped the police, lived a double life and even had a horde of buried treasure. But what the Victorian’s loved MOST was his sensational trial for murder…..

Join me as we learn about the real Charles Peace. He was a brilliant actor. An intelligent, ruthless, ingenious and talented man. He also a killer and a twisted stalker. The papers made him a celebrity criminal, but underneath he became what he was called – “the very devil”

Follow the show on Facebook on our Facebook Page or in the Facebook group for Victorian trivia or the latest news.

You can listen on iTunes and subscribe for free to get all the latest episodes, or even leave me a review. The show is also on Spotify, or listen via the website at ageofvictoriapodcast.com

Support the show on Patreon at [https://www.patreon.com/user?u=19744898]

Newspaper article- The release of William Habron

The release of William Habron

22 March 1879 Link The Aberystwith Observer

THE RELEASE OF WILLIAM HABRON. William Habron, who was wrongfully convicted of the Whalley Range murder, which Peace confessed to have committed, was discharged from Portland Prison on Tuesday. Habron, who knew nothing of the free par- don granted to him, was on Tuesday morning informed that he was about to be removed, with two other convicts about to be liberated. He was prepared for the journey, and set off for Millbank. By orders from the Home Office no communication was made to him respecting the cause of his removal, and the whole proceedings were kept secret. Habron did not seem excited. The two officers who travelled with him were ordered to observe strict silence. Habron’s conduct and his health had alike been good during his incarcer- tion. It had been arranged that Mr. Deakin, the employer of the three Habrons, who has all through William’s severe ordeal neither flinched in his belief in his inno- cence nor relaxed in his endeavours to procure his release, should come up from Manchester, meet Habron at Millbank, and take him under his charge to his relations in Ireland. Mr. Deakin was accord- ingly waiting at Millbank to receive him when he arrived. On Habron’s arrival at On Habron’s arrival at Millbank, the fact that he had been granted a free pardon was communicated to him, together with a statement of the reasons which bad actuated the Home Secretary in recommending it. Beyond hearing from a Seller-prisoner at Portland, who was recently admitted,, that Peace had confessed the Whalley Range murder, this was the first and only intimation of what had been done in reference to hia c.ise that the poor fellow had received. The first thing William Habron said to Mr. Deakin in the cell at Milihank when he was able to speak, which for some, minutes he could not do, ‘was to i-xpress his thankfulness that at l»«t justice had been done to him, and he added, “You know, master, that we ne.ver disgraced you, He was so much over- come by the news that he was nnable to take off his prison drims and put on ordinary clothes, and had to be assisted by Mr. Deakin. As soon as the neces- sary formalities had been completed Mr. Deakin and Habron left the gaol. During the afternoon they took train for Manchester, where they arrived late on Tues- day night, Habron being taken to the house of Mr. Deakin^s brother, where the two brothers, John and Frank Habron, were waiting. The meeting between the three brothers was a very affecting one. The poor fellow seemed to be in good health, but showed in his features some traces of the suffering he has undergone. Habron has stated that after the sentence of death he suffered intense mental agony, although he was borne up by a consciousness of his innocence, and hoped that his life might be spared, and that he would ultimately be proved to the world to be guiltless. “In WilliamHabron, at least,” (says the Daily I News) there is a great fund of simple faith and atedfastness. ‘I never believed,’ he often repeats, that I could be brought in guilty, and when I was condemned I felt sure I could not be hanged, for, as I told the priest, God knows, you know, and I know that I am innocent of this crime, and an innocent man will never be allowed to suffer for the guilty.’ It was probably this steady faith in justice being ultimately done that sustained the poor young fellow’s heart and brain for the ten weeks during which he lay under sentence of death, a trial severe enough to crack the strongest nerves, and how much more terrible to a lad of eighteen !”—Habron s respite, which he received about three weeks after he was sentenced, was a great relief to him, but he continued to feel great anxiety as to what might be his fate until he was informed that his sentence of death had been commuted to penal servitude for life. After his removal to Portland he continued to hope that his innocence might be ultimately declared, and that enabled him to bear with some com- posure his confinement as a convict. The Manchester Evening Mail, in giving some further particulars respecting the release of Habron, says Mr. Cross, with the approval of Her Majesty the Queen intends to make a substan- tial grant from the Queen’s Bounty to William Babron, and it has been arranged that the money shall be invested for his use, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Salford (the Right Rev. Dr. Vaughan) and Mr. Francis Deakin being appointed trustees. The agreement was arrived at on Tuesday at an interview between Mr. Cross, Mr. Hugh Birley, M.P. (who has also evinced great interest in the case), and Mr. F. Deakin. It has not yet been announced what amount will be granted, but we have good reason to believe that the compensation will be as handsome as the Government can possibly make for the injury that has been inflicted. Habron, with Mr. Deakin, left St. Pancras Station by the five o’clock express on Tuesday, and arrived in Manchester about ten o’clock. They drove to the house of Mr. William Deakin, in Stretford- road, where Frank and John Habron were waiting to receive their brother. Although great secrecy had been observed with reference to the liberation of Habron, news of his release spread rapidly, and as the train pulled up at the various stations on the journey he was cheered by numbers of people who, having be- come acquainted with the fact that he was travelling by tbq train, had congregated at the various places. He was recognised and warmly congratulated on his release. At Bedford one gentleman presented him with a £5 note, and at Leicester another gentleman gave him half a sovereign.—Mr. Deakin did not tell him that while he had been in prison his father had died broken- hearted in consequeuca of the intense grief caused to him by the conviction of his son, and the painful fact was only brought to his knowledge by one of his brothers when he reached the house of Mr. WilliamDeakin. Habron was much affected by the news, as he said he had relied upon the hope of sooner or later being able to prove to his father and mother his innocence of the crime for which be has suffered. He remained at the house of Mr. WilliamDeakin all night, and thir morning (Wednesday) he left for Ireland, in the company of one of his brothers and Mr. W. Deakin. Mr. Cross has given Mr. F. Deakin full liberty to provide for the wants of William Habron, and has instructed him to pay his fares to the different places he is wishful to visit, and to provide him with new clothes, and then to forward the bill of costs to the Home Office. It is proposed to open a public subscription list in the course of a few days on behalf of the three brothers, and Mr. William Deakin has offered to receive any subscriptions. It may be stated that the trial cost the Habrons £140, and exhausted the whole of their savings during the years they had been employed by Mr. Deakin.”

SOURCES – MASTER CRIMINAL CHARLES PEACE

Charlies Peace, Master of Disguise.

Charles Peace was notorious during his criminal career. He is a favourite of many historical true crime fans. There are a lot of events and anecdotes about him; too many to cover in one show.

For the outline I gave you, I used the following sources.

Enthusiasts can find plenty more about him as there are plenty of sources and he pops up everywhere. I even saw a photo of one of his violins on Twitter. It has been put in a museum.

2nd anniversary special – our first murder?

Happy 2nd Anniversary This is my look back on the last two years, a lot of thank you’s, some listener questions and our first murder?

Two years of podcasts. Time to celebrate with a Victorian murder; you’ve all been asking for one for ages, so here you are.

Don’t forget to make some cake and drink some tea whilst you listen as we: 

1. start with thank you’s and reflections on the last two years.

2. then a few listener questions.​

3 . cover a murder that shocked the Victorians; a murder that showed how fast the Victorian police could investigate a crime, cover a little bit of the trial, then finally the impact of prison. Oh and that tiny little thing that changed it all…….

You can listen on iTunes, or on Spotify, or via the website at ageofvictoriapodcast.com

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