Part of the “Crime & Punishment in Cocking in the Nineteenth Century” series
As well as the alleged rape of Elizabeth Strotton by Edward Savage in February 1866, there have been several other crimes of a sexual nature committed in Cocking in the late nineteenth century.
Mary Ann Rickman
After dinner on Sunday, 26 May 1872, 30-year old mother of two young girls, Mary Ann Rickman left her home in Church Lane, Cocking to walk on the downs. As she was making her way towards the lime kilns, she was grabbed from behind and pulled to the ground. The report of the assault in the Chichester Express coyly says, “the evidence in this case is unfit for publication”.
At the Midhurst Petty Sessions on 30 May, when William Darvill was charged with rape and indecent assault, Mary Ann testified that during the assault she “screamed very loudly” but could make no one hear. After the assault, she told Darvill that she would have him arrested, before she “went on her road” and continued her walk.
Darvill was found guilty of indecent assault and sentenced to one month’s hard labour, plus costs of 13s, with an extra 14 days if he failed to pay.
Source
Chichester Express & West Sussex Journal. 4 June 1872. Indecent Assault at Cocking
Mary Ann Rickman was born in Cocking, the daughter of Richard and Ann Pullen. She was baptised at Cocking church on 13 July 1845.
On 6 August 1864, aged 19, she married 33-year old Joshua Rickman at Bepton parish church. Two months later, on 9 October, her first daughter, Ann, was baptised at Bepton church. A second daughter, Eliza Jane, was born the following year, but was not baptised until she was nearly 4-years old, at Cocking church on 4 June 1871.
Mary Ann Rickman died at Easebourne Union Workhouse on 20 December 1876, aged 31, (although her age was recorded as 40 on the death certificate). The cause of death was bronchitis. She was buried at Bepton on 23 December 1876. Her husband, Joshua died in London in 1878, and was buried at West Norwood cemetery. After the death of both their parents, Ann and Eliza Jane spent some time in the Easebourne workhouse, before being taken in by Mary Ann’s parents. At the 1891 census, 80-year old widower Richard Pullen was living at Bepton with two sons, his two granddaughters and four great-grandchildren.
Sources
Ancestry.co.uk:
1851 England Census
1861 England Census
1871 England Census
West Sussex, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1920
West Sussex, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1936
FreeReg.org.uk:
Cocking Parish Register: 13 July 1845. Baptism of Mary Ann Pullen
Bepton Parish Register: 6 August 1864. Marriage of Joshua Rickman & Mary Ann Pullen
Bepton Parish Register: 9 October 1864. Baptism of Ann Rickman
Cocking Parish Register: 4 June 1871. Baptism of Eliza Jane Rickman
Bepton Parish Register: 23 December 1876. Burial of Mary Ann Rickman
Ellen Rogers
On 30 May 1879, John Thomas Hoad and John Spiers appeared before the Midhurst magistrates charged with indecently assaulting Ellen Rogers at Cocking on 26 May.
The case was dismissed for lack of evidence.
Source
Petersfield Express. 3 June 1879. Alleged Indecent Assault
Ellen, aged 26 at the time of the alleged assault, was the younger sister of Charlotte Rogers, who appeared in court in April 1863, claiming financial support from Mark Marshall for the upkeep of her child.
Thwaite George Tomlinson
On Tuesday 3 August 1889, Revd. Thwaite George Tomlinson appeared before the Midhurst magistrates, with the Earl of Egmont presiding, on a charge of indecent exposure, to which he pleaded Not Guilty.
Tomlinson (then aged 54) had been officiating at West Lavington church in the absence of the vicar, Thomas Wainwright, who was away on holiday. He was accused of exposing himself to three young girls at Cocking Causeway, and was found guilty. He was fined £20 with costs of £2 8s 6d, with the alternative of two months imprisonment with hard labour if he failed to pay.
Sources
Sussex Agricultural Express. 31 August 1889. A Serious Charge against a Clergyman
Thwaite George Tomlinson was born at Little Staughton in Bedfordshire and baptised at Great Staughton on 11 May 1835. His father, Revd. George Cockaine Tomlinson (1807–1855) was stipendiary curate at Staughton; his mother was Jane née Thwaite (1810–1894).
Tomlinson was educated at St. Bees School in Cumberland and ordained as a deacon at Peterborough in 1860, following which he was appointed as curate at Wardley with Belton, Rutland. From 1878 to 1880, he was a curate at Audley, Staffordshire after which he moved to Breaston in Derbyshire for a year and then to Prestwood in Staffordshire.
In 1885, he was ordained as a priest at Lichfield, and took up the post as vicar of St. Mark’s, Cautley in north-west Yorkshire (now in Cumbria) from 1886 to 1889.
Following the incident at Cocking, he returned to the priesthood firstly as curate at Sea Palling in Norfolk and then as curate at Tilney St. Lawrence near King’s Lynn from 1892.
Tomlinson (aged 41) married 50-year old Mary Sophia Newbury Crocker in Newcastle in the summer of 1876. There were no children of the marriage. It is not known when Mary died; at the 1901 census, Thwaite was living at Warton near Preston. His marital status on the census is blank.
By October 1903, he was curate at Brailsford, in Derbyshire. On 8 October 1903, he appeared at Ashbourne police court on a charge of indecent exposure to three boys at Sturston the previous day. According to the evidence given by the police, he had been suspected of the offence for some time and the police had posted a watch for about a month before the arrest. He was committed for trial at the forthcoming Derbyshire assizes.
The original hearing at the assizes was adjourned as Tomlinson was unfit to plead, and on 6 November, he was admitted to Mavisbank Asylum near Edinburgh. At the adjourned hearing on 2 December, the medical superintendent of the asylum, Dr Wilson, confirmed that Tomlinson has been admitted as a lunatic and was “hopelessly insane”, and was incapable of understanding the charges against him. Dr Wilson stated that, in his opinion, Tomlinson had been “of weak mind” for many years. As a result, the judge adjourned the trial sine die.
Despite the medical opinion, Tomlinson was discharged on 1 February 1904. It would appear that he spent the rest of his life in and out of institutions.
He was arrested again on 22 April 1907, shortly after being released for the third time from an asylum, when he committed a similar offence to the previous two, at Gestlingthorpe in Suffolk, near Sudbury where he was staying at a boarding house.
At the assizes on 21 May, he was again reported to be unfit to stand trial and unable to understand the nature of the charges against him. His legal representative said that Tomlinson should be returned to an asylum but had insufficient income. He was very deaf, and had very few friends or living relatives. Revd. T.P Worrall, rector of Beesby, near Alford, Lincolnshire was a relative by marriage and was prepared to take Tomlinson in and find him a safe home.
Again, the case against Tomlinson was adjourned sine die and he was discharged into the care of Revd. Worrall.
Tomlinson died, aged 79, at Isleworth Union Infirmary near Brentford, Middlesex on 12 March 1914. The cause of death was a tumour on his bladder.
Sources
Ancestry.co.uk:
1851 England Census
1861 England Census
1881 England Census
1891 England Census
1901 England Census
England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966, 1973-1995
Scotland, General and Admission Registers for Asylums, 1858-1918
UK, Calendar of Prisoners, 1868-1929
UK, Clergy List, 1897
Ashbourne News Telegraph: 4 December 1903. The Serious Charge Against a Brailsford Curate
Scottish Indexes: Mental Health Records. Thwaite George Tomlinson
Suffolk & Essex Free Press:
15 May 1907. A Serious Charge Against a Clergyman
22 May 1907. Clergyman’s Sad Position
Uttoxeter Advertiser & Ashbourne Times: 14 October 1903. Serious Charge Against a Clergyman
Elizabeth Millicent Laker
In early June 1891, Charles Blunden (aged 19) and Stephen Bartlett (aged 22), both described as carters, appeared before the Midhurst magistrates on a charge of indecent assault on Elizabeth Millicent Laker, aged 14.
Elizabeth had been into Midhurst, and on her return to Cocking Causeway, she met the two young men. Bartlett said “Lizzie, I want to speak to you,” and she went over to them and had a conversation which lasted about ten minutes. She testified that Charles Blunden had then pulled her inside the farmyard doors and pinched her.
She then ran home and told her mother what had happened. Mrs. Laker immediately went to Bartlett’s home, where he claimed that it was Charles Blunden who had manhandled her.
The bench considered that an offence had been committed and fined the defendants 25s each, including costs.
Sources
Sussex Agricultural Express: 13 June 1891. Charge of Assault
Elizabeth Millicent Laker was born on 20 September 1876 at Fort Cumberland in Portsmouth, where her father, George Laker (1839–1924) was based during his service with the Royal Marine Artillery (from 1859 to 1880). Elizabeth was baptised at the military chapel at Eastney on 29 October 1876.
On leaving the army, George returned to his native Graffham with his wife, Anne née Langridge (1849–1927) and their three daughters; three more children were born over the following seven years. By 1887, when the last child was born, the family had moved to Cocking and were living at Foundry Lane (between Cocking and Bex Lane) when George gave his occupation as “dealer in peat”.
On 19 June 1896, Elizabeth (aged 19) married 24-year old William Patterson at Portobello, in Edinburgh. On the marriage register, Elizabeth gives her age as 21 and her occupation as a nurse (domestic servant), while William was a coachman. At the 1901 census, the couple were living at 10 Seymour Place, Marylebone, close to Marble Arch – he gave his occupation as “stableman to jobmaster”.
It would appear that Alexander Patterson died in the next few years as in 1907 Elizabeth Patterson married Ernest Alfred Melmoth (registered in Midhurst district in April 1907 qtr.) At the 1911 census, she and her second husband were living at 13 Russell Street, Portfield, Chichester where he was working as a jobbing gardener.
Ernest Melmoth died in Chichester in 1921. The death of Elizabeth has not been found in the records.
Sources
Amazon.co.uk:
1881 England Census
1891 England Census
1901 England Census
1911 England Census
UK, British Army and Navy Birth, Marriage and Death Records, 1730-1960
Scotland’s People:
Portobello Parish Register: 19 June 1896. Marriage of Alexander Patterson and Elizabeth Laker
Charles Blunden
Charles Blunden (who assaulted Elizabeth Laker) was born at West Lavington, where he was baptised on 9 February 1872. His parents were Charles Blunden (1829–1916) and Caroline née Pearce (1840–1908). By 1878, Charles senior was the publican at the Royal Oak on Cocking Causeway, where he was to remain until his death in 1916.
At the 1891 census, Charles junior was living with his parents at the beerhouse, but was a self-employed carter for hire. On 30 May 1894, aged 22, he married 19-year old Minnie Boxall. After their marriage, the couple continued to live at the Royal Oak, although by 1911 the family had moved a short distance to Haulkers Cottage. There were eight children (seven sons and one daughter) of the marriage:
Charles (Charly), baptised at Cocking on 21 April 1895
Harry, baptised at Cocking on 11 October 1896
George, born in Cocking on 18 July 1898 (no record of baptism)
Mabel, baptised at Cocking on 9 December 1900
Frank, baptised at Cocking on 10 August 1902
James, baptised at Cocking on 8 January 1905
Fred, baptised at Cocking on 1 April 1906
Wilfred Jack, baptised at Cocking on 7 June 1908.
Charles died in September 1910, aged 38 and was buried in Cocking churchyard on 15 September 1910.
Minnie remarried at Cocking on 30 November 1918 to Samuel Hay-Blair, a widower with three children. She died in Gosport in 1950, aged 75.
Sources
Amazon.co.uk:
1881 England Census
1891 England Census
1901 England Census
1911 England Census
West Sussex, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1920
West Sussex, England, Church of England Deaths and Burials, 1813-1995
West Sussex, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1936
FreeReg.org.uk
West Lavington Parish Register: 9 February 1873. Baptism of Charles Blunden
Cocking Parish Register: 30 May 1894. Marriage of Charles Blunden & Minnie Boxall
Stephen Bartlett
Stephen Bartlett (who assaulted Elizabeth Laker) was born at Cocking Causeway on 15 December 1869 and baptised at Cocking on 6 March 1870. He was the youngest of 10 children born to Edmund Bartlett (1823–1900), an agricultural labourer, and Emma née Wrapson (1823–1894).
At the 1891 census, Stephen was still living with his parents at Cocking Causeway. He was employed as an agricultural labourer, while his father, aged 68, was on parish relief.
Stephen, aged 22, married Mary Caroline Poat in late 1892 (Marriage registered in Midhurst district, December 1892). The couple had six children:
Alice, baptised at West Lavington on 6 May 1894
John Edmund, baptised at West Lavington on 14 June 1896
Elsie May, born 1898 (no record of baptism)
Stephen Frederick, born 1902 (no record of baptism)
Kathleen Mary, born 1905 (no record of baptism)
Caroline Emily, born 1907 (no record of baptism)
At the 1901 census, Stephen and his family were living at Hog Lane, West Lavington, when he was employed as a railway platelayer. They were living at the same address 10 years later.
Stephen remained at Cocking until his death on 1 November 1943, aged 73. Mary died in Alton in 1959.
Sources
Amazon.co.uk:
1881 England Census
1891 England Census
1901 England Census
1911 England Census
1939 England and Wales Register
England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966, 1973-1995
West Sussex, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1920