Crown Inn, Tockington / Alveston

Charles Kibby, aged 27, was arraigned for the manslaughter of William Fowler, on the 16th March, at Alveston. William Iron stated that he was sitting in the kitchen of the deceased’s house, at ten minutes past eight o’clock on the evening of the 16th March, when the prisoner came in, and observing the deceased sitting there, boisterously remarked – “D— your eyes Fowler, get up; what do you sit there for?” The deceased made no reply; and the prisoner then sat down in front of him, and called for half a pint of cider, which was supplied to him by Mrs Fowler. The prisoner gave her half a crown in payment. Mr Fowler brought him 2s ?d as change, observing that she had kept back 2d for a pint of cider which had been served to him some days before. Upon this, the prisoner again swore, and asked –“Is that the way you do business – in that kind of a way?” and continued his abuse for some time. At length Mrs Fowler insisted on his being out of the house, and went towards him for the purpose of expelling him, when the deceased jumped up and forestalled her by catching hold of the prisoner at the back of his coat collar. Immediately upon this, the prisoner clutched the deceased by the throat with his right hand, and struck him a violent blow on the temple with his left, which knocked him back into his seat, the prisoner falling upon him. The antagonists, however, continued to maintain their respective holds. The witness, and a man named Smith, then attempted to pull the prisoner away from the deceased by catching hold of the hair on the back of his head – in doing this the deceased came up with him, and as he rose from the settle the prisoner struck him in the face. Both immediately fell to the ground- the prisoner upon his back, and the deceased upon him. Witness then picked the deceased up from the floor, but he was a corpse. The company in deceased’s house were very quiet and comfortable till the prisoner joined them; and all that the deceased said to the prisoner before the scuffle took place was, “Now, Charles, we don’t want you hurt tonight”

Mr James Rawling Mundy, surgeon, deposed that the deceased had died from a blow on the right temple which had caused concussion on the brain. The body also exhibited a red mark of about two inches in length, upon the throat, which might have been occasioned by a man’s knuckle, when grasping deceased’s neckcloth.

The prisoner pleaded that he became enraged by Mrs Fowler stopping part of his change, for he was not at all in her debt. He admitted that he abused her for doing this; and that afterwards the deceased got up and caught hold of him by the throat, and nearly choked him; and in self-defence, he had certainly struck him.

The witness Iron was recalled by the court, and stated that the deceased laid hold of the prisoner by the collar of his coat, and not by the throat, to the best of his recollection.

The judge, in summing up the evidence, remarked to the jury that no man – even if he be a publican – is compelled to submit to a noise and riot in his house; and if such should take place, he would be perfectly justified in expelling the obstreperous or belligerent parties from his house – if not by quiet means, why then by force. The deceased, therefore, by catching hold of the prisoner’s collar, and attempting to expel his from his house, had not, in any way, acted beyond his duty.

The jury returned a verdict of guilty – the Judge strongly animadverted upon the misfortunes which the prisoner and many of his class would escape if they only knew the value of a civil tongue and a kind demeanour – His insolence had been the cause of all the trouble he had – unintentionally he believed – inflicted as well upon himself as upon the more suffering parties in this case. Under all the circumstances, however, his lordship thought that the justice of the case would be met by sentencing the prisoner to six months imprisonment.

The Coroner’s inquest confirms that this is the Crown Inn.