The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1871-08-19 00:00:00

THE POACHING AFFRAY.

The ;west 4.11 the body of the game watcher,
Thomas Hill, who was murdered by a number of
poachers on the estate of Mr. W. U. Heygate,
at Roeeliffe, ten miles from Leicester, during the night
of Friday loot, has been held at Swithland, before the
coroner, Mr. John Gregory. Mr. Heyg,ate and Mr.
S. W. Chaves, M.P., who also has an estate in the
locality, were present during the inquiry.
The facts I.f this tragedy are Very simple. It seemed
that about eleven o'clock on Friday night the deceased,
John Bradshaw, and Hiram Holt, three labourers in
the employ of Messrs. John Ellis and Sons, Wood-
, house, were out watching expecting the arrival of
• Ist:tellers. They soon heart the
,poachers in Mr. Hey-
gate's field, adjoining Mr. Ellis s. On getting to the
fence, deceased, who WA" first, looked over and said,
"hero they arc." He got over the fence and ap-
prox.:lied the pc.i.chers, five in number, who ran away
and took up a ft, two in line at tie- end of the nets!,
w hi, h {STEC ,rt. 'they 101 l up their !tjtl,it, if p.
pared for all attack, alld hVg.(ll tt I throw £4,0110,.
ceased ran up to them with his stick itt his hand as if
to strike, when his feet became entangled in the net,
and he fell else to the men, all if whom began to beat
him alma the head with their sticks and otones. lie
*levet:stirred again tote cried out for help. Bradshaw
then Caine up, lan he got fast in the net. Ile, however,
got free, when the 12,ateherS left the deceasol anti turned
t.r him and struck him with stones on the left temple
and knee. He was felled by the blows, when Holt
Mist' up, and the poachers attiteked him so savagely
about the head that he had to call rut " Murder."
His companion Bradshaw, seeing they were beaten,
withdrew, but Bolt's cries were heard by • John
Thoznam Mee, and three other of Lord Stan,-
ford's keepers, who were or the Is amdaries close by.
I lawn ran with his men to Mr. Heygate's field, and, as
soon as they got Or nigh the gate, decemed was found
lying dead tu the ground, with his legs fast in a net.
Baum ran along the net side for fileout 50 yards,
when he now five men run away, with two doga He
ran after them, and started his OWEI dig after them,
which chased them through a spinney into an adjoining
field, where it caught one of the /nen. John Webster,
by the coat tail. He dragged the dog for some distance
thmugh the field, but eventually bent to stop, when
Banal overtook him. Webster called out, "l lothe back
lads, and fight the I wish I bad got my knife." •
Baum made a prisoner of hint and handed into to • Thomm •
Mee, whom Webster at once attacked with his stick.
He was, however, soon quietetl by his captor. Am .ther
of the poachers rant back to assist Webster, a hen
lie Wa., caught by Frederick Greasky. I r,r being
charged with night poaching and killing a loan,
Wel ver replied that they tlid not mean ti e ti,,
gronntl without • their nets. His stick. whi.h was
taken from him by ThOlrlaa Mee, was haurl to
have blood upon it, whik a large stone was found in !
Kirk's pocket, as well as some net pegs. Eventually, I
police-constable Poulteney, of Quorudon, who was I
on his rounds, was sent for, awl, on his charging the
prisoner with killing the deceased, Webster replied,
"We gave it them as well as they gave it no.
I struck him once, but no more, and I an. sorry
for it. Two nets and some net pegs winch the gang
Trail left In the field were subsequently taken possession
of by the keepers, who were quite sure the prisoners
were two of the five wino ran away from the net ,
which was set in Mr. Heygate's field, and where the
affray occurred. The prisoners were afterwards re-
moved by Thdice-constable Pt tulteney. They- both ap-
peared to be injured about the head. Or. Charles
Wotal, of Woodhouse, said he Wait called to see the
deceased as he lay in the field. There was one cut
wound tin the left parietal bone, a large contused
wound over the left temple and left eye, which was
pi-strut ling a little front the socket, and ti third wound
on the mouth. Several of the teeth were quite loose,
but there was no fracture. He lay in a pool of blood,
with a large bludgeon by his side. The keepers Holt
and Bradshaw were injured, the former being very
faint. He sews! up a wound 2!, inches lows on thefront
part if his head, abto one on his chin, wrtich was cut
through. He was now confined to his bed, but witness
believed he would recover, with care. Bradshaw had
a maim! on the left temple and contusion on the inner
shle of the right knee. Both were brnised on the left
arm and shoulder. At the request of the prisoners he
: aloo examined them. Kirk had a severe cut on the
head, which Ile stitched up, and Webster also
a wound on the bead. Neither hadany bone broken
I but they seemed very much bruised. On Sunday
morning witness made a poxt- kaorlent examination of
! the deceased. There were no other wounds than the
three he had described, but an extensive extravasation
! of blood all over the brain, especially on the left side.
I and which was the cause of death. The II tie hal
! undoubtedly been dealt with a bludgeon, and Ile had
no doubt they were struck while deceased lay Oa the
! ground, and that death was instantaneous, probaldy
after the first blow. On being told that the conflict
only lasted about ten inhtes, Mr. M'om I sri I he ha.l
I no douht that hut for the prompt arrival of Lortl
! Stamford's keepers the three watchers would have
I been killed in a very short time.
The jury, after being briefly addressed Toy the coroner,
retunted a verdict of " Murder against the
two misoners, and the eomner made t tut his warmot
for their committment to trial at the Leicestershire
Assizes.

In connection with the foregoing. the following let.
ter haN been sent to The Tilers for publication

There SCVIIIR from the terms in which thii suit sieurence
lons keen th,eribeil by mull.: if your contemporaries,a danger
that the :tetual dream:it:owes molt, whhit it 1111.1rpeilv,1
110 t iii fully molerito... I I venture, therefore, Li ask you to
give hoiert ion to thii explanation.

The Poll Mall GazOlespenkg of the " estaks at 311..
width may lead to the supposition that my family have a
large domain on which gam: is preserved in the usual way.
I have myself here a very small property adjoining another
of atm out the same extent, now vested in the trusttes of my
late father, Jim Ellis, sometime M.P. for Leicester. The
properties together tht not amount to ninety :wan, including
some intworked slate quarries and a porthu of the mire-
claimed tharnwoml Forest.

For many years it nas heen my hobliy tn preserve what Mr.
Waterton lewd to call " the orilinatiou of nature.- Every
wild creature which vitro sea to make a home here finds a
welcome. Foxes: badgers, heilidlogs, stoats, w,:asels, hawks,
owls, Jays, allerpleit Fe., are all ciirefully preserveot and
there is no artificial cultivation if wine whatever. In the
early part of this year the poor fellow who was killed the
tither TM‘lit Was employetl to ferret out and destroy the rab-
bits, and this he 41M, till scarcely ine Was left. I have been
',siding here for the past four weeks, and I have not seen
half-a-dozen hares. so lunch for the temptation to poachers.
This neighbourhood is visited from time to time from
the colliery districts lay hands of reckless inen, whit have
been notocioas an poachers from time inancluorial, hint
are a terror to the country round. On Friday last we
hail some reason to suppose an incursion was intended,
and the luau int charge of this place was on the
pok-out. About eleven o'clock he heard them anive,
and got the assistance of our farm man and Hill,
who lived at the next village, and was often employed
by Us. The three men proceeded to the relai; the
poachers had just set their nets, and their own dogs
were driving for game. Hill, who wail a powerfal,
Coarageons, anal impetuous mann, kept inn advance of his
companions, he jumped the hedge and rnshed towards the
poachers, who stood in line to receive 111111. Ile got las feet
entangled in the nets and fell. They closed upon hhu and
literally beat him to death before he struck a blow. The
next man who came lip was met by a volley of stones and
knocked insensible into the ditch. Ile recovered himself,
attacked the poachers, anal was again lorOnght to the ground.
The third man was as severely handled with bludgeons anal
stones as to be imtnmteil with blood and almost killed. The
cries if the nten were fortonately heard by saline Id Lord
Stamford's watchers, who arrived breathless on the smile,
but ill time to capture two of the seven poachers anal to save
the flies of the wounded men, who otherwise would un-
doubtedly have been killed.

I think there could scarcely be a more unprovoked and
murderous assault. Tile poachers had not tibia head
game, and had nothing to light for lint their nets, and Hill
was kilkd upon the ground, before there was any of the pro-
vocation whieh the excitement of such all encounter may
sometimes palliate.

In w till ask those who appear to sympa-
thize with 111,1 V11.1'4111 in these nightly enterprises what
is to be 11011 C? I, they props: to grant them tree warren
throughout the country, lir is the wild creatme to lie de-
stroyed that men may have no temptation to resist.—l
main, your obedient servant, ALFRED ELLIS.
The Brand, Woodhouse, Loughborough, Aug.