Age: 65
Sex: female
Date: 1 Dec 1921
Place: Shipyard Road, Selby
Mary Ann Palgrave died from head injuries.
She was found at her home in Shipyard Road, Selby, on 21 November 1921 with head injuries and died on 1 December 1921 in Selby Cottage Hospital.
She was last seen by a 14 year old girl who remembered seeing her on the Monday afternoon 21 November 1921 at 2.30pm and said that she helped her to mix some pig meal near an outhouse and then later saw her sitting on her doorstep at 3.30pm. She said that she didn't see anyone else about near the house or road.
Later a railway clerk said that Mary Palgrave's husband called at the station at 5.55pm and asked for the loan of a stretcher to take his wife to the hospital.
He said that when he asked what the matter was that Mary Palgrave's husband said:
He said that Mary Palgrave's husband added that he had got a doctor, but was afraid that his wife was not long for the world and that he thought she had had a fall or a seizure.
He noted that her husband had appeared perfectly sober at the time and not excited.
Her husband then went for the police.
A police constable that had been on duty in Holmsgate said that when Mary Palgrave's husband came up to him he said:
On their way to Shipyard Road, the constable asked:
To which Mary Palgrave's husband replied:
However, it was later found that she had seven wounds to her head that could not have been caused by a fall and that there was no blood on the stairs.
Seven wounds were found on the left side of her head and one on her ear, two of which were depressed. The doctor stated that he thought they had been caused by a sharp instrument and not self-inflicted. The doctor who had also been called out when Mary Palgrave was first found said that he thought the injuries had been caused within an hour and a half of him seeing her.
Death was stated to have been compression of the brain caused by a fractured skull.
When the police later examined the house they found an 18 inch long hinge in the fireplace with 4 inches of it sticking out.
The husband said that the hinge was sometimes placed across the fire for the purpose of resting a pot on it and was also used as a poker.
At the inquest, the constable was asked whether when he met Mary Palgrave's husband he had given him the impression that he was about to report something to him, and he replied:
Further tests on the stairs in the house found that the stairs were made of wood and that tests proved that the sound caused by anyone walking up or down the stairs could be heard next door.
Mary Palgrave's husband had been a member of the Selby Poor Law Guardians.
Mary Palgrave had been insured for £15. Mary Palgrave and her husband were said to be happy together.
Her inquest returned a verdict of murder by some person or persons unknown, stating:
All the housing that had been along Shipyard Road at the time has since been demolished.
see www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk
see National Library of Scotland
see Western Daily Press - Wednesday 21 December 1921
see The Scotsman - Wednesday 21 December 1921
see Hull Daily Mail - Tuesday 20 December 1921
see Lancashire Evening Post - Monday 05 December 1921
see Hull Daily Mail - Wednesday 21 December 1921
see "Unsolved Murders." Times [London, England] 28 Dec. 1922: 3. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 4 Mar. 2013.