A murder mystery between courses at the History Dinner on March 28

Now as unaccustomed as I am to after dinner speeches I have nevertheless accepted Chris’s invitation to speak at the Chorlton Cafe on the night of the History Dinner on March 28th.

I say after dinner but in fact it will be before, during and after the meal.  So no pressure there then.

This is a bit of a departure from the normal History Talk where I do the bit after the plates have been cleared away.

So in keeping with being a bit different I have decided to settle on the the brutal murder of Mary Moore “who was robbed and cruely murdered at Withington” in June 1838.

Mary was 49 years old, married to Joseph Moore and lived on the Green.  

She was employed by the Chorlton family of Dog House Farm to sell vegetables and fruit at Smithfield Market.

On any one day Mary might make a considerable amount of money from the sale of the farm produce.  Not surprisingly therefore she was described as a “remarkably steady woman not at all addicted to liquor”.

And that is all you will get for now.

On the night we will have a bit of the background to the darker side of life in Chorlton, followed by the story and to give you all something to talk about during the meal a set of clues which will help in trying to track down the murderer.

Ah I hear some people mutter, “not a suitable topic for a Friday night dinner at the Cafe” but I am not so sure.

Along the way as we pick our way through Mary’s journey back to Dog House, the awful murder and the events that followed there will be much about our Chorlton in the 1830s, including a description of the Horse & Jockey where the inquest was held.

Now who can turn all that down?

Of course there will be those who will read up on the story in my book The Story of Chorlton cum-Hardy, but in the interests of fair play I know they will not reveal the ending.**

Picture; of Mary’s gravestone in the parish graveyard from the collection of Andrew Simpson.

* The Post  Box Cafe, http://www.thepostboxchorlton.co.uk/

** The Story of Chorlton cum-Hardy, http://chorltonhistory.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/the-story-of-chorlton-cum-hardy.html