Of death, and other things – WARNING GRAPHIC DESCRIPTIONS
1799 – Sale of Trumpet Inn
The dwelling house of Richard Harris – namely the Trumpet Inn at Pixley, was to be sold by auction on Thursday 28th November 1799.
1843 – Attempted Suicide at the Trumpet Inn
A man named as Johnson was living with his family at the Trumpet Inn; he suffered badly with asthma, but had always been known as a drunkard and one night he behaved so badly at the Inn that he was thrown out.
The next morning, Johnson was found in the loo with his throat cut – the wound extended across the front the neck near the top of the windpipe, and made an opening into the mouth.
He was not expected to live.
1847 – Death of James Jones
In May 1847 a lad by the name of James Jones had been employed by a local hop farmer, Mr. Grice, to watch over the horses grazing near the hop bines and to make sure that they didn’t get too close and damage the growing bines. They all had halters on, but it seems that James perhaps had trouble with one particular horse, and he threaded a second halter through the one on its head, then tied the free end in a loop around his wrist. Not a spectacularly clever thing to do, and the poor lad paid with his life when the horse took off at speed for home, jumping walls and hedges on the way whilst dragging James alongside him.
When the horse reached home, it collapsed and died alongside the shattered body of James.
1848 – Death at the Trumpet Inn in Pixley
At the inquest, the son of the landlord of the Trumpet Inn, Benjamin White, told how he noticed George Nichols sitting in the porch of the inn around 6 in the evening; he watched as George slowly toppled forwards until he fell onto his head.
Benjamin went over to him and picked him up, dusted him down and put him back on his seat.
A little while later, George was seen leaning against the wall, seemingly asleep…..slowly but surely he fell forwards, again landing on his head. Benjamin once again went to help him, but this time found him to be unconscious, so George was carried into the back kitchen on a sack, and from there was removed to the barn.
Benjamin checked on him later in the evening, and found that he had not moved but was snoring. He checked again in the early hours of the morning, and George still had not moved but seemed to be asleep.
Full marks to Benjamin, because he checked on George again at 5 in the morning, but this time he found him to be dead and stiffening.
Witnesses to earlier events claimed that George had been drinking heavily with other men in the porch – accounts differed, one said that they had drunk ten shillings worth of brandy, another said it was only 7s 6d!
George was 32 and single; the verdict of the jury was “Died by the visitation of God”.
1849 – Suicide at Pixley Court
John Davis of Pixley Court had not been himself for some time – his servant, Thomas Buffer, told the inquest that not only had he noticed this, but John himself had frequently said that he was not right.
One Thursday night in June 1849, Thomas was in conversation with his master, John, about hauling manure to the turnip field, when he noticed that his master looked very ill and “queer in himself”.
The next morning, John was found hanging in the garden, right in front of the house, by his son William, and Thomas was called to cut him down. Thomas said that the body was not stiff but was quite cold.
John Davis was 67, and left a widow and five children.
1852 – Suicide of Landlord of the Trumpet Inn
Frederick May who was living at the Trumpet House, near to the Old Trumpet Inn, Pixley, was called urgently to the Inn early one morning in August 1852, regarding John Taylor.
When he arrived, he saw the landlord’s wife, Mrs. Taylor, and her son in great distress. They asked him to go to the privy in the garden, and when he did so, he saw finger marks of blood on the door and more blood on the sill. The door was closed, and he called to John but received no reply.
Frederick tried to open the door, but it was only by throwing his shoulder against it that he was able to do so, thereby finding that it was John’s feet that were obstructing the door.
John had cut his throat. He was still warm but dead, leaning against the wall as he sat on the seat. The razor he had used was clenched in his hand, and the floor was awash with blood.
Frederick declared that he had known John for many years, and considered him to be a hard drinker as well as being “addicted to passion”, and had been generally in good health until shortly before his death when he became depressed. He had been drunk constantly for a good two weeks, and this did usually make him very low and dejected.
1863 – Death of Apple Pickers
In 1863, Thomas Buffin, employed by Mr. Daniel Pope as a labourer, was picking applies from a tree when he fell and broke his back. He died at home some days later, leaving a wife and four children.
In the same year, a man named Hodges, also employed by Daniel Pope to pick apples, fell just a few feet from a ladder and fractured his spine resulting in paralysis.
He was not expected to survive.