General

Annie Mable Spencer of Greenhaugh Hall, Bellingham was brutally murdered by her husband John Cuthbert Spencer on 7 June 1897. The body of the 26 year old was found in the wood near the hall covered over with grass and branches from a fir tree. She died from wounds inflicted upon her with an adze [tool with an arched blade used for cutting or shaping large pieces of wood].

 

 

On the day of the murder, Mr Spencer had been working in a plantation about 400 yards from the hall. He had been cutting down trees for the purpose of making a new drive. Mr Spencer had asked his Gamekeeper, Mr Foreman, to meet him in the woods at 6pm to discuss the renovations and help with felling the trees. Mrs Spencer was with her husband and after a short while they left the Gamekeeper and went to look at a new pond before returning and informing Mr Foreman that they were going home for dinner. The fact that Mrs Spencer did not appear for dinner at 7.30pm alarmed the servants and by 9pm Sergeant Dobson from Bellingham police station received a telegram asking him to go to Greenhaugh Hall immediately. He was accompanied by P.C. Potts and P.C. Musgrove. When they arrived Mrs Spencer was missing and Mr Spencer was plunging an adze up and down in a bucket of water.

 

 

Mr Foreman stated that when he spoke to Mr Spencer he was in an excited state and was talking wildly. He believed that his father was St. Michael and that he was St. John and said that his father had sent him a message telling him to kill his wife. The coroner claimed that the case was one of the most painful and extraordinary ones that he had seen for many years. John Cuthbert Spencer was later committed to trial. He was found to be insane and sent to Broadmoor.

 

John Peter Elliot – Doctor

Doctor Elliot visited the Spencer house on Monday 7 June about 7pm. He had attended Mr Spencer a few days earlier for insomnia. As neither Mr or Mrs Spencer were at home, the doctor waited about a quarter of an hour and was about to leave when he saw Mr Spencer coming towards the house from the direction of the wood. Dr Elliot waited for him in the smoke room and when he entered he could see that his hands, face and shirt front were wet. After a general conversation regarding his health, the doctor advised him to go away for a change of scene. Mr Spencer claimed that he was going to Newcastle with his wife the next morning and then on to Edinburgh where they intended to stay for two or three weeks. Dr Elliot noticed a large spot of blood on Spencer’s shirt cuff but when he mentioned it he was told that it was from a scratch from his finger. The doctor was aware that Mr Spencer’s mental health had been a concern in the past and judging from his current behaviour, there was a fear that this could be a return of the insanity.

 

Arthur Patrick Brown – Doctor

Doctor Brown stated that he received a message on the night of 7 June to go to the Spencer house at Greenhaugh. A few minutes after his arrival at 10pm, Mrs Spencer’s dead body was brought to the house. The body was fully clothed and covered in blood. The doctor made an examination of the body and identified five wounds The first wound was on the head above the left ear, wounding the cerebellum. The skull was fractured and all the blood vessels on that side of the neck had been severed. The next wound penetrated the brain and another damaged the frontal bone. There was also a comminuted fracture of the frontal bone. Two wounds were also discovered on the back both running longitudinally on the left of the spine each about 4.5 inches long. Both these wounds penetrated the ribs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On 15th April 1913, James Wood Irons, owner of The Sun Inn public house in Bedlington went to the premises to terminate the employment of his manager John Vickers Amos due to deficiencies in stock and takings. Irons had with him Mr Grice who he intended to make his new tenant manager. Also present at the inn was Mrs Grice. Amos became threatening and produced a gun resulting in the horrific murders of three innocent people. P.C. George Bertram Mussell (30) Sergeant Andrew Barton (40) and Mrs Sarah Ellen Fenwick Grice (33). John Vickers Amos fled but was captured and arrested the same day. He was found guilty of murder and was hanged on 22 July 1913. Northumberland Archives holds the inquest report and witness statements relating to the murder case.

James Wood Irons – Owner of the Sun Inn

In his statement Mr Irons claimed he planned to install Richard Grice of Seghill as his new tenant manager after deciding to terminate Mr Amos’s tenancy. On 15 April 1913, he entered the inn by the back door and went into the smoke room. He met Amos who had by this time guessed that his position was under threat. Amos asked about getting his bond back and was told that it depended upon the success of the stocktake. Irons said he then left the inn and went to the train station to meet Mr Grice and a lady called Mrs Craggs. All three went to the inn and entered by the back door then went into the smoke room. Irons commenced with the stocktake and asked Mr Grice to step into the bar and take charge which made Amos angry. Irons reported the matter to Inspector Culley and just before 2pm P.C. Mussell arrived. Irons claimed P.C. Mussell talked to Amos and told him to keep cool.

Richard Grice – New Tenant Manager of the Sun Inn

Richard Grice claimed that he saw Amos carrying an item which he put into a cupboard in the kitchen but he was unable to confirm if it was a firearm. Mr Grice said that he heard P.C. Mussell ask him if he had a firearm in the house and he said no. After the shootings had occurred, Grice stated that he saw Amos outside the front of the inn pointing the gun at the door. Later on he claimed to hear a man shout from outside the window that Amos had gone over the fields.

George Amos – Son of John Vickers Amos

George gave a statement to police stating that he was he was 11 year old and John Vickers Amos was his father. He said that on 15 April about 2pm his father gave him half a crown and ordered him to go to Mr Oliver’s shop in Bedlington to purchase a box of cartridges. He then came straight back to the inn and handed the box to his father before going out to play.

John Culley – Inspector stationed at Bedlington Police Station

Inspector Culley stated that about 3.40pm on 15 April 1913, he circulated information to police in the district so a search could be made for John Vickers Amos who had fled the scene of the crime. Culley joined in the search and Amos was eventually found in a culvert and arrested. The gun was also found in the culvert and was noted as being a Winchester Repeating Sporting gun. Culley said that at about 9.30pm that same evening he went with Superintendent Tough, Inspector Hutchison and Dr Haworth to the inn and saw the bodies of Sarah Ellen Fenwick Grice, Sergeant Barton and  P.C. Mussell. The next day he questioned Amos and then charged him with murder.

David Hutchison – Inspector stationed at Blyth Police Station

In his statement Inspector Hutchinson said that he arrived in Bedlington about 4pm in response to a call for assistance. On arrival he helped in the search for Amos and claimed that after shots were fired into the culvert, Amos came rushing out. He noticed that there were two small wounds on his forehead and that he smelt of alcohol. Hutchinson said that he was the officer who took the prisoner to the police station. That evening he proceeded with Inspector Culley, Superintendent Tough & Dr Haworth to the inn and he viewed the bodies of the victims. He extracted several pellets from the wall and recovered more from the floor. On the following day he returned to the inn to photograph the bodies.

James Kenworth Johnston Haworth – Doctor

Doctor Haworth arrived at the inn about 3.50pm and entered through the back door from the yard. On entry he saw the body of P.C. Mussell with a large open wound in the right side of his neck. On the right shoulder of his tunic there was a circular hole through which he could see a deep wound extending into the shoulder joint. In the kitchen he saw Sergeant Barton lying on his back. He was still alive but near the end of life and sadly passed away a few minutes later. Doctor Haworth stated that he saw pellet marks in the left breast of the victims tunic & on exposure he found many small circular wounds. The doctor claimed that he was taken to the cellar trap door by Mr Grice where he saw Mrs Grice lying at the bottom of the ladder. She was breathing heavily and blood was flowing from a gunshot wound on the right side of her head. An examination of the wound revealed the whole right side of her skull was fractured and that the wire rim of her hat had penetrated her brain. With help he lifted her up to the bar but she died moments later.

In December 2015 Northumberland Archives was awarded a grant of £14850 by The National Manuscripts Conservation Trust to undertake conservation work on an important series of deeds in our care. The collection, known as the Swinburne Charters, form part of the collection of papers of the Browne-Swinburne family, the main collection of which was deposited with our service in 1962. The Charters are a collection of 758 early deeds, charters and papers of the Swinburne family of Capheaton covering the period, 1172-1714.

Up until the time of Reformation the Swinburne family played an important part in affairs in Northumberland, the wider border area and in North Wales. Influence waned after the Reformation when the family retained their Roman Catholic faith. Documents included in the collection provide an insight into some of the difficulties faced by a prominent Roman Catholic family arising from its recusancy in the 17^th century, particularly during the Civil War as well as into medieval ecclesiastical matters. Much of the collection is significant in charting the history of the English/Scottish border area up to and beyond the Union of the Crowns in 1603. The Swinburne family were significant players in the economic and political life of the area and the governance of the Border Marches – the tempestuous buffer zone area created in 1249 in an attempt to control the English/Scottish border. As an example, the collection includes papers relating to a meeting between the officers of the English And Scottish Marches at Kershope Bridge at the end of the 14^th century. Items of particular interest include twelve 13^th century charters of the Kings and Queens of Scotland, one of which appears to be a 13^th century forgery. The collection is therefore significant to the history of both England and Scotland.

The collection also includes material relating to the history of Wales – documents relating to the rebellion of Owen Glendower – Sir William Swinburne was a follower of the Duke of Northumberland – 1399-1402. These include an order to proclaim the general pardon to the rebels in 1400 by King Henry V. Also of interest is content relating to overseas conflicts. This includes agreements of 1374 as to the wages and division of booty between a lesser captain and his men at arms in the war in France and Brittany.

The charters are currently mounted into seven volumes with Victorian bindings. The bindings are inappropriate. The paper onto which items are mounted is acidic and some of the documents have been damaged as a result of folding and creasing. The volumes will be disbound, surface cleaned and residues removed. Parchment documents will be dry pressed, humidified where necessary, paper and parchment repair will be undertaken and seals cleaned and repaired where necessary. Documents will be rehoused in custom made folders and boxes and seal bags as appropriate. Following repair each item will be digitized and digital images of each item will be appended to our online catalogue. As our project progresses we will provide updates on progress.

The National Manuscripts Conservation Trust was established in 1990 by the British Library and the Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts. It is the only UK grant-giver that focuses solely on the care and conservation of manuscripts in the UK. We are very grateful for the support of the Trust for our project.

The image below is of the earliest document in the collection – Grant of William, King of Scotland, to Reginald Prath of Tindale [Tynedale] his squire of the third part of the township of Haluton [Haughton] with all appurtenances in the woods, fields, meadows, pastures, moors, marshes, streams, ponds, mills, fisheries, vineries, and all other liberties and easements. It is dated 1172 but is believed to be a 13^th century copy. The grant bears a fragment of the Great Seal of the King William.