The Murder of P.C. Nicholas Cock …… another story from Tony Goulding

Research for a recent post on this Blog concerning some early policemen of Chorlton-cum-Hardy led to me reading some newspaper reports of this famous case. 

The fate of the murder victim, P. C. Cock, his assassin, Charles Peace, and the arrest, trial, conviction, sentence of death and subsequent reprieve and pardoning of the various Habron brothers are fairly well known. 

However, I was curious to learn more of the others in the case. (1)

Constable James Beanland: -The natural starting point for such investigations was P. C. Beanland who was accompanying P. C. Cock on his beat that portentous night of Tuesday, the 1st August, 1876 and but for a twist of fate might have been the officer gunned down.

James Beanland was born in Brierfield, Lancashire in 1840. The 1861 census records him as a railway parcels clerk lodging with fellow railway workers at 18, Owen Street, West Derby, Liverpool. He married Margaret Critchley in the Warrington registration district of Lancashire in the March quarter of 1862. 

He soon after joined the Lancashire Constabulary and the 1871 census shows him a constable at Neville Street Police Station in Ulverston in the Furness area of Lancashire. At this time, he and his wife had two sons Henry who was 6 years-old born in Newton-le-Willows. Lancashire and 4-months-old George born in Ulverston. Around the time of the shooting P. C. Beanland, who was the stationed at Old Trafford, had, had another son, James Chadwick, born in Ulverston in the March quarter of 1874 and was living at 102, Tamworth Street, Hulme, Manchester. In the 1881 census he is recorded as a police constable at The Militia Barrack, 87, Eccles New Road, Salford, Lancashire. His family had been added to by another son, Abraham, born in Manchester and a daughter, Margaret Annie Elizabeth, born in Salford in January, 1881. Ten years later he had been promoted to Sergeant and was at 10, St. Leonard’s Street, Padiham, Burnley, Lancashire with his wife, and four of his children, James Chadwick, Abraham, Margaret Annie Elizabeth and new arrival John, born in Salford in the December quarter of 1883. 

The same family members in 1901 are found living at 257, Southfield Street, Nelson, Burnley where Officer Beanland was recorded as a police pensioner. He died in Nelson in December, 1912.

P. C. William Ewan: -

William Ewan was born in Airdrie, Lanarkshire, Scotland in 1853. His parents James, an agricultural labourer, and Christiana (née Campbell) later moved their young family back to their home-town of Dunning, Perthshire, Scotland. Prior to travelling South to join the Lancashire Constabulary William had started working in Dunning as a blacksmith.

       He had arrived in Manchester by the middle of 1874 as he married Mary Ann Shaw in the September quarter of that year.

        As Constable Ewan he was the first police officer to respond to the alarm sounded by P. C. Beanland after the shooting of P. C. Cock and assisted in conveying the injured officer to a local doctor’s residence. William remained in the police for a time after the incident later being stationed at Urmston, Lancashire where the 1881 census records him living at 32, Lorne Grove, with his wife and an infant boy William Albert White, a “Nurse Child” who he later adopted. The household also included William’s younger brother James, described as a cab proprietor. William had left the police force by the time the next census was taken in 1891. He was shown in that census as a coal merchant at 152, Higher Road, Urmston, Lancashire. Interestingly as well as his wife and adopted child the household also included another of William’s younger brothers, Thomas Alexander, a cab driver. After 1891, William seems to have experienced some hard times; in 1901 he is recorded as a “pauper” occupation, dock labourer in the  Congleton Workhouse in Arclid, Cheshire. He likely died in the June quarter of 1905 in Preston, Lancashire where his adopted son was working as a postman.

Dr. John Dill: - 

John Dill was born in 1824 in Ireland where his father, Marcus, was also a doctor of medicine. He trained for the medical profession in Ireland, graduating from Trinity College, Dublin before moving to England. He married Emma Billing, whose father John was a Lawyer in West Derby, Liverpool, on the 20th October, 1853 at St. Mary’s church, Edge Hill, West Derby, Liverpool. He was at this time an assistant house surgeon at Liverpool Infirmary’s Southern Dispensary. Soon after their marriage, Dr. John and Emma came to the South Manchester area. At first, as indicated by an 1854 rate book of Moss Side township, living at a house on Withington Road. Slaters Directory of 1863 has him at 1, Hawthorn Villa, Chorlton Road, Hulme, Manchester (2) and by the time of the 1871 census he was living nearer the Chorlton-cum-Hardy end of Chorlton Road (then known as West Point)

It was to this Dr. Dill’s residence, Gordon Villa, that P. C. Cock was brought after he was shot and where, despite the good doctor’s administrations, he died a short time later. He also conducted the post mortem on the young constable’s body in the afternoon following the shooting. As such he was called to give his expert medical evidence at both the coroner’s inquest and the court appearances of the Habron brothers.

Dr. Dill and his wife had 4 children Elizabeth Gordon, Emma Gordon, Marcus Gordon, and Margaret Leeky Gordon. Their first child Elizabeth Gordon, born in January, 1856 died on the 30th July, 1858 and was buried in St. Clement’s churchyard, Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Lancashire on the 3rd August, 1858. When Dr. Dill, himself, died on the 14th February, 1878 he was interred in the same grave as his late daughter.

Mr. Richard Corston Wade: -

     Mr. R. C. Wade another local doctor was also summoned to give aid to the stricken officer and was the surgeon who assisted Dr. Dill in carrying out the Post Mortem examination on the body of P. C. Cock at Old Trafford Police Station in the afternoon of Wednesday 2nd August, 1876. 

 Richard Wade was born in London in in 1848, where his father, also a Richard, worked as a carrier. He trained to be a surgeon (M.R.C.S.) in London and came North to Manchester. In 1871, he was in Lodging at 14, Downing Street, Chorlton-on-Medlock, Manchester sharing the house with three police officers. He was working at this time as an assistant to Mr. T. R. Dean, a surgeon, whose practice he had joined in 1868. On the 23rd November, 1871 he married Lucy Anne Carter, the daughter of a prominent Manchester carrier, Walter Carter, of 103, Market Street, Manchester, at St. Lukes Church, Chorlton-on-Medlock, Manchester. In August, 1876 he had his own surgery at 30, Moss Lane West, Moss Side, Lancashire.

      Mr. Wade did not appear in court in connection with the P. C. Cock case, however on the 11th October of the same year, 1876 he and his wife were called to give evidence in a curious case of libel against Miss Ellen McColl, a servant, of 7, Robinson Court, Ardwick, Manchester. Miss McColl had given birth to a child fathered by Mr. Wade before his marriage. The child, a boy, had died as an infant and, together with other unspecified libels against both Mr. And Mrs. Wade, Miss McColl had written letters accusing Mr. Wade of murdering their baby son.

 Mr. and Mrs. Wade were still at 30, Moss Lane West when the 1881 census was taken. In their household were a son, Arthur William Corston born in the December quarter of 1873, a daughter, Mary Clarissa, born in the December quarter of 1872 and two domestic servants. A series or tragedies befell the Wade family from 1879 onwards. Two further daughters died in infancy before reaching their first birthday; Evelyn Florence in 1879 and Lucy Kesterson in 1881/2. After moving to 52, Church Road St. Leonards-on-Sea, Hastings, Sussex, Mrs. Wade died there in August, 1882. She was buried in the cemetery in Hastings on the 18th August, 1882. The following year Richard Wade died on the 12th May, 1883 at Brunswick House, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire; his body being taken South to be interred in his wife’s grave in Hastings. He left the sum of £909-5s-11d in his will. One of his executors was his father-in-law Walter Carter who Richard’s two orphaned children went to live with. 

Mr. John Massey Simpson:  -

John Massey Simpson was born in Stretford, Lancashire in the 1854. He was baptised on the 27th December 1858 at St. Matthew’s Church, Stretford, Lancashire. His parents were Samuel, a solicitor and his wife, Sarah (née Hardy). The family resided for a time at Peel House, Edge Lane, Stretford, Lancashire before moving to Whalley Bank, Upper Chorlton Road, Whalley Range, Lancashire. In 1876, Mr. Simpson was a law student who would later enter his father’s firm of solicitor’s in South Gate, Manchester. On the night of the murder he had been visiting the home of his future father-in-law, George Macbeth, a clothier (tailor) at “The Hollies” Edge Lane, Chorlton-cum-Hardy and meeting P. C. Cock on his way home had engaged in conversation and walked alongside him from Redgate Farm (4) to West Point. After meeting P. C. Beanland he bade them Goodnight and continued on his way home up Upper Chorlton Road. A short time later on hearing two gunshots he retraced his steps to see what assistance he could give. At the trial of the Habron brothers it may well have been Mr. Simpson’s identification of William which persuaded the jury of his guilt.

John Massey Simpson duly married George Macbeth’s daughter, Emma Jane, on the 31st August, 1882 at St. Clement’s Church, Chorlton-cum-Hardy. The couple lived for a number of years, until 1888, at 38, Whitelow Road. 

The census in 1891 records them at “Sea View”, Kirk Bride, Isle of Man. Ten years later and they had returned to the Manchester area and were living at “House Bush”, Timperley, Cheshire. John Massey and Emma Jane didn’t have any children but at the 1901 census as well as two servants their household also included a 10-year-old niece, Gladys Macbeth. John Massey died in Timperley on the 28th April, 1902. 

In his Will, he left an estate valued at £6,316-9s-2d to his widow, Emma Jane.

Tony Goulding ©2020

Location; Chorlton-cum-Hardy

Pictures, Site of P. C. Cock’s murder, 1924, m 18197, courtesy of Manchester Libraries, Information and Archives, Manchester City Council, http://images.manchester.gov.uk/index.php?session=pass, image of Charles Peace, site of Dr. Dill's Grave, 38, Whitelow Road, 2020, St Clements's churchyard and memorial stone to P.C. Cook, from the collection of Tony Goulding

NOTES: -

1) The newspaper reports of the trial and especially of the inquest were sensational and far from impartial created an atmosphere in which a conviction seemed to be inevitable.

2) In the 1861 census Hawthorn Villa is recorded in Stretford. It appears, then as now, the borough boundary ran along Upper Chorlton Road.

3) There is no extant grave marker, but a plan of the graveyard shows it to have been adjacent to that of Mr. Philip Ree’s. 

This 1970’s photograph may show his gravestone in situ.

4) Redgate Farm was located where the library stands today.