The Pickering Axe Murder

 

 

The Pickering Axe Murder

 

While Peabee was collecting material for his recent blog post – The Cousins – or where they? – he stumbled on the tale of a domestic murder in Yorkshire in 1888. Rather than confuse the original blog’s story, he decided to put together some of the newspaper reports of the time into a separate blog. The perpetrator of the crime had not been found when most of the reports appeared. The suspect was the husband who was believed to be either on the run or had committed suicide. If he had lived, been caught and gone for trial, goodness knows what the trial judge would have made of these stories. Perhaps such explicit and prejudicial reporting was allowed in the 19th century, but certainly today most of the reporters, editors and publishers would have had to stand trial themselves for perverting the course of justice!

 

First some family background:

James Pennock was born on 12 March 1848 in Cropton, Yorkshire, the eldest of ten children born to William Pennock, a farmer worker, and his wife Elizabeth (nee Carr) .

James married Hannah Bielby on 6 December 1869 in Pickering. Hannah had been born in Marishes, Yorkshire, in 1851, the daughter of William Bielby, a farmer, and his wife Jane (nee Pratt). Hannah was the fifth of 11 children in that family.

James and Hannah had nine children: Ellen (born 1869), William (1870), Jane (1873), Elizabeth (1876), Harry (1877), Hannah (1881), James (1883), Charles (1886), and Mary Pennock (1887).

The rest of the story is told in the following newspaper articles:           

The York Herald 9 November 1888

THE WIFE MURDER NEAR PICKERING.

EXCITEMENT IN THE DISTRICT.

THE CAUSE OF THE CRIME.

(From our own Reporter.)

 Some most erroneous reports having appeared as to the particulars of the horrible tragedy enacted at a gatehouse on a crossing of the Malton and Whitby line on Tuesday night, the following facts, verified by our own reporter yesterday, will clear the matter up, and also show that the tragedy, in its horrible details, is almost as shocking and exciting as the sensational Cropton murders which, about 15 years ago, alarmed the whole of north-east Yorkshire. The murdered woman’s name is Hannah Pennock, nee Bielby, about 43 years of age, who with her husband James Pennock, the supposed murderer, had for some time past lived at a crossing near the Black Bull beerhouse on the Malton and Whitby line. Pennock himself had been in the employ of the North Eastern Railway Comppany, about 20 years, and was generally looked upon as a quiet, mild, industrious fellow, yet withal at time peculiar in his ways as regards his social characteristics. He was about the same age as his wife, and they had a family of eight children, five of whom lived with the father and mother at the gatehouse, and the others were in service. The house where the couple lived is a substantial commodious building, which in the earlier years of the railway was used as a station, and all the rooms are on the ground floor. The first room is a kitchen; at an angle was the bedroom of the husband and wife, and next to this the children’s bedroom, in which slept several young children, and also a lame youth of 17 or 18 years of age. Singularly, not one of these had heard any noise during the night, nor the slightest indication of the terrible tragedy being enacted near them. On Tuesday night the children went to bed at their usual hour, the mother followed them, leaving the father and the eldest son up. Pennock himself had to “light” the nine o’clock train past the crossing, and previous to doing this he had arranged with his son to take a parcel of books for him down to Marishes Station. The son went to bed after the mother, and when the father had done his work, he entered the childrens’ (sic) bedroom, carefully wrapped them up, and asked them if they were all right. Nothing more was – nor has been since – heard or seen of Pennock. Nothing was heard during the night, but at seven next morning, when a little girl, Hannah Pennock, entered the bedroom, she found her mother weltering in her blood. An alarm was at once raised; two doctors and the police were sent for, and Dr. Donald Robertson, of Pickering, got there just before Mrs. Pennock died. Pennock had disappeared, but his watch, daubed with blood, was found in the house, and a hatchet, also covered with blood, was found in the place where it was usually kept. With this instrument the bloody deed was evidently committed, for on the right temple of the deceased is a fearful wound, jagged and deep, as if caused by the blunt end of the axe, and her right jaw is smashed. The walls of the bedroom are splashed with blood. The body was laid athwart the bed, with the arms under the bedclothes, and the fatal blows had evidently been struck when the poor creature was asleep, so that all the tales of quarrels during the night are purely mythical. Yesterday a post-mortem was made by Dr. Walker, of Pickering. Nothing has up to the time of writing been heard of Pennock, who, it is confidently believed, has committed suicide, and Supt. Spence has a force of police labourers out dragging the ponds in the vicinity and searching the rivers Rye and Derwent. The affair has caused the greatest excitement in the district. There is only too much reason to fear that jealously (sic) was the cause of the crime, as the statements of the eldest son of the deceased and the neighbours to our reporter show that frequent quarrels have of late taken place between the unfortunate couple, and the husband had been heard to threaten his wife, who was far advanced in pregnancy when she was so ruthlessly killed.

 Whitby Gazette 9 November 1888 

WIFE MURDER AT PICKERING.

LATEST PARTICULARS.

(By Our Own Reporter.)

 On Wednesday morning the people of the usually quiet neighbourhood of the market town of Pickering were startled by the report that a shocking murder had been committed on one of the neighbours during the dark hours of the previous night. The reports, wild and exaggerated at first, had substance in fact, insomuch that inquiries immediately prosecuted on the spot, revealed the awful circumstances that a woman, living in a house less than two miles from Pickering, had been murdered during the night by her husband. The victim is Mrs. Pennock, wife of James Pennock, employed by the North Eastern Railway Company, in whose employment he has been for 16 or 17 years. They occupied a house known as the Black Bull Old Station, which was formerly used as a road-side station on the Kirby Misperton line, but has been discontinued as such for about thirty years. Pennock and his wife were allowed to occupy the house free the return for the privilege being that Pennock looked after the gates there, which protect the high road from passing trains. It would appear from inquiries made by our reporter, that for some time the relations between Pennock and his wife have not been anything like of a felicitous character from causes which, whether well-founded or not, Pennock himself did  not hesitate to talk about. Anyhow, he professed to be jealous of his wife, and to many of those with whom he was personally acquainted he related what he represented as his domestic and marital troubles. Whether he actually believed in all that he represented need not be the cause of much speculation, though by some persons it is believed that he was not sincere in this respect, and that his quarrels with his wife had their offspring in his own individual peculiarities. It is quite certain, however, that his wife during her lifetime, and particularly within the last month or so, was frequently subjected to coarse sneers, jeering remarks, and corporeal ill-usage. Only a week or two back he severely maltreated the woman, bruising her severely on several parts of her body which was outwardly testified to by subsequent lameness and blackened eyes. It would appear that the last serious quarrel was never made up, the wife, it is said, refusing to be conciliated. That he was exasperated by this is quite probable, and it may have been the immediate cause which led up to the awful crime which he committed. Between nine and ten o’clock, on Tuesday night, the house was observed to be in darkness, and presumably all the occupants – Pennock, his wife, and four young children – had gone to bed. During the night no sound was heard, and, from what anyone outside knew, the lonely house was wrapped in perfect repose. But early in the morning, the flickering dawn of a winter day, revealed a spectacle which demonstrated that a horrid work had been enacted during the dark hours of the night. One of the children going into a bedroom was paralysed to see there, partially laid on the bed and tumbled in a heap, the unclothed bleeding form of her mother, apparently lifeless. The poor child was sickened at the sight of so much blood, which was oozing from a gaping wound in the skull of the prostrate and dying woman. Terrified as the girl was, benumbed as she was with the horrible spectacle which met her young eyes, it was some time before she could realise anything like what had happened. As she recovered from the shock, she screamed aloud for help, and the other children rushed to see the cause. They, too, were painfully shocked. An alarm was speedily raised, and a docter (sic) sent for, and in course of time Dr. Robertson, who is in practice at Pickering, was on the spot. He found the woman as we have described. She was not quite dead, but absolutely unconscious, and life was very obviously fast ebbing away. In a few moments all was over – the woman lay dead, the victim of anger and murderous passion. A search of the premises was afterwards made by the police under the direction of Supt. Spence, of Pickering, and the result seems to leave no doubt that the murder was committed by the husband, who was missing. An axe used for the purpose of chopping wood and such like domestic offices, was found besmeared with blood, sticking to which were small streaks of human hair, corresponding in colour and texture with that on the dead woman’s head. An examination of the wound on the head of the corpse left no doubt that it had been inflicted with a blow by this instrument, administered with a heavy hand. There were other wounds and bruises about the body, but none of them in itself likely to have caused death. Turning away at last from the scene of the awful crime, the children were removed and the house locked up, its only occupant being the body of the lifeless woman.

During the whole of Wednesday and yesterday diligent search was made all over the countryside to discover the missing man. A rumour gained credence that he had committed suicide, and it was held probable that he had drowned himself in the waters of the river Derwent, which runs close by. The river was dragged for a considerable distance, the pools were sounded or run clear, but in vain. The immediate district was scoured, and enquiries were especially made at houses which Pennock was accustomed to visit, but with no result – the man had disappeared, leaving no trace behind him except his bloody work. The police have officially communicated with all the outlying districts and centres of population, and give the following description of the missing man :

“Wanted, at Pickering, for the murder of his wife, at Black Bull, near Pickering, on the 7th inst., James Pennock, railway platelayer, 42 to 45 years of age, 5 feet 8 or nine inches high, rather stout built, grey eyes, dark complexion, bushy dark ginger beard and whiskers, moustache cut short, lump about the size of a marble on the top of his head. Dressed in an old blue cloth jacket and vest, which had belonged to a signalman, buttons stamped N E R, moleskin trousers, with linings, black soft billy-cock hat, and strong laced boots.”

The murdered woman was about 42 years of age. She is the daughter of a farmer named Beilby (sic), of Marishes, and she was married to Pennock about 18 years ago. James Pennock himself is the son of Mr. Pennock, of Cropton, who for some years was Parish Clerk there as also was his uncle. The murderer is the son of Mr. Pennock by his first wife. The father married a second time, but his wife separated from him some years ago, and is now living in Whitby. The murderer, before he went into the service of the North Eastern Railway Company was a farmer’s servant. By his wife he had nine children, the eldest of whom, born before marriage, being 18 or 19 years old. There were four children at home, all young. At the time of her murder, Mrs. Pennock promised to become the mother of another. The man of whom Pennock appears to have been the most jealous resides at Cropton, but, from all accounts, there would appear to be little or no cause for it. Anyhow, the man was so angry at Pennock so frequently mentioning his name in connection with his wife’s misconduct that he had frequently threatened to take legal proceedings against him, and it is stated that he had actually instructed a solicitor to serve Pennock with a writ charging him with slander in this connection, and it is further stated that this reached Pennock’s ears on the day preceding the committal of the crime. Pennock himself bore outside the character of a steady, quiet man, and was generally respected by those who knew him, despite some few individual singularities. He was a teetotaller and a local preacher on the Primitive Methodist Plan, and regularly and diligently went the circuit allotted to him. On the occasions of the Railway Servants annual gathering at Whitby, Pennock was one of the principal speakers, and, having a fine, sonorous voice, invariably led the singing both in camp and in the processions through the public thoroughfares of the town. It is said, however, that recently he has not been in very high favour with the leaders of the Primitive Methodist body, because of the frequent charges which he brought against his wife and which he was unable to prove. When investigation were made as to his statements, and he was brought face to face with the parties whom he had mentioned, he discovered himself incapable of remembering the particulars which he had previously given, and, indeed, so shuffled and prevaricated as to induce the belief that he had either grossly exaggerated minor circumstances of that he was labouring under some unfortunate delusion.

Yesterday, Dr. Robertson made a formal post mortem examination of the body of the murdered woman.

LATEST

The inquest will be held at 12 o’clock, at noon, to-day (Friday.)

The murderer is still at large.

 The York Herald 10 November 1888 

WIFE MURDER NEAR PICKERING.

THE INQUEST.

Yesterday morning, at the Black Bull Gatehouse, about two miles from Pickering, Mr. Arthur Wood, coroner, of Kirbymoorside, held an inquest on the body of Hannah Pennock, aged 43, wife of James Pennock, platelayer in the employ of the North-Eastern Railway Company, who was ruthlessly murdered on Tuesday night. The body was laid at the Gatehouse, which was kept by the husband of the murdered woman. Mr. Baines, of Malton, represented the North-Eastern Railway Company, and Superintendent Space watched the case on behalf of the police. The first witness called was

William Pennock (17), son of the deceased, who deposed that on Tuesday night he was at home. Four of his little brothers and sisters went to bed about eight, and his mother went about half an hour afterwards. He and a little sister went later, leaving his father up in the house. After he had gone to bed his father went into the bedroom for a hand lamp to put on the railway. That was about nine o’clock. He heard no noise, nor any talking in the house during the night. If there had been he could have heard it, as his bedroom was near to his father’s, on the ground floor. He got up about 7.15 on Wednesday morning. His sister Hannah, a child of seven years, had then gone into the mother’s room, and she went screaming back to the witness, who went into the bedroom and found the bed all covered with blood. He examined her head, and when he saw the wounds he searched for anything “he” had done it with. (Witness said by “he” he meant his father, as he at once thought his father had done it.) Had not heard his father and mother quarrelling that night, but had heard them previously. He found an axe belonging to the house in a tub, where they usually kept it. His father and mother did not speak to each other on Tuesday evening whilst he was there. They often quarrelled. Never saw his father strike deceased, but he once saw him push her out of doors. That was about fourteen weeks ago. Had seen marks on his mother’s person caused by his father. When the father put her out of the house she had thrown several plates in his face. The axe, produced by Supt. Spence, was like the one he found in the tub, and the thick end of the head was then all blood. The watch produced was also his father’s. It was found on the kitchen table, and had blood on it. His mother was alive when he first went into the room, because she was breathing and “ruttling” in the throat. She could not speak. Did not think his mother was afraid his father would do something of the sort, but had heard her say she should stop till she was killed. Had seen his mother strike his father. That was last week. She was forced to do it because he told a great lie, and witness and his mother proved it to be such.

William Hardwick, platelayer, employed near the scene of the murder, spoke to hearing the children call to him on Wednesday morning when at work. He went in and found deceased on the bed with her head all covered with blood. She was not dead, and witness went off to Pickering for a doctor. Sometimes Pennock did not speak to them, appearing as if there was something on his mind. Could not say he was “in a low way.” Had not heard him quarrelling with his wife lately.

Charles Bustard, signalman, deposed that when he passed Pennock’s house at 5.30am on Wednesday morning he heard no noise, nor were there lights in the house, which there usually were at that hour, as Pennock had to be at work at six. He noticed the bed, and the pillows were quite straight. Did not think the bed had been occupied by two persons, as the pillow on the other side of the body seemed untouched. (This observation was made by Hardwick, according to the report in The North Eastern Daily Gazette of 10 November)

Superintendent James Spence, of Pickering, spoke to going to the scene along with Dr. Walker, of Pickering. Witness examined the house and found the axe produced in a tub at the back entrance. The axe was covered with blood on one side.

Elizabeth Pennock, a daughter of the deceased, said that at dinner time on Tuesday, the day before the murder, her father and mother were quarrelling, and her mother threw a basin full of broth into her father’s face. Her father also once “bunched” her mother on the leg. The reason she threw the broth was because her father charged her with having been with another [whom witness named.] There had been frequent quarrels between her father and mother. When her mother threw the broth at him he “brayed” her over the head.

Dr. John Harrison Walker, of Pickering, deposed to being called by the police to the Black Bull Gatehouse. Saw the deceased woman in bed. She was dead when he arrived, but the body was warm. Could not, from what he saw, say how long the wounds on deceased had been inflicted, but they must have been very recent – perhaps some hours before. On making a post-mortem he found on the head of the decease a triangular would in the temporal region, on the right side, about an inch long. In it witness found a loose piece of bone, and some brain substance escaped from the wound. There was another contused wound on the right side of the head, of irregular shape. It was filled with coagulated blood. The bone beneath was found fractured. There was a bruise on the right jaw, the bone of which was fractured. Blood escaped from the left ear, the nose, and the mouth. The skull over the left ear was extensively fractured, the whole of the bones except the occipital being broken. There was another fracture at the base of the skull, which extended from the frontal bone across the base of the skull nearly from left to right. The molar bone was fractured, and laid loose. Witness had no doubt but that the deceased died from fracture of the skull and extensive injuries to the brain. The axe produced was a very likely instrument to cause those injuries, and great force must have been used in causing them. – By the Jury: There had been at least three blows struck. She had a very thick skull. He never saw but one thicker, and that was the case of a woman also. The hair he found on the axe closely resembled that on the head of the deceased. Could not say that the blood was human blood.

The Coroner the summed up. He referred to the doctor’s evidence as to the fearful injuries inflicted upon the deceased, which were undoubtedly the immediate cause of death. Who had inflicted them was another matter, and was solely for their consideration. They had heard what the witnesses had said about the frequent quarrellings between the deceased and her husband. No other person had been seen about the house. The husband had absconded, and could not be found, notwithstanding the closest search made by the police. The jury were then left alone to consider their verdict, and just as the police and reporters left the room, a telegram was handed to Supt. Spence to say that Pennock had been captured at Yedingham, only a few miles away, and an officer was at once despatched for him. The fact of this opportune capture of the missing man shortened their deliberations, and they at once returned a verdict of “Wilful murder” simply, leaving it to another court to decide who is the guilty party.

                                            THE REPORTED CAPTURE OF PENNOCK A HOAX

The telegram sent to Supt. Spence announcing the capture proved to be a hoax, for which the perpetrators will be taken severely to task. Supt. Spence drove off at once from the inquest to the place indicated, and found the rumour originated on nothing but gossip, and had been wired from one signal-box to one close by where the inquest was held. Pennock had not been seen at all in Yeddingham (sic). The rumour has got such good hold that large crowds of people assembled there and in villages near, and the excitement became intense while waiting for the arrival of Supt. Spence and his expected prisoner. He had a constable in the conveyance with him, and the crowd were actually under the impression that he was taking Pennock to the cells. It was not till a long time after that the real fact became known.

 The Northern Echo 12 November 1888 

THE SHOCKING WIFE MURDER NEAR PICKERING,

FUNERAL OF THE VICTIM.

On Saturday, the remains of Hannah Pennock, the unfortunate victim of the murder committed at Black Bull Gatehouse, between Malton and Pickering, on Tuesday night last, were interred at Pickering, in the presence of a large company, who expressed the deepest commiseration at her sad fate. The poor woman had left eight children behind her (the youngest but two years old and the eldest son a cripple, having recently lost a leg), and these all followed in the sad funeral procession. The husband, James Pennock, who is suspected of having so brutally murdered his wife, is still at large, notwithstanding the most zealous efforts of the police to capture him. Since nine o’clock on the night of the murder not the slightest trace of him has been seen or heard. The police believe he has committed suicide, but a thorough search of the Rye and Derwent and of all the ponds in the district, has so far yielded nothing. Th search was continued up to Saturday night. The sympathy of the neighbours seems to be with the fugitive, who state that he “had a deal to put up with.” He seems, however, to have been outrageously jealous of the deceased.

 Bradford Weekly Telegraph 8 December 1888 

The Pickering Murder.

A Queenstown correspondent telegraphed on Sunday night – The latest American papers of the 23rd ult. just received state that a mysterious man, who admits that he is travelling incognito, was arrested at Castle Garden, New York, on the previous evening, after alighting from the Guion steamer Wyoming, from Liverpool. The police were armed with a cablegram from the Chief of Police of Northallerton, England, asking them to take into custody a passenger who was registered as James Shaw. The prisoner, who gives his name as Mr Pennock, of Pickering, North Riding, Yorkshire, was then charged with the murder of his wife on the 7th ult. He declared that his name was James Shaw, and he came from Leeds. He says he parted with his wife and three children at the Leeds railway station on the 9th ult., and has no reason to believe his wife is not alive. He came to America to better his prospects, and left his wife and family with a widow, named Chapman, in Dyer Street, St. Peter’s Square, Leeds. He further states that wife’s name is Alice, whereas the name of the murdered woman was Hannah. The American papers further say that Shaw fully answers the description of “Jack the Ripper,” and there was in his pocket a paper containing the illustrated account of the Whitechapel horror, and the rumour spread that the Whitechapel murderer was a prisoner in New York. The prisoner having complained of being hungry, was then taken to a restaurant by the police, where he ate ravenously, and was apparently unconcerned about the charge of murder.

The report that the Pickering murderer had been arrested in New York has proved to be nothing more than a false alarm, and that the man travelling under the name James Shaw is not the man Pennock who is wanted for the murder of his wife near Pickering. It seems that on the 8th November a girl (a native of Cropton, near Pickering), who is in the service of Dr Wills, near Leeds, made a statement to her mistress that she had seen the man Pennock in Leeds. The police at Pickering were communicated with, and after making careful inquiry in conjunction with the Leeds police it was found that a man answering the description given by the girl took out a passage for New York on board the Wyoming on November 8 under the name of James Shaw, of Swinton, near Malton. Further inquiry showed that there was no person of that name and address, and the police felt confident that this was the man they wanted. They communicated with the authorities at New York to detain this man, and arrangements made for his extradition. The man was arrested as reported, but the authorities, after careful inquiry, were satisfied that he was not the man, and having explained his reasons for travelling under an assumed name, he was discharged. 

Yorkshire Evening Post 6 April 1889 

THE PICKERING MURDER.

DISCOVERY OF THE BODY OF PENNOCK THIS DAY.

(From our own Correspondent.) 

This morning, the body of James Pennock, the man accused of the murder of his wife at Black Bull Gatehouse, near Pickering, on November 7th last year, was discovered in the beck near Pickering Low Mill. The body was found by Robert Sellars, son of the occupier of the mill, whilst clearing away some rubbish to allow the water to pass into the mill race. He saw something floating on the surface of the water, and on turning it over saw the man’s face. The body was found to be in an advanced stage of decomposition owing to the length of time it had been in the water, and it had on the jacket, bearing the initials “N.E.R.,” the letters being covered with a piece of cloth stitched over. The boots were also on the feet, but trousers were minus. It is supposed that the body had been lodged in another part of the beck for some time, but had been removed by the present pressure of water. The place is about a mile and a half distant from the scene of the murder. Capt. Spence at once communicated with the coroner. 

Yorkshire Gazette 13 April 1889 

THE PICKERING MURDER.

DISCOVERY OF THE BODY OF THE MURDERER. 

Early last November a horrible murder was committed at Pickering, the victim being Mrs. Pennock, the wife of James Pennock, a labourer employed on the North-Eastern Railway, and living at the Old Station, between Pickering and Malton. The unfortunate woman went to bed as usual on the evening of Tuesday, the 6th November, and nothing of an unusual character was heard by the family during the night. On the following morning, one of the children went into the bedroom, and was horrified to find the mother lying on the bed, her clothes being saturated with blood. Her head was much bruised and cut, and life appeared to be extinct. The crime, it was believed, was committed by the husband, an axe, stained with blood being found in the house, and the medical gentlemen were agreed that the wounds had been inflicted with this instrument. The deed was attributed to motives of jealousy. The husband was well known in the district as a local preacher in connection with one of the local religious bodies. The police had failed to find any clue to his whereabouts, he having decamped immediately afterwards; but his dead body was found in the river at Pickering on Saturday. It will be recollected that a man was wrongly arrested in America on this charge. The finding of the body caused excitement in the district.

Dr Arthur Wood, coroner, of Kirbymoorside, held an inquest at Law (sic) Mills, Pickering, on the body of James Pennock, railway labourer, who was found dead in the mill-race. Evidence of identification was given, and also the condition of the deceased before death, and the Coroner, thinking that there was not sufficient evidence to show the man’s real state of mind, suggested an adjournment, but the jury considered the man was sane when he committed the foul deeds, and, consequently, returned a verdict of felo-de-se. The body of the murderer was subsequently interred at ten o’clock on Saturday night in the graveyard attached to the Wesleyan Chapel, Pickering, and close by the body of his victim.