Category: Crime and Punishment

Historic Tunstall: The Brownhills Murder (1797)

John Wood, whose father was a pottery manufacturer in Burslem, bought the Brownhills estate near Tunstall in 1782.

He built a pottery factory on the estate and erected Brownhills Hall. The hall was a red brick Georgian mansion, where John lived with his wife, Mary, and their children.

In 1796, Mary was taken ill, and John asked Burslem surgeon Thomas Oliver to treat her. During his visits to the hall, Thomas met and fell in love with their daughter Maria. His love was reciprocated, and the couple wanted to get married. Although Thomas had a successful practice, John refused to let him marry her.

He ordered Thomas to leave the hall and never darken its doors again.

Maria and Thomas started meeting near a mill in the Scotia Brook Valley. One evening, John found them there. He attacked Thomas, and the two men fought each other. After the fight, John called Thomas a poor beggar and ordered Maria to stop seeing him.

Maria obeyed her father and refused to see John again. John was devastated. He neglected his practice, took no interest in his personal appearance and started drinking heavily.

John’s wife, Mary, was taken seriously ill. John asked Thomas to treat her. He agreed, and she became his patient again. When Mary recovered, Maria and Thomas asked John to let them marry. He refused. Thomas became angry and told John that he would get even with him. After making the threat, Thomas left Brownhills Hall and walked home.

A few days afterwards, Thomas, armed with two loaded pistols, went to Brownhills Hall. When he arrived there, John was still in bed. Thomas went to the factory to wait for him in his office. When he came into the office, Thomas gave him the bill for treating Mary.

John gave the bill to Mr. Bathwell, one of his clerks and spoke to him. While he was speaking to Mr. Bathwell, Thomas pulled a pistol out of one of his pockets. He shot John. After firing the pistol, Thomas attempted to commit suicide by shooting himself. Before he could pull the trigger, Mr Bathwell knocked the gun out of his hand.

John looked at Thomas and said to him, “Oh, sir, you have killed me.” Thomas replied, “It is what I intended.” He made another attempt to kill himself. The attempt failed and he was arrested.

John died three days later. Thomas was charged with murder and remanded in custody to await trial at Staffordshire Assizes.

His trial took place on Friday, 25th August 1797. He pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. Two leading physicians gave evidence to support his plea. Their evidence was rejected by the jury. He was found guilty and sentenced to death.

Until the beginning of the 20th century, a person found guilty by a jury at an Assize Court or Quarter Sessions could not appeal against conviction or sentence. Punishment was inflicted within days of the sentence being passed. Thomas was executed at 10.30am on Monday, 28th August, just three days after his trial.

After taking communion in the prison chapel, he walked calmly and bravely to the gallows. His body was taken to Stourbridge, where it was buried in the family grave.

The Brownhills Murder is one of a series of articles about North Staffordshire’s history written by Betty Martin before her death. Other articles from the series will be posted from time to time.

Friday Newsdesk

A week with very little news.

Most of the time has been spent reorganising our filing system.

Research into the Anglo-Saxon legal system continues. We have been looking at the Christian Church’s role in the administration of justice.

Have a relaxing and enjoyable weekend. We’ll see you again next week.

Law Enforcement in Hanley

Between 1842 and 1870, law and order in Hanley was maintained by Staffordshire’s county police force.

Although Hanley and Shelton, the two largest townships in the Potteries, amalgamated in 1857 to form the Borough of Hanley, the borough did not obtain its own police force until 1870.

Stanford Alexander was appointed chief constable. He had 35 police officers to maintain law and order in a town that had a population of 41,000. His officers worked three overlapping shifts, two 12-hour shifts during the day and one nine-hour shift at night. Despite the long hours worked, pay was low. Constables earned 21 shillings a week. Sergeants were paid 25 shillings, and inspectors received 30 shillings.

When Alexander retired in 1875, Herbert Windle was made chief constable. Windle improved pay and working conditions for his officers. He persuaded the town’s Watch Committee to give them a library and a recreation room, with a billiard table, where they could relax when they came off duty.

By the late 1870s, Hanley had become the Potteries’ commercial and cultural centre. Trains and trams brought people from neighbouring towns to its shops and markets, music halls and theatres.

On Saturday nights, Henley’s criminal fraternity made its way to the town centre. Children begged outside shops or stole from market stalls. Drunken brawls broke out in public houses. Gangs roamed the streets looking for a fight. Prostitutes accosted men in Piccadilly. Pickpockets mingled with the crowds in Fountain Square, and robbers lurked in dark alleys waiting to pounce on their victims.

Robbery and theft were indictable offences. They had to be tried in Stafford before the Assize Court or at Quarter Sessions.

Police officers and witnesses were forced to travel to Stafford. They had to wait outside the courtrooms in the Shire Hall until called to give evidence. Unwilling to make the journey, many victims of crime refused to prosecute offenders.

Law and order in Hanley were breaking down. The borough council requested Queen Victoria to grant the town its own Quarter Sessions. She granted the request. The borough’s Quarter Sessions held its first sitting on January 19, 1881. There were eight defendants, three of whom were illiterate.

Note: Law Enforcement in Hanley is one of a series of articles written by Betty Martin before her death. Other articles from the series will be posted from time to time.

Edited: 4th June 2025