Baby

The body of a newly-born male child was found wrapped up in a parcel by a road sweeper at about 11.15am on 11 September 1903.

The road sweeper had worked for the Bournemouth Corporation and had been at work in the grounds of The Mains in Harvey Road, Pokesdown when he noticed a peculiarly offensive smell which he said he speedily located as emanating from the grounds in question. 

He said that when he looked over a fence that he noticed a brown paper parcel tied up with string and that upon opening it he discovered the dead body of an infant male child which he then reported to the police.

When the police arrived they conveyed the body to the mortuary where it was examined by a doctor who said that he was of the opinion that death had taken place 10 to 14 days previously and that the body had been in an advanced state of decomposition. 

He said that there was nothing to show whether it had had a separate existence or not but said that there was a bruise on its head that might have been caused by a blow. 

The jury returned an open verdict.