From the Dover Express and East Kent Intelligencer, Friday 28 May, 1864

From the Kentish Chronicle, 28 May, 1864.

ARSON AT CAPEL-LE-FERNE

At the Magistrates' Clerk's Office, Hythe, on Monday, Richard Marsh, a labourer, living at Capel, was charged with maliciously setting fire to a stack of hay and straw, at Capel, on the 14th instant.

Mr. William Bromley, of Hougham, farmer, stated that he occupied a farm at Capel. About a fortnight ago he had a stack, consisting of about 30 cwt. of hay and 7 tons of straw, standing in a field called Abbotts Lane. The value of the straw was about £2 per ton, and the hay was of about the same value. About 11 o'clock in the morning of the 15th inst. He received information that the stack was on fire. He went to it about three o'clock the same afternoon and found it burning all over. It continued to do so till nine or ten o'clock at night, when the whole of the stack was destroyed. It was insured in the Norwich Union Fire Office. The damage he estimated at £17.

Other witnesses were called, who proved that on the evening of Saturday, the 14th inst., the prisoner was in the "Royal Oak" public-house, at Capel-le-Ferne. He left there a little before nine o'clock in the company of a man named Thomas Papson, and a boy about ten years of age, named Thomas Granger. They walked together towards their home. When they got about two or three rods from the stack they met John Finn the prisoner's mate. The prisoner asked Papson to give him a match to light his pipe. Papson replied that he had not got one; and he then asked Finn, and he gave him one. Finn and the others then walked on, leaving the prisoner opposite the stack. When they had gone 20 or 30 rods prisoner came walking up to them. Just then Papson turned round, and seeing the stack on fire, said, "What have you been at, Dick? Have you set that stack on fire?" The prisoner replied, "I haven't set it on fire; it wasn't alight when I came by." Papson said, "We shall be brought up on this concern." Prisoner replied, "I meant to have a flare up."

The boy Granger stated that when Finn gave the prisoner the match he said, "Now I'm going to set the stack on fire," but his evidence on that point was not corroborated.

The prisoner was apprehended on Saturday last by Inspector J. E. Smith, Kent County Constabulary. On being told the charge and duly cautioned, he said, "Old Bromley says there was six ton of it, but the Fire Office wouldn't pay him; it was only a lot of rubbish." Superintendent English was present and said, "Then I suppose you do not think it of much value." The prisoner replied, "No, more it was not; if it had been I should not have set it on fire." He also said he stooped to light his pipe at the stack, and then he started the stack off. He did not say he did it accidentally.

The Magistrates committed him for trial at the next Assizes, but subsequently admitted him to bail.

From the Dover Express and East Kent News, Friday 21 June, 1867.

BURGLARY

On Sunday evening, about half-past six or seven o'clock, Caple Lodge was the scene of an audacious forcible entry. The greater part of the family had gone into town, and the gate-lodge was securely fastened An artillery man of the 13th Brigade, who happened to be prowling about, took advantage of the apparently deserted state of the premises, and forced an entrance into the lodge-house by breaking a large pane of thick glass. Having obtained ingress he rummaged about, but was watched , and subsequently traced to Marsh's "Half-way House." It seems that having arrived at the "Oak," he pulled out his purse and dropped some of the rings which, among other articles, he had purloined. These were the means of his detection. Information was given on Monday, and on Tuesday morning the men wearing good conduct stripes, of which the burglar had three, were paraded in the Castle. He was immediately identified by the young person who had seen him; and was, after a preliminary investigation, handed over to the proper authorities to be dealt with by the county magistrates.

From the Whitstable Times, 8 October, 1870.

DOVER.

The Duke of Cambridge reviewed the troops here in the drill-field on Wednesday. On Thursday there was a sham fight on the ground between Dover and the “Royal Oak,” on the Folkestone road, in which the troops from Shorncliffe joined. Yesterday his Royal Highness inspected the troops at Shorncliffe.

From the Dover Express and East Kent Intelligencer, 14 September, 1877. Price 1d.

A SHORT SITTING

Frederick Kitham was charged with being drunk at the "Royal Oak Inn," on the Dover and Folkestone road, about the 20th of August.

Defendant did not appear but his brother was present and handed in to the Bench a medical certificate, which was to the effect that the defendant was confined to bed with congestion of the brain. he said his brother had been rather queer in the head some time and it was feared that he was out of his mind. The doctor had been attending him every day last week.

On the suggestion of Mr. Vidler, acting Clerk to the Magistrates, the case was adjourned until there is other business at the Court, in order that the Magistrates might not be put to the trouble od sitting for this case alone.

From the Dover Express and East Kent News, Friday, 22 June, 1900. Price 1d.

BAD LANGUAGE

Herbert Broadley was charged with using obscene language on the highway near Abbots Land farm in the parish of Capel-le-Ferne on the 26th of May.

P.C. Kenward, stationed at Hougham, said that about 10.30 p.m. on May 26th he saw defendant with two other men in a public footpath at Abbots Land farm using language which witness considered too filthy to repeat, and wrote down. The defendant was on his way home to West Hougham from the “Royal Oak.” Witness had received previous complaints from the people by whose premises prisoner was passing.

Alfred Constable, manager at Abbots Land Farm corroborated.

Arthur Cox was charged with a similar offence while in company of the last defendant.

Similar evidence was given.

Each defendant was fined 16s. 3d. or 7 days in default. 10s. was paid down and time allowed for the remainder.

From the Dover Express and East Kent News, Friday, 31 July, 1903. Price 1d.

CUT TO PIECES ON THE LINE

A DISCOVERY BETWEEN DOVER AND FOLKESTONE

On Tuesday an inquest was held at the “Royal Oak,” Hougham, by the County Coroner, R. M. Mercer, Esq., on the body of a man who was found on Sunday afternoon beyond Abbott's Cliff on the South Eastern Railway, cut to pieces.

William Weller, a platelayer and watchman employed by the S.E. and C.R., stated that on Sunday morning he was patrolling the line near Abbotts Cliff. He had been on the line since six o'clock in the morning. At about 3.30 he saw the deceased on the line near the Warren station, and on going to him he found he was dead.

George Thomas Twyman, driver of the 3.22 train from Folkestone Junction on Sunday afternoon, said he was looking ahead, and could not have failed to see anyone unless such person got on the line from the banks, six or seven feet in front of him. Just after passing the footbridge he heard the ballast rattling. He looked over the engine, but could see nothing, and so proceeded to Dover. He examined the engine carefully and saw no marks on the front, but found marks of blood on the tender frame. He did not think the front of the engine struck the man.

Police-constable Lingsbury said that the body was that of a young man, whose age he could not say as the head was too much injured. His head was smashed, his foot cut off, and his side ripped open. He had a dark brown moustache, and was about 5ft. 4in. in height. He was wearing a pair of almost new elastic side boots, a blue suit and blue cap, and dark socks.

The Coroner complained of the body being removed to Hougham, saying it should have been taken to Dover or Folkestone. He should disallow the Police expenses for removing the body, which necessitated the employment of seven men to haul it up the cliff. He remarked that if they had wished to hide the man's identity, they could not have brought him to a better place than to that wilderness.

The articles found on the deceased were examined. They consisted of a ring with a white paste stone, a tide and time table of the River Thames, a copy of the Borough of Dover bye laws, which he had obtained from the office of the Town Clerk, Dover, and also the address of Mr. Sergeant, the Surveyor of the Dover Rural District Council. There was also paper bearing the name of W. E. Dixon.

The Coroner, in summing up, said that suicide was suggested, but there was no evidence of it, although it looked as if the deceased had jumped head first into the tender of the engine.

The Jury returned a verdict to the effect that the deceased was struck by a train and killed on the line.

From the Dover Express and East Kent Intelligencer, 4 January, 1929. Price 1½d.

HEADLESS CHILD FOUND AT THE WARREN - SUPPOSED MURDER

Above shows the "Secret Pool" where the body of a six month old baby was found. Some six months earlier a young Dover man also drowned here.

A discovery of a particularly gruesome nature, which apparently points to the murder of a child six months old, was made at the Warren on Thursday last week by Mr. G. F. Chandler, who is living under canvas. In a pool known as the Secret Pool, where a boy was drowned earlier in the year, he found the headless body of a female child, stated by Dr. Adamson to be about six months old. The head, which was missing, was apparently severed by a knife. The inquest opened by the East Kent Coroner, Mr. Rutley Mowll, on Saturday last, at the “Royal Oak” was adjourned until January 18th.

George Frederick Chandler, a journeyman painter, living under canvas at the Warren, said that on Thursday afternoon at about 3.30 he was walking along the foreshore at the bottom of the cliff. On approaching the Secret Pool he noticed a white object in the seaweed on the high tide mark, the tide being on the ebb. On examining it he found that it was the headless body of a female child quite nude. He returned to his camp and obtained a small sack and box and he then lifted the remains on to the sack and put them into the box which he covered over with an old bath, after leaving it on the beach to protect it from vermin. He took the body to the top of the cliff at 10 o'clock the next morning and left it at the “Royal Oak.” He then went to Dover and reported the matter to the Dover Police. He did not care to leave his wife and children in the camp after dark without protection, and this was his explanation for the delay in reporting the matter to the Police. The pool was three quarters of a mile over rough ground from his encampment and the spot was 12 to 15 feet away from the pool towards the edge of the shore.

Dr. C. H. Adamson, of Kearsney, said he examined the body on the 28th and again on the 29th December, it was that of a female child, probably about six months old, and it was headless. The head had been severed from the body at the root of the neck on the level of a necklace. The cut of the skin at the severance was very regular, such as might have been made with one sweep of a sharp knife. This clean wound extended right round the neck but at the posterior surface there was a large tag of skin consistent with the finish of a cut with a knife at the final severance. The spinal column was disintegrated, and the thorax contained seaweed and fragments of ribs and vertebrae. There were no lungs or liver, and the whole of the interior of the child, down to the diaphragm inclusive, had been eaten away. The body was not decomposed; the erosion of the body was by animal life and not decomposition. The body had not been in the water long. The fact that the thorax was so thoroughly hollowed out suggested that the head had been removed before the body was placed in the water.

A very close search, which has so far been unsuccessful, has been made for the missing head.

From the Dover Express and East Kent Intelligencer, 11 January, 1929. Price 1½d.

THE SECRET POOL TRAGEDY

SEARCH IN DOVER AND FOLKESTONE

SIX MONTH-OLD BABIES TO BE PRODUCED

In connection with the discovery of the body of a child, beheaded, in the Secret Pool, Lydden Spout, the Police in Dover and Folkestone and other neighbouring places, have been making very exhaustive enquiries. Parents who have baby girls of the age of six months are being asked to produce them. The pool was searched unsuccessfully during the weekend, and no arrests have been made, as rumour has said. The adjourned inquest is to be held on the 18th inst.

From the Dover Express and East Kent Intelligencer, 18 January, 1929. Price 1½d.

THE SECRET POOL TRAGEDY

MYSTERIOUS PARCEL FOUND AT FOLKESTONE

A BLUE EYED LITTLE GIRL, WHO MET WITH FOUL TREATMENT

The adjourned inquest on the headless body of a baby girl, found on December 27th by Mr. Chandler in the “Secret Pool,” Lydden Spout, was resumed at the “Royal Oak” on Friday afternoon by the East Kent Coroner, Mr. Rutley Mowll.

Mr. Mowll, in reopening the inquest, said: You will remember the facts of this case. You will have some evidence put before you today which may be very material, and may not be. But in my discretion, I consider you should hear the evidence. Then I shall have to have another adjournment.

Herbert Horn, of 54, Cheriton Road, Folkestone, said: I am a journeyman gardener, employed at the Parish Church, Folkestone. I discovered a parcel in the churchyard on Thursday, December 6th, at 11.30 a.m. It was between the north-west door and the West Cliff Gardens. It was a brown paper parcel, and was on the gravel pathway near the wire netting. I just undid the string, and in consequence of what I found I took it to the Police Station at Folkestone. I do not know the Police Officer I handed it over to.

The Coroner: Are you in a position to say how recently you had been along the pathway when you found the parcel?

Witness: To and fro all the morning.

When was the last time you passed by that spot?

At 11.15.

Can you say that the parcel was not there then?

There was nothing at all; I am quite certain of that.

So it must have been placed there between 11.15 and 11.30 a.m.!

That is right.

Have you any idea by whom it was placed there?

Not a bit. There was no one about.

Now let me understand. You opened the parcel there, and then in the pathway, or did you take it somewhere else?

In the pathway.

Did you see enough to make you think that you should take it straight to the Police?

It was addressed to the Inspector of the Police.

You, in fact, took it straight away to the Police Station so that the parcel as handed over to the Police was exactly in the same condition as when you found it , except that the string was undone and you had opened it?

Yes; that is right.

The Coroner: This evidence becomes more important when you hear the evidence of the contents of the parcel. We will take that from another witness.

Superintendent Goulding said that he wished to ask the last witness a question. Do you know if anyone passed along that pathway between 11.15 and 11.30!

I do not.

Could the parcel have been thrown from some other roadway on to the pathway?

No.

P.S. Fry, K.C.C., stationed at Alkham, gave evidence.

The Coroner: You have been making some inquiries into the case, and in the course of your enquiries did you go to the Police Station at Folkestone?

Yes; on the 31st December.

Have you since been handed the parcel?

I was at that time handed the parcel that was left by the last witness. It was handed to me by the Chief Constable, and it was then being kept in his office.

The outer part of the parcel is ordinary brown paper and no names or marks on it!

No marks whatever.

Now we will come to the wording there was on the envelope! – An ordinary foolscap envelope with the flap torn off. The envelope is addressed:- INSPECTOR. FOLKESTONE POLICE. URGENT.

In block capital letters written in ink. Then there was half a Christmas card in the parcel, on which is written, in capital block letters in pencil:- LITTLE GIRL MISSING, BLUE EYES; THESE THINGS HER'S. FOUL TREATMENT. And on the side FOUND NEAR.

The Coroner: I think the important point about this is; the parcel was found on Thursday, the 6th of December, whereas the body was found on December 27th, three weeks later.

Mr. Chandler asked if he might say something.

The Coroner said that he would take anything he wanted to say, but not whilst he was taking evidence of the witness.

Witness continued: The other contents of the parcel were a pair of child's knickers of a crepe sort of material. It was possibly made from a woman's blouse. It was at one time cream, but had been washed several times. There were two or three stains on it that might have been blood marks. There was a pair of woollen socks. There were stains on them. On both theses was a stain from the shoe, but there were other stains higher up the leg. One showed it more pronounced.

The Coroner:- They would be rather large socks for the child whose body was found!

Yes.

What material were they?

Woolies. There was also a small stripe of wool felt (like the felt blanket of a paper making machine.) That is stained. There was a small quantity of fair hair (very golden in colour), but that felt artificial. There was a small part of the “Evening News” dated December 5th. There are stains upon that. By their appearance the knickers and the socks had been washed and the socks I should say have not been work since.

The Coroner: that is about as far as I can take the matter today.

Sergt Fry: Unless you take the place in which the parcel was found.

The Coroner: I took that from the witness Horn, but you want to give it to me in more detail?

Witness: Yes, to account for not seeing anyone.

Witness continuing said: On the afternoon of December 31st, the same day as I received the parcel, I accompanied the witness Horn. He pointed out to me a spot 20 yards from the West Cliff Garden steps. West Cliff Gardens in its turn, leads to the bus stopping station on the Sandgate Road.

The Coroner: Does that differ materially with the previous evidence. It amplifies it, I suppose!

Witness: Yes. It gives some reason why the last witness, who was working in the grounds of the church, did not see who placed the parcel there. It could have been placed where it was without him seeing.

The Coroner asked Mr. Chandler if he wished to ask witness any questions.

Mr. Chandler said that it was really a suggestion he wished to make. It was as regards the decompositions of the body in view of the date when the parcel was found. It might not be generally known that a body in the water at this time of the year decomposes very slowly owing to the coldness of the water.

The Foreman: is there a path running through the churchyard?

Sgt. Fry: Yes, there is.

The Coroner: Folkestone Parish Church can be approached by several paths!

Witness: yes, there are four.

The Coroner: This was one of the four paths leading up to the church. You can approach from Church Street, also West Cliff Gardens which you have described, from the Bayle and from the Leas.

The Foreman: Then it is possible for someone to walk there and place the parcel in the lapse of time between quarter and half past!

Yes, quite.

The Coroner: This may be a coincidence, but it is clear that the parcel has a date not previous to the 5th December. It is also clear that the parcel was not placed there in consequence of the finding of the body which did not take place until the 27th December, so that one might be very material to the other or might have nothing whatever to do with it. But it is obvious a case that requires the most careful investigation, and that I know it will receive from the Police. Possibly the publicity of the inquest and its adjournment may be some assistance to the Police in their further investigations. I am not calling any evidence as to what inquiries the Police have already made, but they have been far from idle in this matter. The Coroner added that he thought three weeks' adjournment would be suitable.

Supt. Golding: if we cannot find anything in three weeks we may give it up.

The Coroner: Well, we will start more optimistically.

The inquest was adjourned till February 8th at 3 p.m.

From the Dover Express and East Kent Intelligencer, 8 February, 1929. Price 1½d.

THE SECRET POOL TRAGEDY

JURY RETURNS OPEN VERDICT

ABSENT JURYMAN FINED

The inquest on the headless body of a baby girl which was found in the “Secret Pool” on the Warren on the 27th December, was resumed at the “Royal Oak” yesterday by the East Kent Coroner, Mr. W Rutley Mowll, after two adjournments.

On the Jury being called, Reuben John Hadden, 1. Young's Cottages, Hougham, was absent.

P.C. Poulden, K.C.C. stationed at Hougham said that the Juryman was a labourer, who had been out of work for seven months. He called at Hadden's house that morning to remind him that he had to attend, but he did not see him until 1 o'clock, as he had left his house and gone to Dover. When he saw Hadden, he said that he had got a job and that if he did not turn up he would lose it. He said eh was sorry, but he had to study his living and had got a job blasting rock at Tilmanstone.

The Coroner said that he had entered into recognisance's for the sum of £10, and he was liable to pay that amount for breaking them. He felt sorry for a man who had been out of work and had just got a job, but he was under an obligation to the State and Crown to fulfil his duties as a Juryman. He would fine Hadden £2 and he did so with very great regret but he considered it absolutely necessary to maintain the authority of the law and it would not be fair to the other Jurymen to take no notice of it. If all Jurymen behaved in this way the administration of justice would be impossible. If Hadden wanted to make any representations to him he would hear what he had to say in excuse. It was gross contempt of Court, and he was liable to imprisonment. He could have sent him to prison instead of fining him £2.

Sergt. Fry, K.C.C., said that he had made very careful inquiries in the case, and had been unable to ascertain who the child was or how it came to its death. He had not been able to find out anything further about the parcel found at Folkestone.

The Foreman said that the Jury were quiet satisfied that the Sergeant had done his best.

The Coroner said that seemed to be all the evidence available in this case, which was one of considerable importance. There was a strong suspicion that there had been foul play, quite apart from the finding of the parcel, which might or might not have been connected with the case. One thing was very certain, and that was that somebody placed that parcel in Folkestone Parish Churchyard between 11.15 and 11.30 a.m. on the 6th December, 1928. There had been amply time since the adjournment for the person who placed the parcel there to be honest enough to come forward and tell them about it. That was a s far as they could go in that Court. It did not follow, however, that nothing more of the case would be heard. They would remember that the newspaper in which the contents of the parcel were placed was dated the 5th December, and it was quite clear that the parcel could not have been placed there earlier. Three weeks later, on the 27th December, at 3.30 p.m., the body was found, and considerable difficulty faced those who had to examine the body because of its condition, particularly the fact that the head was missing and there was no spinal column left. He thought hey ought to bear in mind that there might be further discoveries hereafter. The most appropriate verdict he thought they could return was one that the child's body was found as described in the evidence, and that they were unable to say what was the cause of death, and that, according to the law, was an open verdict. If, as they could not help hoping, the offenders could be brought to justice at some further date, then their verdict would not have been prejudiced any proceedings.

The Jury accordingly returned an open verdict.

The Coroner said that he had received an exhaustive report from P.S. Fry as to the steps taken by the Police in the case, and he was satisfied that their work had been done industriously, and the fact that nothing further had transpired up to the present was due to no fault of theirs.

The Foreman of the Jury said: We also think the Police have done very well.

From Dover Express, Friday, December 24, 1937.

CAMPING GROUNDS.

The report of the Public Health Committee, held prior to the Council meeting, states that the Sanitary Inspector reported on an application received from Mr. T. E. Moore, of the "Royal Oak" Capel, for a license to use land for occupation of moveable dwellings. He had inspected the site and recommended it for approval, subject to the pail closet being replaced by a properly ventilated Elsan closet. A similar application had been received from Mr. P. Philpott, of "High Hope," Capel.

Sanitary accommodation, which was necessary, was being provided by the owner, and he recommended this for approval.

From the Dover Express and East Kent News, Friday 14 March, 1941

Miss Jane Moore, whose photograph appeared last December, in one of the national dailies, has received a letter from a reader of a New York paper, in which the photograph also appeared. The photograph showed 15 years old Miss Moore - whose address is "Royal Oak," Capel, near Folkestone - feeding chickens in the garden of her home near wreckage from a German plane. As the caption said "South-East Coast," Miss Simmonds, the sender of the letter, did not know the address, so she addressed the letter "South-East Coast of England, whose home is nearest enemy, a bit of land that juts out into the sea, England." The letter first went to Miss June Moore, of High Street, Deal, and she, realising who it was for, forwarded it to Miss Jane Moore, who is her niece.

From the Dover Express and East Kent News, Friday 8 January, 1943

Alteration to the public bar of the "Royal Oak," Capel-le-Ferne were sanctioned at the Wingham Petty Sessions.

Dover Express 2nd August 1946.

The Justices, on Monday, granted Mr. T. Moore of the “Royal Oak”, Capel, an occasional licence for the Dover County Cricket Week from 17th to 23rd August, the hours being 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

From the Dover Express, Thursday, 18 October, 2012. 65p.

ROCKERS RAISE CASH

BOOST: Event organiser Neil Reynolds with pub landlord Paul Right and Tracy Barden.

A KENT charity received a cash boost of £1,800 thanks to last month's Capel Rock concert.

Bands from across the county performed at the "Royal Oak" in September to help raise funds for the Strode Park Foundation, which provides specialist care and services for children and adults with disabilities.

Tracy Barden, the charity's head of marketing, fundraising and press relations, was presented with the cash this month by organiser Neil Reynolds and pub landlord Paul Right.

A spokesman for the charity said: “It was lovely to be selected, we rely on fundraising to assist us to provide essential care services to local children and adults with disabilities.

“If anyone would like to fundraise or volunteer for Strode Park Foundation, we would be delighted to hear from them.”

■ Call 01227 373292 or visit www.strodepark.org.uk