Melksham Times Past: Gruesome homecoming at Halfway Farm

AS Mary Butler turned the handle on the front door of Halfway Farm, she noted it was slippery wet. Looking down at her hand, she gasped to see it covered with blood. 

She and her husband, William, returned to their home in Beanacre after attending church on Sunday evening, 5th December, 1869. As was their habit for the past two years, they had asked William’s brother Ralph Butler, aged 52, to watch the home in their absence.

Entering each room, they noted their bedroom was in flames and the kitchen was spattered with patches of blood. The home had been ransacked and £20 in gold and notes were missing. In the parlour, Ralph lay face down in a pool of blood. On the table was an old horse pistol covered with a red substance.

Inspector Luffman and police constable (PC) Millard were summoned; neighbours helped to put out the fire, and Ralph was lifted to a chair and examined by Dr. King. The victim had severe scalp wounds, and his jaw was broken in two places; six of his teeth were knocked out, with four being found in the yard. So ferocious was the beating that Ralph’s cheek bones were exposed. He was barely conscious when found, and the next three-to-four days were a concern that he might die.

Ralph’s son William arrived and was shown a hat that didn’t belong to his father, which he identified as belonging to his uncle, Worthy Rich, the 35-year-old brother of Ralph’s wife Eliza. As best he could, Ralph verified his attacker was his brother-in-law, whom he was surprised to see at the door, but let in the house.

Worthy Rich was eventually tracked down to London on Boxing Day by PC Priest; the task was made easier since Rich made no effort to disguise his name. The culprit was identified through a photograph and the tattoos he had: Christ on the cross on one arm, a sailor on the other, and a blue ring mark on one of his fingers. With identification complete and Rich verifying, PC Priest remarked, “That will do,” to which the prisoner asked how the “old man” was. “I believe he is better,” answered the constable.

With a handkerchief bound around his head, Ralph Butler testified against his brother-in-law the following April. Butler died 25 years later, in 1895. He, his wife and his son are buried in the St. Barnabas churchyard in Beanacre, sharing the same headstone.

However, the outrage shown by Beanacre residents sensationalised the court proceedings to the point where convict Rich was identified by a witness to a different crime as being the culprit in that case. This caused the assault trial to be combined with this other offence. (And that story is to be continued in the next issue.)