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Family history is so much more than names and dates

Category: crime

1826 murders

1826 murders

Posted on March 5, 2023February 3, 2023 by HarrietP
1826 murders: On the morning of March 12, 1827, there was a double hanging at Carlisle jail. At five minutes before twelve, the prison bell tolled a summons to Robert Fox and Philip Tinnaney, to proce... Read More
John Scott Brown thin-skinned thug!

John Scott Brown thin-skinned thug!

Posted on September 25, 2022September 25, 2022 by HarrietP
John Scott Brown was a ‘low-bred’ man with a chip on his shoulder. The violent assault he committed gives an idea of life in 1878. Cumbrian Characters usually tries to be impartial, not to judge p... Read More
Branded, burned, hanged – punishments in the 18th century

Branded, burned, hanged – punishments in the 18th century

Posted on October 4, 2021October 4, 2021 by HarrietP
Branded for life is a figure of speech; in the 18th Century, branding was a punishment dished out by judges for a range of offences. The old saying ‘may as well be hanged for a sheep as a lamb’ me... Read More
Annie Robinson murder in mind

Annie Robinson murder in mind

Posted on July 25, 2021July 25, 2021 by HarrietP
Here’s to you Annie Robinson..? Annie Robinson was seemingly deserted by her first husband, married the second in dubious circumstances, then tried to poison him after in order to marry his cous... Read More
Catherine Wilson serial poisoner

Catherine Wilson serial poisoner

Posted on May 31, 2021 by HarrietP
Catherine Wilson was hanged in London in 1862 after being convicted of one murder. But it’s believed she was a serial killer who poisoned at least another six people, four of them fatally. And at le... Read More
William Horsley: victim of love

William Horsley: victim of love

Posted on May 9, 2021 by HarrietP
William Horsley of Penrith fell under the spell of his mother-in-law, Jane Davidson. And Jane Davidson was prepared to use magic, and ultimately murder (and a painful death herself) to keep him. The d... Read More
Punishments in 1841 – in Cumberland

Punishments in 1841 – in Cumberland

Posted on April 4, 2021 by HarrietP
Punishments in 1841 – in Cumberland This post illustrates a few of the punishments in 1841 for ‘minor offences’. As meted out by magistrates in Cumberland. The 1841 Easter Sessions The Easter Se... Read More
Sarah Nicholson, no merry widow!

Sarah Nicholson, no merry widow!

Posted on February 7, 2021February 7, 2021 by HarrietP
Sarah Nicholson ‘had the misfortune to marry a man 25 years her senior’. This seemingly unlucky accident (!) led to villagers trying to drive her out in 1879. But she was no strange to violence he... Read More
‘Most atrocious deed’: the Longburn murders

‘Most atrocious deed’: the Longburn murders

Posted on September 20, 2020 by HarrietP
The Longburn murders of 1808 rocked Cumberland and beyond, for the way a man shown kindness ‘repaid’ it with brutality against two defenceless victims. Recorded in stone A gravestone near ... Read More
The Staffield Murder of 1856

The Staffield Murder of 1856

Posted on July 19, 2020January 4, 2021 by HarrietP
The Staffield Murder of 1856 filled a lot of column inches in newspapers: likely the first and last time this little Cumbrian hamlet featured on the wider public consciousness. Whodunnit? While TV dra... Read More
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Port Carlisle – a history built on hope

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f41pHZq1Un8

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