Pub with no name, Tockington

Cheers,

Tom Hill

 

Gloucester Journal, 14th August 1841(a newspaper article referencing ‘Mrs Thomas’s Beer / Cider house’, Tockington).

 

William Weyman, 55, accused of having wilfully murdered William Fisher, at Tockington near Bristol, on Saturday the 17th April. He pleaded “not guilty” in a firm and resolute tone.

 

The prosecution was conducted by Messrs Greaves and Skinner, and the defence by Mr Keating. After the case had been opened by Mr Greaves, witnesses were called.

 

The first witnesses were Mrs Coles and Mrs Church. The first deposed that she had sold to the prisoner on the morning of the 16th [Friday] a half ounce of gunpowder and a marble. He had been in the habit of buying marbles, but generally on a Monday morning. The latter stated that on the 17th (Saturday), she supplied the prisoner with half an ounce of powder.

 

Mary Jeffries – the prisoner lodged with me for several months. I recollect him going to Bristol on Thursday to draw his pension; he went away very early in the morning, and my son went along with him. My son came back at 6 o’clock in the evening, and the prisoner came at 9 o’clock the worse for liquor. My son brought several articles which the prisoner had bought at Bristol, and amongst them was a quart bottle of gin. The next morning, he drank all the gin which remained, with the exception of a teacup-full which he gave away. He went out at 11 o’clock and returned shortly after. My son looked into his pocket and then said to me “William has got the gun” The prisoner said he intended to clean it, and that he was going to Awkley to shoot a horse which belonged to William Millard, and that he was desired by James Millard, his brother to do so, as it had the staggers. At this time, he was not so much in liquor as I have seen him. When he went out, I went to his bedroom and picked up a little gunpowder which was in a paper. He returned in about an hour after, and I said – William have you shot the horse? He said, no, it is getting better. He went out again and went over the stile which is near my house, and which leads to William Fisher’s. He might have gone to William Millard’s that way too, but it would have been round about. He returned and lay down on his bed. This he did five or six times in the course of the day. I met him several times on Cadden Hill, which lies betwixt my house and William Fisher’s. He came in about 5 o’clock, and di not go out gain that night. On Saturday morning he got up at 7 o’clock; he was then sober, and had a cup of tea with me. He went up the street for a short time, and when he came back one of my children said, William has got the gun now. I said – are you to shoot the horse today, William? And he said – I am, it is a great deal worse. The prisoner used to be employed in delivering letters along with a woman of the name of Elizabeth Brittain. He said to me, – if Bet comes to ask for me say you don’t know where I am. He shortly afterwards left my house. During the time he lodged with me, he conducted himself quietly and orderly. I never saw him very violent in his liquor. The prisoner knew the deceased William Fisher. His house stands by itself, and about half a mile distant from where I live. I never heard of his having received a wound on his head. I never advised him to abstain from drinking because it excited him, but I advised him to save his money in case of illness.

Mrs Cook – I live at Cadden Hill; at two o’clock on Friday the prisoner came to my house; I said, what have you for me? I thought he had some letters for me, as he was in the parctice of delivering letters. He said nothing. He did not seem the worse of liquor. He said he had been drinking gin that morning, and that he had been looking for William Fisher,and that if he had fallen in with him he would have butchered him or shot him. William Fisher was in the habit of coming to my house, and generally on the afternoon of Friday.

 

Cross – examined – I knew the prisoner before he became a soldier. He was absent for about 28 years. I was not much surprised at hearing the words about Fisher because people when in a passion make use of strong expressions, but still I was rather surprised as the prisoner was always civil before.

 

George Carter – I live at Awkley and near to William Fisher’s house. On Friday afternoon I saw the prisoner at Cadden hill, about 4 o’clock. That hill commands a view of Fisher’s house. I met him and he asked me if William Millard was at home. I said I did not know.

Mrs Hester Millard – I live at Awkley. I was at home at four o’clock on Friday afternoon. The prisoner came into my house and said he wanted to clean my son William’s white Yeomanry leathers. He was then sober. It is about two years since the prisoner returned from the army.  

 

Joseph Prewett  – I was working for Fisher on the Friday. I saw the prisoner betwixt 4 and 5 o’clock passing along the high road, and I observed that when passing within five yards of Fisher’s house he turned his head and looked into the house. Fisher had gone into Bristol and had not returned. On the following morning Fisher went with a cart and horse and cart intending to go to Bristol. He was to go by Tockington. This would lead him close to the house of Mrs Lipiatt and not far from the house of Mrs Thomas.

 

William Milliard – On Thursday I went to Bristol and on the road we overtook the prisoner. He went in the cart with us. I bought a horse at Bristol about one o’clock in the afternoon, but I never spoke to the prisoner of my intention, nor was he present at the purchase. I have the horse still, it was never sick and I never intended to kill it. I have recently joined the Yeomanry cavalry, but have only received the saddle. I had no accoutrements to clean. I belive the prisoner was in the practice of cleaning accoutrements.

 

James Millard – I am a butcher. The prisoner was in the practice of shooting cattle for me and marbles were used. He shot a beast for me on the vening of the Monday previous to the murder. I gave him no directions about shooting a horse for my brother. I gave him no directions to buy powder and marbles for me. When the prisoner shot beasts for me he was supplied with powder and marbles by one of my servants, who bought them. The pistol employed belonged to me and was ancavalry pistol. It used to lie in my house.

 

Sarah Lipiatt – I live at Tockington. A person coming from Awkley to Bristol would pass near my house and by the side of Mrs Thomas’s. About 9 o’clock on the morning of Saturday I saw the prisoner on the road but did not speak to him. He came into my house and had some cider. After he went out he stood for a minute at a corner of the road which commands a view of the Bristol, the Almonsbury, and Tockington roads. He then went to Tockington. In about three quarters of an hour I heard of the murder. When he was drinking the cider he said he had received his pension the day before and that he had drunk three half pints of gin that morning, and that if he could keep off it, it would be all right enough. I did not know what he meant. He was in liquor but was capable of knowing what he was about.

 

James Cullimore – I am a farmer and dealer, and live at Tockington. I was well acquainted with the deceased. On Saturday morning I met him with his cart and horse; he asked me to take a share of some cider with him in Mrs Thomas’s house; we had two pints outside the door, and we then went inside. Mr Knapp Joined us, and aperson of the name of Nelmes was also present. The prisoner came in and drank with William Fisher and myself, we were sitting at a round table, in a settle near the fireplace; there is a door where we were sitting which leads to the back kitchen which leads to the garden. A conversation took place betwixt the prisoner and Fisher, but how it began I do not recollect; I saw the prisoner however point with his hand to the opposite side of the road, where a person of the name of Jerrett lived, and say that he had brought to him a penny letter with £50 in it the day before; Fisher called him a liar. The prisoner said that if he had said so out of doors he would have kicked him; Fisher called him a liar a second time. The prisoner said that is quite enough, or words to that effect and then went out in a hurry to the back kitchen. He returned in about a minute, pushing open the door and fired a pistol; the muzzle could not have been above an inch from Fisher’s head. Fisher instantly fell; the pistol fell from the prisoner’s hand and lighted at my feet. The report stunned me, and I fell down above Fisher; I was very much frightened and thought I was shot. I went out and when I found that all was right with myself, returned and saw a good deal of blood on the floor. Before the occurence took place we had not been longer than a quarter of an hour in the house; previous to the conversation, Mrs Thomas said to me dont you see that Weyman (the prisoner) has a pistol? Weyman said that he was cleaning it for somebody. Cross-examined – I thought that the words which passed betwixt the prisoner and the deceased were in joke.

Knapp – I was one of the party in Mrs Thomas’s house, but had occasion to go away. I desired the prisoner before I left the house to go and assist with a sack of potatoes. He went out and cam back again, and said he had done what was desired. When I returned to Mrs Thomas’s I saw the prisoner point his finger to Jerrett’s house and say something. Fisher called him a liar the prisoner said that is enough and went to the back kitchen. He returned in about a minute, and holding the latch of the door with one hand, presented the pistol at Fisher’s face with the other, and fired. I think the pistol must have touched his face. I was so much stunned that I ran out; I returned in about half an hour. The party must have been in the house about an hour altogether.

 

Nelmes – I was reading a newspaper on a form, and was opposite to Fisher, Cullimore and the prisoner. The prisoner said he had brought a letter with 50l in it to a person on the opposite side of the road. Fisher called him a d—d liar. The prisoner said, – “You say that again” Fisher repeated the same words. The prisoner said “Say that again” Fisher said “You are as big a liar as any in England” The prisoner then went out to the back kitchen, and I saw him turn in the direction of the door which leads to the garden. He was absent for about a minute or a minute and a half. When he returned he had a pistol in his right hand, and fired it at Fisher. Fisher fell on his face and hands. The shot entered the right hand of the face under the ear. I helped Fisher up; he lived for 15 or 20 minutes. The prisoner said – I have done it and am not going to run. I knew the prisoner before he went to the army; he returned about two years ago. So far as I have seen he was always quiet.

 

Cross- examined – I thought the conversation betwixt the prisoner and the deceased was good-humoured as otherwise. The medical man came in about five minutes after.

 

Mrs Thomas – I keep a cider shop. The prisoner called in the morning and had some cider and then went out again. When he returned he came into the kitchen. I saw a pistol in his pocket with brown paper at the top, and I asked him if it was loaded. The prisoner said no, and Mr Cullimore said, its all right, he is in the habit of having them to clean. Mr Cullimore said that the prisoner was to lend Fisher 5l. The prisoner said nothing when the remark was made. Fisher said he was a liar and that he had not 5l to give. The prisoner said I have 30l and 9l. Fisher then called him a liar again. The prisoner called me aside and asked for half a gallon of cider. I said he did not need it, there was plenty on the table. He said he must have it to treat these men with. He next said he had brought a letter to Jerratt with 50l in it, and Fisher called him a liar. The prisoner said, if you say that again you will never kick more. I heard Fisher say, you are the greatest liar in England. That was all I heard. I went out very much alarmed. In about a minute after I heard the report of a pistol. Mr Cullimore desired me to send for an officer. I met the prisoner at the front door and he said, I have shot him and am not going to run. I called in a surgeon.

 

J R Monday – I am a surgeon and was passing through Tockington, and was called in by Mrs Thomas. I saw the prisoner outside the house. He said “It’s a dead shot I warrant you” I went into the house and saw the deceased. There was a lacerated wound from the right ear all the way to the left. Part of the jaw was gone and the muscles were hanging down. The ball had gone from the right jaw to the left. There were marks of powder but not so much as might have been expected. The shot had produced death. I examined the fireplace but found no lead. Had a marble been used it it would have gone to pieces on striking the wall, or might have gone to pieces by the explaosive power of the powder.

 

Cross-examined – When I saw the prisoner he was much excited. He was trembling, and had to support himself on my gig. Several questions were next put on the question of sanity. The replies were to the effect that great excitement was a symptom of insanity – that a person might be insane on one point and sane upon all others; and that the delusion arising from the idea that an injury had been sustained while in fact no injury had ever been sustained would be symptomatic of insanity, The test of the delusion was the non-existence of the supposed fact. On a review of the all the circumstances the witness was of opinion that there was nothing inductive of insanity in the prisoner. Had he been labouring under monomania he would have accomplished his object in a more sly and cunning manner. Did you ever attend the prisoner professionally? No, I never heard of his being ill. I used to employ him, he was a very handy person – By a juryman; Did you ever see anything about him which led you to suppose that he was insane? I never did, otherwise I would not have employed him.

 

Re-examined – On the day of the murder the prisoner was before the magistrates for three hours. He was much excited about one of the persons who had given evidence, but there was nothing symptomatic of insanity. I kept my eye on upon him lest he should lay hold of the pistol which was lying on the table and do some harm with it.

Charles Webb – I am a constable, and took the prisoner into custody. When I laid hold of him he said he was satisfied, and would go with me anywhere; I searched him and found some gunpowder in his pocket. When on our way to the magistrates, the prisoner said of his own accord that he had the pistol for a month, and that it was loaded for 4 days with 4 marbles, and that he would have shot Fisher had he fallen in with him on the Friday, but he saw him on the Saturday, and that was not the time to do it. He said something about a woman, but I did not understand what he meant. He said he knew he would be hanged for what he had done, but he should die happy. He was not much in liquor; the witness produced the pistol, and it was shown to the judge and jury. It had burst about an inch and a half from the muzzel.

Cross-examined – Fisher was married at the time of his death. His wife must have been about 14 years of age when the prisoner entered the army.

 

James Wiltshire – I am clerk to the magistrates; the prisoner was asked if he wished to say anything and was strictly cautioned against saying anything which might be prejudicial to him. He made a statement which was read over to him, and he put his mark to it; the statement was read by the Clerk of the Court and it was in substance that he (the prisoner) had gone to Bristol on Thursday to draw his pension (£5 and odds) That he had lent £5 in silver to William Fisher, and that when he asked it back he told him he would give it to him some other day; on Saturday Fisher called him a d—d liar about a dozen times, and threatened to knock him down; he told him it required a man to stand in better shoes than he did, to say so, and that “was the most which passed.”

 

Daniel Harris – I am a police officer and took the prisoner from the magistrates to the station house at Berkeley. On the way he spoke about the evidence which was given by Wade as to the pistol being loaded for four days, and with four balls. The prisoner said it was not loaded till he went out of the room and went to the back part of the house; he said it was loaded with the powder which he had bought at Church’s that he emptied about half the quantity in the pistol, and put in one of the balls, pressing it down with his fingers, and without using a ramrod.

Edwin Riddiford – I am a policeman and had charge of the prisoner at the Berkeley station house. He gave me a marble and said it was the fellow of the one he had shot the man with. I said, “I think I shall take this” The prisoner said, “you may, I shan’t want it now”

This closed the case for the prosecution.

 

Mr Keating then proceeded to address the jury at considerable length, and expressed a hope that they would feel themselves justified in coming to the conclusion that the dreadful act had arisen from the impulse of insanity. He concluded thus, “the only question for you, gentlemen, to consider is whether looking at all the circumstances connected with this lamentable transaction you can say that it was the act of a sane man; and in forming your opinion I hope you will not allow yourselves to be carried away by the feelings which are apt to arise on contemplating such an unhappy transaction. I have not attempted, nor could I attempt to impeach the credit of a single witness adduced for the prosecution. I am not aware that the facts could have been altered, nor do I think it would have been advisable for the interest of the prisoner that such should have been the case unless the change had been material, because it seems to me that the more extraordinary the facts are the more do they correspond with that state of mind which the evidence would seem to point to and which renders a man, in the eye of the law, not responsible for the action. It is only necessary for me to add that it is most dangerous that persons should be allowed the opportunity of repeating such acts, and for this the law provides an ample and complete remedy. Wherever the circumstances are of so doubtful a character as to give rise to the opinion that the act might have been committed under an engrossing delusion the law provides that the prisoner shall be placed under proper restraint. In submitting this case to you therefore I submit it as a question betwixt perpetual imprisonment or death on the scaffold. Whether the prisoner is fitter for an asylum, or for the scaffold, is the question for your consideration, and a question let me add the most solemn that men in your position can be called upon to pronounce; and I am certain that you will not pronounce upon it without giving the whole of the circumstances your most careful consideration.

 

His Lordship next summed up the evidence, and at the conclusion the jury consulted for about two minutes and then returned a verdict of “Guilty” His Lordship put on the black cap, and the usual question having been asked of the prisoner whether he had anything to say why sentence of death should not be passed upon him, his Lordship passed sentence of death in the following words: 

William Weyman, you have been convicted of a deliberate murder. Committed on the person of an innocent and unoffending man, against whom for years you seem to have nourished some secret grudge, the cause of which is only known to yourself. I know not what your course of life has hitherto been, or whether you have had the advantage of religious instruction to prepare you for the awful change which awaits you. If you have not hitherto enjoyed that advantage I trust, during the short period you have to live you will attend assiduously to the instructions of the religious persons who will endeavour to prepare you as well as they can for that awful change. It is now only for me to pass upon you the solemn sentence of the law, and that sentence is that for the crime you have committed you be taken hence to the prison from whence you came and thence to be taken to the place of execution and there hanged by the neck till you be dead, and that thereafter your body be buried within the precincts of the prison in which you have been confined since your conviction, all according to law.

 

The prisoner left the bar with the greatest coolness. In person he is of the middle height, stout built and of a ruddy complexion. His features indicated nothing like ferocity or ill-temper. On taking his place at the bar he assumed the attitude of a soldier in the ranks, but shortly afterwards rested his arms on the railing and continued in that position throughout the whole of the solemn proceedings. In the calendar he is described as being able to read and write imperfectly. His mother is alive.