Baby

The body of a newly-born child was found in the garden of a house at 67 Brook Green in Hammersmith on the afternoon of Thursday 27 August 1903.

It was found by a rag and bone collector that had lived at 6 Hesketh Place in Notting Hill at about 2.45pm.

He said that he had seen a brown paper parcel in the garden and when he picked it up he saw the body of a child inside and at once went for a policeman.

He said that from the position that he had found it that he thought that it must have been thrown there by someone from the roadway.

A policeman that was called to the scene from Masro Road said that he examined the parcel and found that the child's body was wrapped up in a piece of black shirt lining and two pieces of flannel. He noted that there were no marks on it to lead to identification.

The man that lived in 65 Brook Green said that he occupied the garden of 67 Brook Green and that he had last been there on the Monday and said that the parcel had not been there then.

A doctor that had lived in Wolverton Gardens said that the body was of a well-developed child and weighed 8½lbs. He said that there was only one mark on the child's chest where the head had been pressed but noted that he could not say whether that had been caused before or after the child's death.

He said that the autopsy showed that the child had died from want of attention at birth and that it had not been dead for more than two days.

An open verdict was returned at the inquest which was held at Hammersmith Coroner's Court.