Harriet Ann Ellis

Harriet Ann Ellis died following a kick.

However, her inquest returned a verdict of death by natural causes.

It was said that during Christmas 1901 that Harriet Ellis had tried to intercede between a neighbour and his wife who were quarrelling when the neighbour kicked her on the side.

The kick caused her to be confined for some time afterwards and she was attended to by a doctor who only found slight discolouration on her abdomen.

However, on Friday 21 November 1902 she was confined again after having the previous night complained of having a lump in her left side.

She was attended to by the same doctor but she died on Monday 24 November 1902.

At the inquest, when the Coroner asked Harriet Ellis's husband whether any proceedings had been taken against the man that had kicked her, he said that the proceedings were withdrawn as they thought that the man would be suitably punished for an assault he committed at the same time on another man, noting that Harriet Ellis seemed to have got over it.

However, the doctor that completed the death certificate said that the kick had had nothing to do with Harriet Ellis's death whilst another doctor that carried out the post mortem said that her death was entirely down to natural causes.

However, when the Coroner summed up he said that owing to the fact that Harriet Ellis had been kicked that it was very desirable that the matter should be cleared up. He added that he had no doubt that the doctor had given the certificate of death conscientiously, but said that it would have been better if he had not granted it, having regard to the kick.