Robert Kenyon

William Henry Uttley and Robert Kenyon were shot dead on Marsden Moor where they had been gamekeepers.

They were found a mile apart on the moor with their bodies riddled with gunshot on 10 September 1903.

Their murders were described as one of the most sensational mysteries in the annals of crime. It was noted that they had both been unarmed when they were shot and that the shootings had been carried out at close range with determination and premeditation.

It was suggested that William Uttley had been shot first, and Robert Kenyon later and that Robert Kenyon's body had been buried in order that guilt might be fastened on him when William Uttley was found dead when it was found that he was missing, and in fact, police in Liverpool had been looking for Robert Kenyon there where it was thought he might have fled. It was also suggested that after the shooting of the first gamekeeper that there had been a chase after the second gamekeeper who was then caught and shot a mile away.

The doctors removed nearly two hundred leaden pellets from William Uttley's body.

A dairy farmer from Sholver Farm, Moorside near Oldham, about six miles west of the murder site, was charged with their murders but the case was thrown out by the magistrates at Huddersfield on Friday 23 October 1903 after it was heard that there was not enough evidence to commit him.

The farmer had also been a temperance missionary leader, being the president of a temperance league and was said to have done enormous good in advancing morality and temperance in the district, and his character was described as unblemished. He had also previously been in the police force and later having been a lamplighter at Oldham, leaving with excellent references. He had also been a supporter of the local Salvation Army.

Since then he had been a farmer.

The farmer had also been an ex-champion wrestler of Lancashire.

However, he was also claimed to have been a reputed poacher.

William Uttley and Robert Kenyon's father had been employed by Messrs Crowther and Ramsden, who leased the shooting rights on a portion of the moorland between Marsden and Saddleworth.

William Uttley's body was found by Robert Kenyon's father whilst he was out looking for his son. He was found lying in a gully known as Ben Clough in a 5ft deep ditch, on the boundary line separating Marsden from Friarmere at about 9.40am, quite dead. He had been shot at close quarters, once behind the left ear and once in the back and his arm and shoulder were badly scarred with the greater portion of his coat burned away. A doctor said that he thought that William Uttley had been shot in the back at a distance of less than 12ft and then in the head at a distance of about 3ft.

Robert Kenyon's father then gave the alarm, notifying a number of workmen, who he also told his son had not returned since the previous day, and a search party for him was then organised and after a diligent search, Robert Kenyon's body was found about a mile away around noon, about midway between the Great Western Hotel (also referred to as the Great Western Inn) and the Buckstones shooting box. They had been attracted to the spot by the metals on Robert Kenyon's clogs that had shone in the sunlight.

Robert Kenyon had been shot in the neck at close quarters. It was noted that his wound was little larger than the bore of a gun.

It was noted that he had two larger stones on him that would probably have required to men to move and that the stones had been laid carefully such that if his clogs had not been seen that he could have lain there undiscovered for a long time.

It was initially suspected that the murders had been the work of poachers that had frequently been seen on that part of the moor and whom Robert Kenyon and William Uttley were said to have recently had occasion to issues summonses against.

It was suggested that after the gamekeepers had gone out on the trail of poachers that the poachers might have hidden and then when they passed to have taken them unawares and shot them.

It was not known exactly when they had been shot, but it was thought to have happened either Wednesday afternoon or night.

General Timeline

A general timeline of the murders is:

• Noon September 1903: Farmer admits to having been on Friarmere Moor, but not Buckstones Moor. The name Friarmere Moor meant Free Moor, where the shooting was free.
• 2.30pm 9 September 1903: William Uttley last seen when he left home for the moors.
• Afternoon, around 3.30pm 9 September 1903: Robert Kenyon left his father to pursue a poacher seen at a distance.
• 4pm 9 September 1903: Farmer said that his wife and son collected him from the moor with a pony and trap and he went home.
• 5.30pm 9 September 1903: Farmer said to have arrived home.
• 6pm 9 September 1903: Robert Kenyon's father leaves moor and goes home.
• 7pm 9 September 1903: Farmer attended temperance meeting at 7pm.
• Midnight 9 September 1903: Robert Kenyon's father returns to moor and spent night searching for his son.
• Morning 10 September 1903: Robert Kenyon's father returns home and then arranged for a search party.
• 9.40am 10 September 1903: William Uttley's body was found in a gulley known as Ben Clough.
• Noon 10 September 1903: Robert Kenyon’s body was found dead in Deep Clough.

Following the discovery, it was noted that great excitement prevailed and scores of persons visited the scene of the tragedy, even though it had been raining in torrents and as a result the places were difficult to reach.

Events Of Previous Day

Robert Kenyon's father said that he and his son had gone out at 2.30am on 9 September 1903 and that he had later heard shots on the free part of the moor. He said that he later in the day saw a man at a spot on the moor known as Beun Cut which was about three-quarters of a mile away and recognised him as the farmer that was tried and that soon after Robert Kenyon went off on his own and that he then went to a cabin where there were four men and to one of them pointed out the farmer who was by that time coming towards the deep clough, about 600 yards nearer than the first time that he had seen him.

He said that a thunderstorm then came on and that he fired his gun as a signal to Robert Kenyon to come to him and that they then sheltered beneath a wall, noting that by that time that the farmer had disappeared in the deep clough.

He said that ten minutes later they saw the farmer on Marsden Moor, land which he was gamekeeper over, and that he and Robert Kenyon had a conversation and that Robert Kenyon then left his gun with him and went off after the farmer and that he never saw him alive again, the time being about 3.30pm. He said that he later took a route by which he expected to see the farmer but never saw him and came back.

He said that after Robert Kenyon was missed that he spent all night looking for him and crossed the gully where his body was later found three times.

William Uttley's body was found first. He had lived at the other side of the moor and had been out during the night to catch poachers, but little else was known of his movements after he left his home. His body was found after searchers heard his dog barking and when they went to see they found the dog whining beside his shallow grave.

Robert Kenyon had been buried beneath a heap of stones about a mile away. It was noted that he had been buried with his feet poking out of the stone material used to cover him, leading people to think that he had been buried when it was dark.

Inquest

An inquest was held on Monday 14 September 1903.

Robert Kenyon's father said that he and his son went on to the moors on the Lancashire side on the morning of 9 September 1903, keeping to the road for about a mile and a half, during which time they heard seven shots, but could see no one. He said that after dinner they again vested the same part of the moor and when they got to Benn Cut they saw a man with a gun poaching who then dodged down into a clough. He said that he then ordered Robert Kenyon to a certain place, stating that when he required him he would give a signal, noting that the man would be out of his sons sight as he saw him going into a gully, noting that his son had wanted to follow the man but that he persuaded him to remain. However, he said that as there had been a terrific thunderstorm coming on that he fired his gun to recall his son and they went off for shelter.

However, he said that after the storm abated that the poacher was seen again on the open moor and that his son, after giving his gun to him, went out on the moor in pursuit. He added that he again attempted to dissuade his son from going and that he thought he recognised the poacher as a desperate character, but described his son as a solemn and desperate man, and he let him go. He said that Robert Kenyon said:

To which he agreed. At the inquest Robert Kenyon's father then said:

To which the Coroner noted that it would be well for him not to give the name of the man he thought he saw. Robert Kenyon's father then said:

When he was asked whether he thought he would recognise the man again, he said he would.

Robert Kenyon's father then went on to note that there had been such a high blowing wind that he could not have heard a shot more than a few yards away.

He said that they then both left their guns at a roadmaster's hut and went after the man.

He said that he followed a little way, taking a different route, but then lost sight of both men and never saw his son alive again.

He said that after his son failed to return by 7.30pm, that he went out again to look for him and went to High Ridge and that whilst looking out over the moor at a distance of about half-a-mile, he saw a white, ghastly face of a man crawling amongst the gorse peering at him from a clough, but that when he went to look he found no one.

He said that he continued to search, and even passed near to the place where his body was found.

He said that at about 4.30am he had been at Benn Cut where he found the mark of a walking stick.

He said that he then formed a search party and they went out across the moor in a line with him in the centre and that on the other side of the moor they saw William Uttley's dog coming towards them. He said:

He then added that he found no marks to indicate where the person who fired the shot stood, but that he found some cartridge wads that he believed to have been fired within a day of their being found.

He noted that there were no shooting butts near the place and that shooting never took place there.

It was at that point that Robert Kenyon's father wrote down the name of the man he thought he had seen. When he did so the Coroner asked whether he could swear that that had been the person that he saw or whether it was merely an opinion, and he replied that it was a strong opinion. He further added that he recognised the footmarks at the scene as those of the man he suspect, noting that if it had been a fine day that he would have made no mistake whatever over his footprints. He then handed the Coroner a piece of paper stating the name of the man he suspected, although noting that he had only seen him at a distance, the name written down being that of the farmer. He added that he could not be certain, but that he had strong suspicion. He added that if it had been a fine day that he would have been able to identify the poacher by his footprints as he knew scores of poachers and their footprints. However, he added that in this case, that he thought that footprints he saw where the bodies were found, corresponded with those of the man he suspected of the crime, the farmer.

Another man that had been part of the search party noted that he didn't think that the body of William Uttley could have been covered up as they had found it in the dark, stating that he thought that it must have been done during daylight.

The inquest concluded with a verdict of wilful murder against some person or persons unknown.

Arrest

When the farmer was arrested on Tuesday 15 September 1903, he admitted to having been on Friarmere Moor, which was free shooting, on 9 September 1903 saying that he had left his home at 12 noon to go there, and that sometime between 2.30pm and at 3.20pm he saw two men who he didn't know on the moors and that at about 3.45pm he shot and killed a grouse but couldn't find it and that he had left the moors at 4.00pm, being collected by his wife and son with a pony and trap. When he was charged he said that he was innocent and that he never saw the gamekeepers.

In his statement to the police he said:

After news of the farmer's arrest was heard, it was reported that everyone in the area declared that the police had made an atrocious blunder and he quickly became a local martyr. However, the Treasury took up the prosecution and pressed it week by week until he was acquitted at the magistrates.

A key aspect of the case was the type of powder that had been used in the murders, it being stated that it was thought that the shot used to kill the men had used smokeless powder and mixed shot, whilst the farmer was known to have used black powder. As such, during the course of the investigation, William Uttley's body was exhumed so that the doctors could examine his wounds for powder marks.

However, the doctors for either side disagreed with the findings, with one doctor stating that there were black marks, and another stating that the marks were of burnt clothing.

The surgeon found that below the wound in William Uttley's neck and on the left shoulder the skin was tattooed by blueish-black marks which were in his opinion due to the presence of grains of black powder. He took out a large number of pellets from his body as well as a small portion of a substance like wadding from the base of the skull which he said resembled examples of wadding found at the farmer's house. He said that the wound on the left side of the neck must have been caused by a shot fired at close quarters of about a yard or less away and that another shot on the back or side was probably caused by a shot fired at an angle of 45 degrees upwards from a distance of about nine yards.

The shot taken from Robert Kenyon's body and William Uttley's brain was found to have been of a mixed size, three and fours whilst the shot taken from William Uttley's back was all of one size, No. 5.

However, it was heard that it was not unusual for farmers and persons frequenting the moors to mix their shot.

However, cartridges found at the farmer’s house were found to be mostly filled with a smaller No. 8 shot.

There was evidence showing that the farmer had been seen with his wife and son in a trap at 4.15pm and had been at home at 5.30pm and had then caught the quarter to seven tram to Springhead in Oldham after having washed, changed and had his tea.

However, other witnesses stated that they had seen the farmer later being taken home by his son in the back of a cart, covered by a coat, whilst another man from Sholver Fold said that he saw the farmer in a spring cart at about 6.30pm at the farmers back door. However, at the magistrates hearing it was submitted that the three men that had said they had seen him there around 6.30pm could not have done so and had committed perjury.

Several members of the Greenacres Hill Temperance Society, of which the farmer had been the president, swore that he had been present at a meeting at a few minutes to seven on 9 September 1903, whilst an Oldham tram conductor said that the farmer had been on the 6.45pm car from Moorside to Oldham that evening.

It was further noted that the farmer had easy access to the moor.

A coat that the farmer had worn was taken away and examined and found to have some blood on the back which proved to be mammalian blood and not that of a bird or a fish. However, it was heard that it could not be stated whether the blood stain was six days old or six weeks old.

It was noted that when Robert Kenyon was found that his watch had been missing and it was reported in the newspaper that if they were to find the watch, that they would also find the murderer.

However, the police later found the watch wrapped up in a handkerchief that had belonged to Robert Kenyon in a hole under a bush, five days after the murders, and after the farmer had been arrested. The court heard that in relation to the cleanliness of the handkerchief that the items had probably been put there after the murders, and possibly after the time that the farmer was arrested and in custody, based on the fact that there had been torrential downpour on the moors since and yet the handkerchief was still clean.

Magistrates Hearing

The magistrates hearing was opened on Tuesday 22 September 1903 at the County Police Court in Huddersfield. It was noted that there were a number of adjournments as developments in the case came about, reportedly about 6 or 7. Known hearings include:

• 22 September 1903: Opening.
• 29 September 1903: There was strong opposition to another remand.
• 1 October 1903: Third appearance. Interest in the case was described as extraordinary with a couple of thousand people outside the courthouse and a big army of pressmen.
• 6 October 1903: It was announced that cartridges, wads and shot similar to that used in the murders was found at the farmers house. This was his fourth appearance.
• 8 October 1903: Prosecution evidence was heard, but a further remand was allowed in order that William Uttley's body could be exhumed to examine for marks of black powder.
• 15 October 1903: The farmer was again before the magistrates where it was agreed to examine the cartridge found on Robert Kenyon for smokeless powder, and the results of William Uttley’s post mortem examination following exhumation were heard.
• 16 October 1903: Farmer was acquitted.

At the hearings, large crowds developed and  in response a large number of police were requisitioned to keep the crowd in order and the street clear for traffic, with people being  described as having occupied all available positions up the Town Hall steps and on any other convenient clevated place.

As the time drew near for the court to open on the first day it appeared that the gates would be rushed, and the police were said to have had their hands full in keeping a check on the crowd. Shortly before 11am the public were admitted into the court, which rapidly became crowded and all the windows had to be opened. Hundreds of people were unable to gain admission and were described as having eagerly waited outside for the result of the case.

Later on, after a man had a fit and fell from a perch he had made on the court building and hit his head, the police cordoned off the buildings to prevent people from climbing on it. At the same hearing a settle was thrown at a mounted policeman when the crowd got out of hand.

On 15 October 1903, when the farmer was brought by train, he was followed by about 200 people from the station along John William Street and along Victoria Lane where the police prevented anyone following him any further.

The case against the farmer was described as having been based on the barest and merest suspicion and that there was no evidence against him other than the suspicion of Robert Kenyon's father and when counsel applied for bail, they noted that it wasn't fair to keep a man on remand based on suspicion alone, with the remand being for no other purpose than to carry out enquiries and investigations to see if there was any real evidence against him, it being noted that if that were the case that any man might be remanded for the term of his natural life. The defence claimed that there had to be more than suspicion to keep the farmer on remand and that unless there was real ground for suspicion that he should not be kept there at all.

However, the court heard that it was a capital case and that bail was never allowed in such cases and that there was a large amount of evidence to be gone through and that that encompassed more than that of Robert Kenyon's father and bail was refused and the farmer was further remanded for a week.

When the hearing was resumed on 9 October 1903 witnesses were called regarding sightings of the farmer on 9 September 1903 during the afternoon. One witness said that the farmer arrived home at 6.30pm, it being noted that that meant that it would have been impossible for him to have been playing billiards at the Temperance Institute as it was alleged.

Another witness said that they saw the farmer with his wife and son in a cart in Sholver Lane at 6.30pm, however, it was noted in cross-examination that when the farmer had been in the police-force that he had given evidence against the witness on a charge of drunkenness.

It was also heard that there was no evidence to show where William Uttley had been after he left his house and up until the time he was found dead. As such, it was submitted that it was quite possible that it had been William Uttley that Robert Kenyon's father had seen on the moor instead of the farmer.

When Robert Kenyon's father gave evidence he said that he had seen the farmer on the moors on 9 September 1903, stating that he had known him for 20 years and knew him even at a great distance by his walk and the peculiar way that he carried his gun. He added that a week or two before that the farmer had threatened him and said that he wanted to see his fancy son. He added that he had caught the farmer trespassing scores of times.

However, another man that said he had been with Robert Kenyon's father on 9 September 1903 said that he had seen a man against the skyline at the top end of the moor after Robert Kenyon's father pointed him out to him and said that it had not been the farmer. He said that after seeing the man, that Robert Kenyon's father had left to go in the direction of the man, and that after a few minutes he heard two shots fired and that fifteen minutes later Robert Kenyon's father returned and took his son's gun into a woodman's cabin. He said that half-an-hour after he had heard the shots that Robert Kenyon's father had told him that he had fired them to keep birds away.

A police sergeant also presented two handkerchiefs, one that was found at the farmer's house and the other in which the watch had been found wrapped.

Another witness claimed that he had heard the farmer threaten to let bull-dogs on the moor if Robert Kenyon's father followed him.

Another witness said that on 3 September 1903, that Robert Kenyon's father had charged the farmer with shooting on the road and that he had told him that he was 'a ---- liar' when he told him that the farmer had not. He said that after Robert Kenyon's father left that the farmer asked him to swear he had not shot on the road should Robert Kenyon's father summon him.

A woman said that two days after the murder that she asked the farmer:

To which the farmer replied:

She added that she knew the farmer well and that she didn't think that he was capable of murder.

The doctor that had examined the wounds on the two men stated that there were no black marks found on them, noting that it was claimed that the farmer had been in the habit of using black powder in his gun and that if black powder had been used to shoot the gamekeepers that he would have expected to have seen black marks.

When Robert Kenyon's father gave evidence, he denied that he had been interviewed by two reporters at his house on the day after the murder and telling them that he didn't suspect anyone or that he had seen a white face on the moors a mile away.

He added that the man that he did see on the afternoon of the murder had been on the skyline, however, it was submitted that he could not have possibly been able to identify a man on the skyline, let alone discern what type of hat he had been wearing. At the hearing, two reporters stated that Robert Kenyon's father had told them on the day after the murder that he could not identify the man that he had seen on the moor.

With regards to a motive, it was stated that whoever shot the gamekeepers would have had to have been absolutely in their confidence.

The prosecution listed the following against the farmer:

1. That he had been seen in such a position as to be easily accessible to the places where, the victims were found.
2. That wads and cartridges and other things found at his house corresponded exactly with things found near Uttley’s body.
3. The prisoner had made a number of statements about his movements, all of which had been proved to be untrue.

However, after hearing the evidence, the magistrates decided that there was not enough evidence to justify a committal to the Assizes and the farmer was discharged on Friday 16 October 1903.

The Bench had retired for an hour to consider their verdict, and when they returned, they said:

It was reported that as the words fell from the magistrate's lips that the tense silence in the courtroom and the pent-up feelings of the spectators could no longer be controlled and cheer after cheer burst out and the throng rushed from all parts of the court to the dock where the farmer stood, all be it met with cries of:

From the police, whose voice was lost in the roar of cheers. When the crowd outside heard the noise within, and guessing what it meant, the cheers swelled tenfold.

One of the magistrates then stepped from the Bench and shook the farmer by the hand, which it was said was then the signal for a renewed outburst of cheering, with the farmer's advocate coming in for a big share of the extraordinary demonstration.

However, it was noted that the farmer seemed quite unmoved, and stepped quietly from the prisoner's dock to freedom, with not a muscle of his face betraying any emotion.

It was further reported that great crowds blocked the approaches to the court, but that the farmer and his family went into a house adjoining, out of the way, where they remained for some time, after which they left in a cab for the railway station to catch a train home. It was reported that at the railway station another dense concourse assembled on the platform and awaited his appearance from the waiting room from which he had taken refuge from the friendly crowd and that when the train steamed in and he emerged from the room, there was another continuous burst of cheering, which kept up until his departure.

After The Acquittal

Newspaper articles stated that it was common knowledge that the farmer had no part in the murder, that the murders were not the work of poachers and that someone knew more than they were saying.

Robert Kenyon had been an only child and normally a carter but had assisted his father, head-gamekeeper, as an assistant gamekeeper during the shooting season which he had been doing for the three weeks before the murders. It was noted that because of that it was thought that the farmer would not have even known who he was, and also claimed that they had never met before, implying that it would not have been possible for the farmer, should he have had a grudge against Robert Kenyon's father, to have known who his son was.

William Uttley was described as a gigantic keeper. He had been an under gamekeeper.

Commentators later noted that part of the problem was a certain piece of 'free shooting land' that was on the edge of the moorland under the jurisdiction of the gamekeepers, it being noted that the free area had been much frequented, and that it would all be well if the visitors confined their operations to it, but they didn't, hence the need for the watchfulness of the gamekeepers. It was generally supposed that William Uttley had been paying special attention to the 'free land' borders at the time he encountered the man that slew him, it being noted that at any rate, his body was found not far from it.

It was noted that the previous season that Marsden Moor had been greatly pestered by poachers and that Robert Kenyon's father had found two men at work in the clough whilst out ranging. He was said to have suddenly pounced on them and that one of them had lifted his gun to his shoulder, to which Robert Kenyon's father said:

And then jumped in the clough. However, the other man knocked him down and then both men kicked and otherwise maltreated him. Robert Kenyon's father had known the assailants and a few days later went into a public-house in Oldham and picked them out and they were brought before the magistrates and convicted.

It was noted that Robert Kenyon's grandfather also had a tragic end. He had been out shooting with a butcher on 27 May 1867 when the latter's gun went off, inflicting wounds from which Robert Kenyon's grandfather died instantly.

Police later offered a £300 reward for information on the murders, but no further developments were made.

The farmer committed suicide in 1918 following a road accident.

Legal Point

It was noted that a legal point that sometimes arised in such circumstances that the layman was not familiar with was that the nature of a charge preferred against people out on areas of protected game varied depending on the time of day, that being that if an offence could be proved to have been committed within the period of one hour from sunset and one hour proceeding sunrise, then it was poaching, but that if only 59 minutes or less had elapsed since the sun was deemed to have sunk or if the first second of the first minute of the hour preceding sun up had been entered upon, then it was only trespassing or unlawfully taking game. It was further noted that men's lives had hung on that distinction.

Previous Unsolved Murders

It was noted that seventy years earlier that there had been another unsolved double murder, that of Willaim Bradbury and Thomas Bradbury, who were murdered at the Moorcocks public house, only five or six miles away. They had also been gamekeepers and had been known as Bill o' Jack's and Tom o' Bill's respectively and a short time before their murders they had given evidence against two men who were acquitted on a charge of poaching, which it was noted at the time had been almost 'a hanging job', and it was thought they had been murdered by the two poachers, however, the murder was never brought home, although suspicion hung over the two poachers who were known as men of bad character.