Times Past
22 June 2024
A recovered lunatic
17 March 2024
In defence of the "Savages of North Devon"
The first of several letters to the Editor of the North Devon Journal from Rev. T. J. Leslie, Appledore, published Thursday, 23 November 1871. The "Special Commissioner" was James Greenwood who later published an expanded account.
The "So-Called Savages of North Devon"
Upcott, photographed about 1860 by William Hector |
Will you kindly publish the following facts in reference to the above subject?
On the 23rd October the Daily Telegraph published a report of a visit made by their "Special Commissioner" to the house of Mr. C. Cheriton, of Nymet Rowland. The report being greatly exaggerated and highly sensational, and having been reprinted by many of the daily and weekly newspapers throughout the country, I wrote to the Editor of the Daily Telegraph, not as an apologist for Cheriton or for his ill-deeds, but simply to place a few facts, which had come under my own notice, before the readers of the said report, so that they might have more correct account of poor Cheriton and his family. But to my astonishment the editor has not published my letter. Such conduct, to say the least about it, is mean in the extreme. It unjust to the poor man and his family; and it unjust to North Devon.
Many my friends, knowing that I knew the neighbourhood of Nymet Rowland, have asked me for my opinion about the report of the "Special Commissioner;" and my reply has been—It is greatly exaggerated. It contains some of the most unjust charges and abominable insinuations that it is possible for a corrupt mind to think of; and if the "Special Commissioner" be the author of them, I fervently pray that he may never again visit the North of Devon. I will not repeat the abominable and vile insinuations which the report contains, but will point out to you a few things connected with the family, which may be of interest to readers of your paper, and secure for the Cheritons that justice which is their due.
It is not a difficult matter for a few rich farmers to invite a reporter to come down to "interview" a poor family, who may be disagreeable neighbours—give him good fare for the day, and frank his expenses. Many of their prosecutions of the Cheritons have savoured much of the spirit of persecution. The "Special Commissioner" in his report says, "Thus saith rumour." Allow me to tell him that rumour also saith, "The rich farmers would like to rid the parish of the Cheritons." I would suggest to him, and through him to them, that would be more Christlike, if, instead of persecuting them, they would try a little kindness and respectful forbearance.
The "Special Commissioner" speaks of "a mud floor, walls as black as soot, and full of chinks." He says "There was no fire place; but a ruddy glow smouldered from a hole in the floor of earth, and over it, by an "iron chain, a cooking pot was suspended." If he had examined other houses in the neighbourhood, he would have found that nearly the whole of them are built of "cob," the floors made of what he calls "mud," (lime and sand, or paved with small stones,) and very few would have fire-grates, the fire being on the hearth, with an open chimney place, and the pot or kettle hung over it by a chain fastened to a cross-bar in the chimney. Wood and not coal is mostly burned in the neighbourhood.
A person coming down from London would conclude at once that such houses were not fit for human beings live in: but the natives like to live in houses built of cob, and to have good fire of wood upon the hearth. I admit that poor Cheriton's house is in a very dilapidated condition; it needs much repairs; but I very much question whether any of his detractors in Nymet Rowland would let him have a few bundles of reed to repair the roof with.
Much of the cottage property of North Devon is far below what it ought to be; but such reports as the one written by the "Special Commissioner of the Daily Telegraph" will not tend to improve it. The landlords themselves are aware of the fact, and many of them are improving the cottages of their workmen. The "Special Commissioner" makes much of the fact that there was a little mud between the gate and the house through which he had to pass. I could take him to respectable farm houses where he would experience some difficulty in getting from the gate to the house in wet weather without dirting his boots.
This "Special Commissioner" tells us that he came down to interview this poor family because "a clergyman had this time spread the amazing intelligence." I am sorry to hear it. It is a great pity that a clergyman, who is paid by the State to instruct the poor, should have nothing better to employ his time than write to the Times against one of his own parishioners, who could not reply to his letter. I would suggest to the "Special Commissioner" that the next time he makes a visit to North Devon he should enquire into the conduct of some of the clergymen who have lived in the neighbourhood of Nymet Rowland; and I am sure he will be able to write a report far more sensational than the one he wrote about the so-called savages of North Devon.
There are several state-paid clergymen living within the radius of a few miles of Cheriton's house. What, I ask, have they done to save this poor family from a life of sin and misery? They cannot plead a lack of time, for some of them have time enough to go fox-hunting. They need not fear being molested, for I have passed the house both by day and night without fear or harm. Let the clergy of the county do their duty, as before the Lord, (which I am thankful to say many of them are endeavouring to do,) and there will soon be no (so-called) savages of North Devon to write the newspapers about.
I admit they are in bad repute in the neighbourhood, but, speaking from what I used to see of them, I am bold to say that they do not deserve the treatment which they have received. When I was pastor of the Independent Church in Lapford I frequently saw them at the chapel. At other times I have seen them going to the church. I conducted religious services in a cottage at Nymet Rowland, and I have seen some members of the family there. I have also seen them at the meeting at Chenson, and they always behaved themselves in proper manner.
Having spoken of them as I knew them a few years ago, let me now speak of them as they are at present. My wife went with a lady to see them last Thursday. They drove up to the gate, and one of them alighted and went into the house. A young woman came out, and took charge of the horse and trap, and then gave the horse some hay. When they entered the house they found a young woman sitting near the fire, who was evidently very ill, with the baby on her knee (of whom the "Special Commissioner" gives such a graphic description). They spoke kindly to her (she was very weak and faint), and looked at the baby, which they found to be sickly, but not in the state as described by the "Special Commissioner."
The other young woman then entered the house, and said that her mother had gone to the shop at Lapford to buy some things, but added—"She will back soon." Three little boys came and looked in two or three times: at length one of the little fellows ventured in, and sat down beside his mother. The old man was out working on the farm, but a message having been sent to him, he came to the house, and seemed to very pleased to see his visitors. He rubbed his hands, smiled, and said—"I am glad to see ye, I be; but I be afeard ye will not be comfortable here. Will ye mind going to the Public, and I will pay for a glass each for ye."
They thanked him for his kindness, and said they had brought some provisions with them and they were going to take tea with him. He thanked them much, and appeared to be somewhat confused. Tea was provided, and they were all enjoying the social cup when the old woman returned. She looked as if she was taken aback, but, recovering herself, soon made herself at home, and began to tell them how they were persecuted and annoyed.
She complained very bitterly of the infamous report of the "Special Commissioner." She says that he called and them if they would give him a drink of water, and, thinking that he was an honest man, she told her daughter to give him a drink of milk; at the same time saying, she knew gentlemen liked cider, but that they were quite out of it. She declares he is a bad man, or he would never have drank the milk, which she gave to him, and afterwards and write lot of lies about them.
Before leaving my wife said they had brought two New Testaments with them, and they intended to read a chapter and pray together before they left. Cheriton said he should be pleased if they would do so. But as she was beginning to read Matthew, xxv. chapter, a voice was heard outside, "Is your father at home?" Cheriton went to the place where the door once stood, and the voice was heard again, "I have come to speak to you as the head of the house about your family insulting my servants."
The daughter went to the door, and the voice was heard again, "You women are the worst." They replied, "Your servants, and a brother of one of them, were here last night stoning us for an hour and half: they won't let us alone." The voice was heard again, "I am going now, and if you do not behave yourselves I will get a summons for you." The old woman called out, "It is you who put the letters in the papers." The voice was again heard, "I know nothing about that, I have come now to talk to you about your conduct." That voice was the Parson's.
The above facts will speak for themselves. During the last few weeks they have received several letters, some of which are full of silly questions, such as—"Can you read?" "Can you say the Lord's prayer? If you cannot, then go to the clergyman and he will teach you." Several persons have called, but they have no confidence in these "special" visitors, and they have refused to have any conversation with them.
My wife did not see the eldest son. She enquired where he was, and they said, "He had gone to help the daughter's husband with little work he had to do.
Cannot something be done to help this poor family? It would not cost much money to repair the house, and provide a little clothing for them. Things have gone from bad to worse, and members of the family have been fined at various times by the magistrates, so that they are not able to repair the house, although they may desire to do so.
A christian lady has kindly promised to give me ten shillings if a subscription list is opened on their behalf. I shall be willing to receive other sums toward the relief of the so-called savages of North Devon. Subscriptions will be acknowledged through your paper.
I am, Dear Sir, yours truly,
T. J. LESLIE, Independent Minister.
Appledore, North Devon, November 18th, 1871.
[We readily make use of our correspondent's letter. All will admire the audi alteram partem ["listen to the other side"] spirit which prompted him to say what he knew that was favourable to, or extenuating of, the Cheritons. All will do justice to the kindness of the ladies who visited them. Still, there can be no denying that, under how much provocation soever, they have been guilty of many indefensible breaches of the law, and that their mode of living is an outrage on the proprieties of civilization, the more inexcusable because it is idle to say that a family occupying their own freehold of forty acres have not the means of living in decency.
One can't much wonder if the rich farmers in the neighbourhood do wish to be rid of such neighbours. We hope they will bethink themselves that there is a better thing to be aimed at than even to be rid of them. If they would but try what the "law of kindness" can do, it might astonish them by its results. It has wrought greater wonders than it would be even to convert these "savages" into a family and household restored to the pale of civilization, "clothed and in their right mind." Doing full justice to the kindness which only can have suggested our reverend correspondent's appeal for pecuniary help, does he think the case a man living in his own freehold is one for which eleemosynary assistance can be fairly asked, or that, if rendered, it could be expected to do real and lasting good?
Injustice is always to be condemned; but is there not danger in leading persons who are unquestionably wrong doers to conceive themselves martyrs He knows the case better than we do, and he has, no doubt, weighed the matter. If, indeed, they have been wronged and soured by persecution, possibly that might be means by which society might make a sweetening and purifying compensation.—Ed.]
A Daily Telegraph reporter visits a Devon farming family
From In Strange Company: Being the Experiences of a Roving Correspondent, by James Greenwood (London: Henry S. King, 1873)
Some facts
Christopher Cheriton, of whom Greenwood writes, was a real person, son of John and Frances Cheriton and baptised in Down St Mary, Devon, on 18 September 1803. In the census taken take two years Greenwood published his book, he was living at Upcott in Nymet Rowland, farming 30 acres and employing one labourer. The cottage at Upcott was demolished in the 1880s and the current Nymet House built on the site, immediately bringing into question the accuracy of Briggs's drawing below. Christopher died at Ash in the parish of Sandford on 29 October 1884, leaving an estate of £174. His executor was his brother Hermon Cheriton of Western Road, Crediton. He was buried at Crediton on 4 November 1884.
The North Devon Savages
Upcott, photographed about 1860 by William Hector |
Further reading
14 February 2024
A Nurse's Terrible Journey in Serbia
From the Luton Times and Advertiser - Friday 28 January 1916
A Nurse's Terrible Journey in Serbia
Leighton Lady’s Experiences
Edith Dickinson outside her tent in Belgium, 1915 |
After proceeding some distance farther by motor car this also had to left and the journey continued on foot. Waggons drawn by oxen and containing stores also had to be abandoned until the party had nothing beyond what they carried and what clothing they stood up in. The Austro-German army was then only a few miles away, and their big guns were action.
18 October 2023
The evils of overpaying your servants
The Times - Friday, Dec. 25, 1795
To the CONDUCTOR of the TIMES.
London, Nov. 23.
Sir,
Various are the receipts for cheap puddings, and many long and useful letters have appeared in your very excellent paper, towards alleviating (as much as is in the power of every Housekeeper) the scarcity and dearness of bread; by substituting rice and potatoes in the room of pies or flour puddings; but there still exists an evil which I have not seen spoken against, and which certainly occasions a very great consumption of starch;
I mean the general fashion which has prevailed for some years, and does still, from the highest to the lowest, of wearing white dresses, which, upon a moderate computation, for every individual, must consume at least double the soap and starch than when coloured callicoes, silks, and stuffs were in fashion; added to this, that every maid servant (who, though she is perhaps not worth a second pair of shoes) will wear her muslin handkerchiefs.
I think it is the duty of every good master and mistress, to stop, as much as possible, the present ridiculous and extravagant mode of dress in their domestics.
View on a Sunday a tradesman’s family coming from church, and you would be puzzled to distinguish the porter from his master, or the maid from her mistress. Formerly a plaited cap and a white handkerchief served a young woman three or four Sundays.
Now a mistress is required to give up, by agreement, the latter end of the week for her maids to prepare their caps, tuckers, gowns, &c. for Sunday, and I am told there are houses open on purpose, where those servants who do not chuse their mistresses should see them, carry their dresses in a bundle, and put them on, meet again in the evening for the purpose of disrobing; and where I doubt many a poor, deluded creature has been disrobed of her virtue. They certainly call aloud for some restraint, both as to their dress as well as insolent manner.
Tell a servant, now, in the mildest manner, they have not done their work to please you, you are told to provide for yourself, and should you offer to speak again, they are gone.
Surely no set of people are more capable of rendering our families comfortable, or the reverse, than domestic servants, nor any set of people who feel the present dearness of provisions so little.
I look upon their exorbitant increase of wages as chiefly conducive to their impertinence; for when they had five or six pounds a year, a month being out of place, was severely felt; but now their wages are doubled, they have, in a great measure, lost their dependance; and what is this increase of wages for, not in order to lay by a little in case of sickness, but to squander in dress. No young woman now can bear a strong pair of leather shoes, but they must wear Spanish leather, and so on in every article of dress.
No wonder then that there should be so many prostitutes and so few good wives.
By inserting these hints as soon as you conveniently can, you will much oblige,
A CONSTANT READER.
23 July 2023
An exchange of emails with George Logan (Dr Evadne Hinge)
The Background
3 Jul 2002, 22:46
Dear Chris
Your eMail was forwarded to me by Nigel Ellacott. What a surprise!
You see, I have been trying to get information on the Hilda Tablet broadcasts for some time. I remember hearing a couple of them (Emily Butter, certainly, and I think, Musique Discrete - was that the one where someone recited Enobarbus's "The barge she sat in" to a 'musique concrete' commentary? And where Hilda's lady friend Elsa sang a song which quoted the Austrian National Anthem at some length?) I was about twelve or thirteen at the time and found them uproariously funny. As I was training as a musician I found the humour of the pieces very much to the point.
To answer your question. Or try to. Patrick had never heard the Hilda Tablet plays, and the name was made up quite independently. I don't think I mentioned them to him until some years into our partnership. However, there's no question that the whole atmosphere of the pieces had a very considerable effect on how I saw the Hinge and Bracket ambiance and setting, and the character of Doctor Hinge I'm quite sure inherited some characteristics from the programs.
She - Dr. Hinge - was always the more musically literate of the two, and the style of her compositions - I don't know if you have heard her 'Liste des Vins', her unfinished 7-act opera The Golden Twinset - a duet from which was sung by the ladies on the occasion of the 90th birthday celebrations, held at the Royal Opera House, of that other great soprano, Dame Eva Turner - or her operetta The Fondant Hussar... well, the names alone make the influence very clear.
Incidentally, I'm pretty sure that the redoubtable Dame Eva also contributed something to the whole Hilda Tablet thing. I got to know both she and her companion of many years, Anne Rudyard, quite well during the last few years of Dame Eva's life.
I would be fascinated to find out if it is possible to obtain anywhere recordings or scripts of these wonderful pieces. Please let me know of any information you may have - I'd much appreciate it.
As a footnote, I was interested to see in your notes on the pieces that Marjorie Westbury played Elsa. In the last few years, Patrick and I were in the habit of doing a section in our stage show based on radio signature tunes, asking the audience to identify this or that melody. One of these was Paul Temple, and one of the questions Dame Hilda would ask was 'Who played Paul Temple's wife, Steve'? It was, of course, Marjorie Westbury...
Best wishes, and thank you for any information you may be able to supply regarding recordings or scripts of these marvellous programs.
George Logan
4 Jul 2002, 19:14
21 Jul 2002, 12:25
10 May 2023
George Hought - killed by lightning
The burial register of the East Riding of Yorkshire parish of Hutton Cranswick records the burial of George Hought of Hutton on 16 August 1851, aged 25.
The vicar, Rev. Joseph Rigby, added a note to the final page of the register to explain the circumstances:
George Hought of Hutton Cranswick was killed by lightning August 4th 1851. He was working in a field at Gowdy Hole, and a storm coming on, he had gone under an elm tree for shelter; he being in his shirt sleeves at the time. He was found soon after by his master Mr. Coates, his clothes were torn, and his body very much blackened: he left a widow and two children to mourn over their sudden bereavement.
Caelo tonantem credidimus Deum regnare
The Latin quotation is from Horace's Odes, Book 3, Poem 5.
Translated literally into English it means "we believed that Jupiter reigned in heaven when we heard him thunder".
08 September 2022
'The head of the Duke of Suffolk'
From Walter George Bell's Unknown London, 1919 |
The Duke of Somerset was the father of of Lady Jane Grey, Jane of England, uncrowned queen for nine days in July 1553. Is this his head?
In the early years of the eighteenth century the ancient church of Holy Trinity, Minories, near the Tower of London, underwent a substantial rebuilding. This is said to have included the vaults beneath the church.
In 1851 further building works were being carried out at the church. In one of the vaults the workman found a small square wooden box. It was so fragile that when they moved it it nearly fell apart. Inside was oak sawdust and a well-preserved mummified head.
The incumbent, the Rev. Mr Blunt, also a teacher at Merchant Taylors' School, summoned a fellow clergyman, the Rev. William Quekett to see it.
"It looked just like a New Zealand chief's head of which I had seen a great many. The countenance expressed great agony; the eyes, the teeth, the beard were perfect; and at the back of the head a very deep cut was visible above the one that separated the head from the body."
Mr Quekett contrived to meet Lord Dartmouth, whose family was responsible for the church. Lord Dartmouth looked at the head. Later he communicated the news that it belonged to a member of his family and at one time the failure of the executioner's first stroke was well-known in connection with the individual.
Lord Dartmouth did not suggest it was the head of the Duke of Somerset. That came later.
Sir George Scharf, Keeper of the National Portrait Gallery was asked to give his opinion on the head. Lord Ronald Sutherland-Gower said of Scharf that no better judge of a historical head existed, and Scharf thought the head corresponded with a portrait in the Gallery of Henry Grey, Duke of Suffolk.
Dr F. J. Mowat, a Local Government Board Inspector, examined the head but didn't attempt to prove that it was the Duke of Suffolk's.
The link with the Duke of Suffolk was made because the precinct of the Minories was granted to him by King Edward VI. It was therefore assumed that, if the ground and house belonged to him, so did the head. This was being refuted as early as 1890 by Rev. E. M. Tomlinson, a former vicar of Holy Trinity, and the man responsible for the head being placed in the glass box pictured here.
There is one further grisly complexity in this story. In the late eighteenth century the beadle and sexton of Holy Trinity hit on an ingenious way of increasing his income. A neighbour looked into his house one day and saw him sawing up coffins - for firewood.
A parish meeting was convened almost immediately and parishioners entered the vaults of the church. Coffins lay around - and so did a large assortment of bodies and body parts which had been emptied from them.
So was the head simply a misplaced body part which had been boxed in some of the sexton's sawdust?
Holy Trinity was closed in 1899 and the head was transferred to St Botolph's, Aldgate, and was there until at least 1952. When I found this illustration in 2008 and tried to trace its whereabouts I was told it is no longer available to be viewed at St Botolph's. More recently I have discovered that during an archaeological investigation of the crypt in 1990, a preserved head was rediscovered and buried in the churchyard. (St Botolph, Aldgate T Q 3358 8120 (Julian Ayre, Sean O’Connor) SAB87.)
In her 1996 book Children of England: The Heirs of King Henry VIII, 1547-1557, Alison Weir takes the story at face value and does not question that it might not have been the head of the Duke of Suffolk:
"His head fell into sawdust that had become impregnated with tannin, which preserved the head perfectly for 400 years. It was shown as an object of curiosity until the Second World War, but after that it was buried in St Botolph's Church, Aldgate, London."
Henry Grey, Duke of Suffolk
Henry Grey, Duke of Suffolk was born on 17 January 1517, at Bradgate, Leicestershire, the eldest son of Thomas Grey, second Marquess of Dorset, and his second wife, Margaret, daughter of Sir Robert Wotton.
In May 1533 his guardian arranged Grey's marriage to Frances (1517–1559), the daughter of Mary Tudor, the younger sister of Henry VIII.
King Edward VI arranged the marriage on 21 May 1553 of Grey's daughter Jane to Lord Guildford Dudley and later altered his will to enable her to succeed him. King Edward died on 6 July, and three days later Suffolk, Northumberland, and other councillors proclaimed Jane queen.
A life in the complex politics of the times saw Grey finally found guilty of treason, condemned, and executed at the Tower of London on 23 February 1554.
03 June 2022
Eli Hudson, 1877 - 1919
Eli Hudson |
Flautist and founder member of the London Symphony Orchestra and New Symphony Orchestra.
Hudson was born Eli Hudson Rennison, the illegitimate son of John Capstack Hudson and Emma Rennison, nephew of violin maker George Hudson, and grandson of Richard Hudson, known as "Dick o' Newlaith", one of the group of amateur Lancashire musicians called the "Larks of Dean".
John Capstack Hudson was a musician in Skegness and it was there that Eli grew up and was soon, even as a child, recognised as a piccolo virtuoso. At the age of fourteen, in the 1891 census, his occupation was given as "musician". A few days after the census, his parents were finally married in Ilkley. A year later Eli's sister Winifred ("Winnie") Dagmar Hudson was born in Skegness.
In 1895 Eli won a scholarship to study flute at the Royal College of Music in London, This lasted three years and he left with an ARCM. While there he met fellow student Eleanor Tydfil Jones, a soprano from Merthyr Tydfil, and they were married in in Chelsea in 1899. Eleanor's career did not come to an end, and she continued to sing as Eleanor Jones-Hudson.
Eleanor Jones-Hudson |
Eli and Eleanor had three sons: Richard Henry John Hudson (1900-?), Hubert David Rennison Hudson (1902-1957) and Alfred George Dunning Hudson (1904-1989).
In 1904, Eli became a founder member, and flautist, in the new London Symphony Orchestra. In the same year he made his first flute and piccolo recordings for the Gramophone Company, taking part in concerts where the recording was played and followed by a live performance.
The following year, 1905, Eli and the clarinettist Charles Draper also became founder members of the New Symphony Orchestra. Another gramophone concert was given in December 1906 in the Royal Albert Hall including Patti, Melba and Caruso on record, and Eli in person. The recordings were amplified using the compressed air auxetophone.
The year 1907 saw the issue of a new record featuring Eli and his sister Winnie both playing piccolos in the "Concert Polka". The same year saw him advertised widely as the "King of Flautists".
January 1909 brought a new venture, planned for some months. Eli and Eleanor were already used to touring the country and, on occasions, performing in music halls. The Hudson Trio, comprising Eli, Olga (Eleanor) and Elgar (Winnie), made their first appearance at the London Coliseum. This was the first of many similar appearances the trio made across the country.
'Eli, Elgar and Olga' |
On 30th April 1914 at the Holborn Empire, the Hudson Trio gave the first performance of the song The Sunshine of your Smile.
The outbreak of the Great War a few months later didn't greatly affect Eli, but on 3rd January 1917 he enlisted as Private 764433 in the 28th Battalion of the London Regiment (Artists Rifles) at Chiswick Town Hall. On 31st August he was appointed Second Lieutenant, 46th Anti Aircraft Company of the Royal Garrison Artillery.
The end of Eli's life came quickly in the months after the end of the war. He died of carcinoma of the liver or stomach at Queen Alexandra's Military Hospital, Millbank, Westminster, on 18th January 1919. He was buried at Highgate Cemetery East two days later.
On Eli's death, Eleanor gave up her career and returned to live for the rest of her life at 13 Cromwell Street, Merthyr Tydfil. She died there in 1945.
In November 1919 Winnie Hudson married Timothy Adolphus O'Sullivan in Liverpool Register Office. She had already borne a child in 1917, the father being Ernest Richard Oscar Ferguson. Winnie and Timothy were divorced in 1921 and she died in London in 1957, using the surname Ferguson.
The loss of the 'Anna Helena', 13th November 1890
The Crew
George Crosby, 17, apprentice, of WivenhoeWilliam Goodwin, 42, Master, of Wivenhoe
Frederick Hubard, 42, A.B., of London
Charles Kitching, 16, apprentice, of Whitby
John Langlands, 17, apprentice, of Gateshead
August Ludquest, 25, O.S. of near Copenhagen, Denmark
William Stonhold, 35, mate, of Wivenhoe
Hampshire Independent - Saturday 22 November 1890
A VESSEL WRECKED NEAR THE NAB.SUPPOSED LOSS OF ALL HANDS.
On Friday afternoon last week an object was discovered, just awash, between the Nab and Owers light ships. Upon examination it proved to be the topmast of a submerged vessel.
The captain of the Java steamer which arrived at Southampton on Sunday reported having seen the mast of a sunken vessel when about four miles to the southward of the Putter buoy, which is in close proximity to the spot buoyed by the Trinity authorities.
In response to a telegram, the Trinity schooner Mermaid left Cowes on Saturday morning for the scene of the disaster. Two of the masts showed above water, and from soundings made by the Mermaid, it was evident that a collision had occurred, and that the sunken ship was cut in two. The wreck lay in eight fathoms of water, four-and-a-half or five miles S.S.E. of the Nab light.
The exact position of the wreck was about midway between the Boulders shoal and the Bullock patch, but to the southward of them, and, in all probability, the lost vessel was steering a course for some port inside the Solent. The steamer Schmiditan arrived in the Thames having been in collision with a sailing vessel, name unknown, to the south-west of Selsea Bill.
On Tuesday it was reported that bodies had been seen floating, and it was reported that one of these was a lady. The topgallant yard and square sail were picked up and left at the Portsmouth Custom House, the sheet measuring 27ft. by 11ft. and having the word "Glasgow" stamped upon it.
The ill-fated craft eventually proved to be a brigantine, which apparently had been in collision and cut down by a steamer. On Wednesday the Trinity Schooner Mermaid proceeded to the spot from Cowes, and with a charge of 120lbs. of powder blew up the wreck, which was a danger to navigation, the mast and other spars being towed into Cowes.
The crew consisted of eight hands, and as none of them have reported themselves it is feared they all perished. The Mermaid returned to Cowes at midnight. The wreck is the brigantine Anna Helena, of West Hartlepool, laden with coal. Her destination is unknown. The boats are missing from the wreck, and there is a faint chance that some of the men may have been picked up.
East Anglian Daily Times - Monday 24 November 1890
ESSEX SEAMEN MISSING.A disquieting rumour is in circulation as to the supposed drowning of Captain William Goodwin, of Wyvenhoe, whose vessel, the Anna Helena (brigantine), of Hartlepool, became a total wreck near the port of Cowes. It to hoped, however, that the captain together with William Stonhold, the mate, who is a Colchester man, have been rescued by some outward-bound vessel.
Southend Standard - Thursday 27 November 1890
Three Essex men, W. Goodwin (Wyvenhoe), W. Stonehold (Wyvenhoe), and G. Crosby (Colchester) were drowned on Friday by the foundering of the Anna Helena.Stockton Herald - Saturday 29 November 1890
Further information received by Messrs Leonard and Danby, of West Hartlepool, goes to confirm the impression that their vessel, the Anna Helena, was run down, probably by a steamer. The wreck lies in two pieces off the Nab Light, and right in the track of vessels passing down channel. The ill-fated vessel had arrived within nine miles of Portsmouth, her port of destination, when the disaster happened, and the blow which sent her to the bottom must have also carried away her boats, as there were no signs of any boats near the sunken wreck. The chances that the crew escaped in a passing vessel are remote, as if this had been the case the probabilities are that they would have been heard of before now.
Essex Standard - Saturday 6 December 1890
AN APPEAL.LOSS OF THE ANNA HELENA.
Sir, — I beg the favour of space in your columns to inform the public that a fund has been instituted for the relief of the family of the late William Goodwin, of Wyvenhoe, master of the above-named vessel, which was lost in a gale while on a voyage recently from Hartlepool to Portsmouth, having been found on or about the 12th November, 1890, sunk at her anchors near the Nab Lightship.
The widow, who is in a very delicate state of health and suffers from heart disease, is left entirely without means, and with a family of eight children, the eldest being under 16 years of age and the youngest an infant, all of whom may be said to be dependent on the widow, as the two elder ones only are earning small wages.
It is intended to apply any fund which may be raised to the relief also of the widow's mother, Mrs. Stonhold, of 4 Morgan Cottages, Bourne Pond, Colchester, who is 75 years of age and an imbecile, and has been supported solely by her son, who sailed as mate in the ill-fated vessel, and was lost in her at the same time. The widow is thus doubly bereaved by losing her brother with her husband.
I sincerely hope this sad case may commend itself to the public as being in every way worthy of their aid, and that they will contribute generously to the fund.
Mr. Claude E. Egerton-Green has consented to act as treasurer, and cheques and postal orders may be made payable to "Goodwin Family Relief Fund," and crossed "Round, Green, Hoare and Co., Colchester."
A list of subscribers and balance sheet will be published as soon as possible after the closing of the fund, showing the disposition or investment of the money subscribed, as may be determined upon by the Committee.
— l am, &c,
D. HAM, Hon. Sec.
The Quay, Wyvenhoe, Essex,
Dec. 3. 1890.
Chelmsford Chronicle - Friday 12 December 1890
A fund is being raised for the relief of family of the late William Goodwin, of Wyvenhoe, master of the Anna Helena, which was lost in a gale while on a voyage from Hartlepool to Portsmouth. The widow, who is in a very delicate state of health, is without means, and has eight children dependent upon her. Her brother was lost on the same ill-fated vessel, and he leaves a widowed mother, who is 75 years of age and an imbecile, without support.Essex Standard - Saturday 13 December 1890
The Loss of the Anna Helena.Essex Standard - Saturday 13 December 1890
Loss of the Anna Helena.Essex Herald - Saturday 20 December 1890
On Wednesday evening an entertainment was given at the school in aid of the fund being raised for the widow and orphans of the late Wm. Goodwin, captain of the Anna Helena, recently lost at sea. The sum of nearly £4 will be handed over to the fund.The Misses Owen and Miss Gale opened the proceedings with a pianoforte trio Young England, and later on the Misses Owen played a pianoforte duet. Songs were given by Mrs. Pettifer, Mrs. Smith, Mr. Phillips, Mr. H. Peacocke, Mr. Chell and Mr. Hoather. Dr. Pettifer played two viola solos, and the Misses Harvey and Barttelot sang duet. Variety was given by Miss Parker reciting Sims' Life boat and Mr. Owen reading The wreck of the Hesperus and The station master’s story. Messrs. Chell (piano), Phillips (1st violin), Cosgrove (2nd violin), and Hoather (’cello), played a lively polka, by Coote. The accompaniments were played Miss K, Owen, Mrs. Smith, and Mr. Chell.
Essex Standard - Saturday 27 December 1890
The loss of the Anna HelenaDeath of Mrs Stonhold
With reference to the fund being raised for the relief of the late Wm. Goodwin, of Wyvenhoe, master of the Anna Helena, of West Hartlepool, which was lost in a recent gale, it was intended by the Committee who are interesting themselves in the matter to apply the fund also to the relief of the widow's mother, Mrs. Stonhold, of 4 Morgan Cottages, Bourne Pond, Colchester. Mrs. Stonhold, however, died on Monday, Dec. 22, so that the fund will now be applied entirely to the relief of the widow and family. Mrs. Stonhold, who was 75 years of age, was an imbecile, and had been for some time supported solely by her son who sailed as mate in the ill-fated vessel and was lost in her at the same time.