Sudden deaths in the C19th in Suffolk.

Our November meeting was given by Geoffrey Robinson, a well-known local history researcher in Suffolk, on Sudden deaths in the C19th in Suffolk.

He gave  a fascinating insight into the types and causes of death  from coroner’s court procedures as reported in local newspaper. He pointed out that ‘times and attitudes were very different then’ and gave several examples. A farmer,  George Cracknell from Fairstead, had been drinking at a pub in Oakley and his behaviour noted as odd .He left in his horse and cart to go home -the horse made it but the driver was found dead in the river. The coroner’s court at the Swan in Hoxne concluded death from insanity.

Some examples of unsupervised children being killed by fire accidents in the home were reported but the mother was not always castigated as they had a fatalistic approach to life. Similarly, it was concluded that  a 20 yr old female found dead in bed in the morning was due to ‘ a visitation of God’ -almost as if a handle could be attached to the death then that’s all that matters.

In the mid century an international Classification of Death was developed , which still exists today.

In the 1860s the newspapers started to sensationalise deaths to attract middle class readers. (What’s new?) A case of a female who swallowed a wasp and died, a farmer who died of arsenic poisoning because some arsenic was placed near to some flour which became contaminated and was cooked. Interestingly everyone else survived and a verdict of accidental death reported. (reminiscences of the Mushroom Wellington case in Oz?)

A very sad case of a 6yr old whose head was crushed by a hearse. The driver threw him a halfpenny to open the gate but he slipped and the wheels went over his head. Similarly a lad leading some Suffolk punches through a muddy gate slipped and a wheel went over his abdomen Another lad leading cattle tied a cow’s tail around his waist, the cow became frightened, bolted dragging him along the road and ultimately into the river.

These cases, including multiple cases of accidental shootings and losing limbs in milling and threshing machinery leading to catastrophic blood loss and shock, demonstrate that, even then, the farm was a dangerous place.

The County Coroner was elected by a body of freeholders for life.No knowledge of medical or legal matters was necessary, although many were trained solicitors.They received a stipend of £1/inquest which had to be performed within 48h of death. Post mortems were infrequent. The venue of the Court was frequently a pub ,the witnesses would be heard and the jury presented a verdict.

The role of newspapers was very important e.g the Ipswich Journal, was important for the agricultural middle classes, People were very keen and captivated by inquest reports and those who could read would read out to the assembled workers.

The advent of the railway line started to become another example of sudden deaths in Suffolk.One man crossing the line did not see the oncoming train and the inquest verdict was ‘deafness’!

Role of infectious disease in sudden deaths was not presented in the talk.

In conclusion, a  very interesting talk and chapter of unfortunate events which highlight how times have changed.