FREDERICK WILLIAM PEAKE (OR PEAK)

INQUEST ON A PEDLAR'S BOY DEATH FROM A BLOW

The inquest touching the sad death of Frederick William Peak, the little boy, to which allusion was made in last week's issue, was held at the Queen's Hotel, on Friday afternoon, before the Borough Coroner, Dr H. Watson, J.P., and the jury of whom Mr. Francis Peacock was the foreman.

The first witness was the boy's mother, Elizabeth Day, who stated that the deceased accompanied herself and her husband from Wantage on Tuesday and that they were staying at the "Steamer" public house. She last saw her child alive on Wednesday morning, about ten o'clock, when he left, saying he was going for a stroll and would not be away long. The child was subject to fits, and used to bleed at the nose, but it had not had a fit for about two months. The woman was very poorly clad, and she seemed deeply affected whilst giving her evidence.

Ann Smith, living in one of the St. Bartholomew's Almshouses, was the next witness, and said she was coming up Bartholomew-street and saw a little boy leaning with his head on a window-sill at the "Cooper's Arms." Having passed she turned round to look at him, and saw him fall to the ground. He lay on the ground with his hand under his head, perfectly still. Mr. Chivers, who lives nearly opposite, then came across, and got some water with which to bathe his head. Mr Hickman came and she saw him removed to Mr Chivers' house.

Frederick Chivers, of 106 Bartholomew-street, deposed to seeing the deceased lie on the pavement and sending for Mr. Hickman. Thinking it was a fit he bathed deceased with water, hoping to bring him round. The child was brought over to his house and they did everything they could for him, but it was all of no avail, death occurring about eight o'clock. The Coroner commended Mr. Chivers for his kind and humane action.

Mr. Hickman said that he found the boy lying on the pavement quite insensible. He saw it was not a fit, but not being able to determine what was the matter, he asked Mr. Chivers to take him into his house, where he examined him more minutely, when he found a very insignificant bruise about an inch long just above the left ear, the skin being barely cut. The boy never regained consciousness, but died about eight o'clock. By order of the coroner he made a post-mortem examination. On opening the head there was a good deal of blood in the tissue and a large clot of blood between the bone and the brain, which satisfied him that death resulted from the rupture of a large artery, presumably caused by a fall or a blow on the head. This being the whole of the evidence, the jury proceeded to consider how the blow might have been caused, whether by falling off the window-sill or previously. The Coroner expressed the opinion that it was caused before, and this theory was to some extent supported by P.C. Gibbs, who said he saw the deceased near the church. vomiting, and he had also heard it stated that he had fallen off one of the fair horses which he had ridden down to the Marsh; but nothing reliable could be ascertained. The jury eventually returned a verdict of "Accidental death from a ruptured blood vessel, caused by a fall or a blow on the head, of which there was no evidence adduced."

Newbury Weekly News 19 October 1893

Not in Mrs P Buried 14 October 1893 (from A/C Book).