Sarah
Hawkins Genealogy Site
Newspaper
Articles
Taunton Courier. Bristol and Exeter Journal, and Western Advertiser Wednesday 19 Sep 1917
Page 5 Column 3
LANGPORT
<section not transcribed>
SUICIDE IN A STABLE.
COACHMAN HANGS HIMSELF WITH A CHAIN.
Considerable sensation was caused in the town and district on Wednesday, in the afternoon, when it because known that Mr. George Robert VALENTINE, coachman, in the employ of Mrs. BAGEHOT, of Herds Hill, had passed away, his death having been caused by his own hand. Deceased, it appeared, had not been in good health for some little time past, but nothing unusual have been noticed in his demeanour by persons meeting him in the course of his duties early in the day. He was missed when not coming into dinner at the usual time, and a search being made he was found in the coach-house hanging from one of the beams in the roof. When found life was extinct.
Mr. T. FOSTER-BARHAM, coroner for the district, conducted an enquiry into the circumstances on Friday afternoon at the Railway Hotel, with a jury of whom Mr. W. R. EDWARDS was chosen foreman.
Thomas STACEY, head gardener at the Herds Hill, said the body viewed by the jury was that of George Robert VALENTINE, aged 53, coachman, in the employ of Mrs. BAGEHOT. He had known deceased for some time. He was a very quiet, sober man and never had much to say. He was married, but there was no family. He had complained of not feeling well. He had a fit about three years ago, on the occasion of the Volunteers drilling at Herds Hill, when he fell down the steps in the garden. He saw deceased between 10 and 11 o'clock in the morning of the 12th between the house and the stables. He didn't see him afterwards. When witness came back from dinner deceased's wife was round by the stables and asked him if he had seen her husband, as she said he had not been home to dinner. They went down to the stables together and looked about for him. The coach-house door was found to be locked from the inside, and witness obtained another key which fitted and after some time succeeded in opening the door and going inside. They found deceased suspended from the beam, his feet being about nine inches from the ground. He had placed a hempen halter round the beam, attached to which was a pillar chain, the latter being passed round deceased's neck. With assistance witness cut down the deceased as soon as possible, when he found that he was quite dead, and removed the body to the cottage. Deceased was very fond of his horses, one of which had a bad leg, and he may have worried about this.
By the Foreman: He never noticed deceased to be strange in any way. He was always very quiet.
Dr. Robert Percy HOSFORD, medical practitioner at Langport, said he had never attended deceased. The cause of death was asphyxia, the result of hanging.
The
Coroner said he was told deceased suffered from neuritis and that was
a very wearying and unpleasant thing to have; and apparently he had a
fit some time ago, probably after a heavy meal, otherwise, except
that he was a man of rather taciturn disposition, there was nothing
to indicate he wasn't in a normal state of mental health. At all
events they would have no difficulty in coming to the decision that
deceased killed himself. There was the question whether he was of
sound mind at the time. In the absence of evidence on the point they
might find a verdict that deceased killed himself, but whether he was
of sound or unsound mind at the time there was no evidence to
show.
After a short consultation the jury returned a verdict that
deceased hanged himself whilst in a state of unsound mind.