Foul Deeds and Suspicious Deaths Around Pontefract & Castleford

187 Pages·2004·7.43 MB·English

by  Keith Henson

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 and Suspicious Deaths In and Around Chesterfield, Geoffrey Sadler
1 903425 30 1 . £9.99
Foul Deeds and Suspicious Deaths In Leeds,David Goodman
1 903425 08 5 . £9.99
Foul Deeds and Suspicious Deaths In Nottingham, Kevin Turton
1 903425 35 2 . £9.99
Foul Deeds and Suspicious Deaths In and Around Rotherham, Kevin Turton
1 903425 27 1 . £9.99
Foul Deeds and Suspicious Deaths Around The Tees, Maureen Anderson
1 903425 26 3 . £9.99
Foul Deeds and 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 and 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 Local Books
The Making of The West Yorkshire Landscape, Anthony Silson
1 903425 31 x . £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: [email protected] – Website: www.wharncliffebooks.co.uk

First Published in 2004 by
Wharncliffe Books
an imprint of
Pen and Sword Books Limited,
47 Church Street, Barnsley,
South Yorkshire. S70 2AS
Copyright © Keith Henson, 2004
For up-to-date information on other titles produced under the
Wharncliffe imprint, please telephone or write to:
Wharncliffe Books
FREEPOST
47 Church Street
Barnsley
South Yorkshire S70 2BR
Telephone (24 hours): 01226 - 734555
ISBN: 1903425-54-9
PRINT ISBN: 9781903425541
PDF ISBN: 9781783037759
EPUB ISBN: 9781783037773
PRC ISBN: 9781783037766
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 illustrations: (front) The Noose Oleg Volk
(back) The author
Cover design: Jonathan Wilkinson
Printed in the United Kingdom by
CPI UK
Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1 In Mr Bailey’s Words
Chapter 2 By Who’s Hand?
Chapter 3 A Disgrace to the Town
Chapter 4 The Dangers of Drink
Chapter 5 The Nailbox Coffin
Chapter 6 A Resounding Send Off
Chapter 7 White Arsenic
Chapter 8 Neither Love nor Money
Chapter 9 How Not to Drown and the Skill of Natation
Chapter 10 In the Line of Duty
Chapter 11 What Price a Son?
Chapter 12 Lemon Alley
Chapter 13 Yield to None
Chapter 14 Four Whiskies
Chapter 15 Concealment
Chapter 16 A Cruel Blow
Chapter 17 Matricide
Chapter 18 The Mysterious Disappearance of Mr Braithwaite
Chapter 19 One Silver Florin
Chapter 20 The Hung Two
Sources
Index
Introduction
Foul. adjective – offensive, loathsome, stinking; dirty; soiled.
J
(Oxford English Dictionary) ust what constitutes a foul deed largely depends
upon your perspective of the event. What is abhorrent to one person does not
always have the same effect on another. Even in cases of murder, your views
can be forced down a sympathetic path for the murderer once the reasons for
their actions are known.
What can be said of both is that we, as human beings, are attracted to them. It
is the moth and the flame; the thing that hurts us, scares us, even threatens our
life is a magnet to our curiosity. And as we ponder upon the brutality of others
and the reason for death, we count our blessings and think, ‘there but for the
grace of God go I.’
At least after reading this book, you will know to avoid drink, water, arsenic,
arguments, guns, ash pits, creosote, pit ponies and small canons.
PC Brewer served in the Pontefract Police Force in the late nineteenth century until he retired to market
his ‘Indestructable sock.’ Wakefield MDC Cultural Services.