Kent & Sussex Courier, Friday 04 December 1874.

Shocking suicide of a publican at Sevenoaks.

On Monday last, and inquest was held at the "Man of Kent" public house, Heart Lands, before J. N. Dudlow, Esq., coroner, on the body of William Antred, landlord of the house, who committed suicide by shooting himself, on the previous afternoon.

Mr. T. Lockwood was chosen foreman of the jury.

The first witness called was William Farrow, who said that he had lodged at the "Man of Kent" public house about 12 months. About 20 minutes to 3 o'clock on the previous afternoon, just after the house was closed, the deceased and his wife had a few words about the saucepan boiling over into the fire. He then walked into the passage, and about 2 minutes afterwards there was a report of a gun. On witness going out he saw the deceased lying on the ground, just in front of the bar, with a double barrel gun under his right arm. One barrel had been discharged, and he saw blood flowing from the deceased, who was dead. He had heard deceased say several times that he was queer. Some little time ago he was stabbed two or three times in the stomach. On Friday last, the deceased said to him that he should never be a man any more, and he had seemed very strange for the last two or three weeks. He believed that his mind was distressed. In the quarrel with his wife he struck her, and he said that he did not know what he was about.

George Bligh, a shoemaker, who lodged in the house, said that he was in the tap-room when the affair took place, and the words between the deceased and his wife were of no moment. The deceased went out shooting on Friday, and sometimes the gun was left loaded when he returned, but he generally took the cap off. He had not time to load the gun after leaving the kitchen before the report was heard. He had heard the deceased say that he was very 'dicky,' and that he should never get over the stabbing. The stabbing was done by man who wanted some liquor after they had gone to bed, the deceased having gone down to the door to refuse him. He had complained of his head very frequently, and had been very strange at times. Witness thought his head was affected, as at times he did not know what he was about. He could not say whether he had anything on his mind.

Mr. Herbert Thompson, surgeon, said that he was called in to see the deceased, and found him lying in the bath in a pool of blood and quite dead, with a gun shot wound in his head. He thought the only way in which the injury could have been inflicted was by placing the muzzle of the gun in his mouth, and he then could reach the trigger. The skull was very much shattered, and death must have been instantaneous. He had attended the deceased at times during the last 18 years, and he thought it was quite that time since he was stabbed. He thought the deceased the had told him that he had never had such good health since, but he had not noticed anything in his manner. From what he had heard he should be inclined to think that his mind was affected, and that he was not in his right senses.

The jury immediately returned a verdict that the deceased shot himself, being in an unsound state of mind at the time.