Welcome to News of the Times!
Step into the shadowed alleyways and gaslit parlours of the 18th and 19th centuries with News of the Times — a meticulously curated journey through historical crime. Each episode draws from authentic reports and court records, bringing you the darkly fascinating tales that gripped Georgian, Victorian, and Edwardian Britain.
With over 500 episodes and counting, we explore true accounts of mischief, murder, and mayhem from days gone by — all delivered with a wry nod and a love for the curious corners of the past.
🕵️ For those with a taste for the peculiar, you may also enjoy our new side project: Volume 1: Slightly Unreliable Memoirs — a whimsical collection inspired by the lives (and occasional misadventures) of our research team. Think cravats, crumpets, and the occasional cactus on the lam. Intrigued? Find it here:
👉 https://ko-fi.com/s/b406f6f11e
Welcome to News of the Times!
Step into the shadowed alleyways and gaslit parlours of the 18th and 19th centuries with News of the Times — a meticulously curated journey through historical crime. Each episode draws from authentic reports and court records, bringing you the darkly fascinating tales that gripped Georgian, Victorian, and Edwardian Britain.
With over 500 episodes and counting, we explore true accounts of mischief, murder, and mayhem from days gone by — all delivered with a wry nod and a love for the curious corners of the past.
🕵️ For those with a taste for the peculiar, you may also enjoy our new side project: Volume 1: Slightly Unreliable Memoirs — a whimsical collection inspired by the lives (and occasional misadventures) of our research team. Think cravats, crumpets, and the occasional cactus on the lam. Intrigued? Find it here:
👉 https://ko-fi.com/s/b406f6f11e
The Wheelbarrow Murder: The Case That Led to Hereford’s Last Execution (1903)News of the Times | Episode 599 | 1903#HistoricalTrueCrime #VictorianCrime #EdwardianHistory #TrueCrimeUK #NewsOfTheTimesTonight’s episode opens our Firsts and Lasts of January series with a case that shook rural Herefordshire — and ended with the final execution ever carried out at Hereford Gaol.In July 1903, a quiet quarry near Aymestrey became the scene of one of the most unsettling crimes in Edwardian England. A wheelbarrow… a body… and a husband insisting it had all been a terrible accident. But as investigators examined the quarry, the path to Mortimer’s Cross, and William Haywood’s shifting story, a far darker truth emerged.This is The Wheelbarrow Murder — the brutal killing of Jane Haywood, the sensational trial that followed, and the historic execution that marked the end of an era in British justice.A story of poverty, exhaustion, domestic tension, forensic evidence, and a community forced to confront the thin line between accident and intention.We explore:🔸 Quarry life and the harsh world of rural labourers in 1903🔸 The discovery of Jane Haywood’s injuries — and why the “accident” story never held🔸 Witness testimony that unravelled the defence🔸 The inquest, the shocking medical findings, and the national press response🔸 The Hereford Assizes, the judge’s reasoning, and the final death sentence🔸 The last execution ever carried out at Hereford GaolFurther ParticularsBecause Victorian Britain could make even a funeral dangerous. Tonight’s final tale involves a coffin, a narrow pathway, six bearers, and one very unfortunate bystander — proving once again that the 19th century was not for the faint of heart.👤 Narrated by Robin Coles 📅 New episodes: Monday, Wednesday & Friday 🎞️ Long-form historical crime compilations: Final Sunday of every month 📚 Related cases from the archive: 1902: Scotland Yard Casebook: Jealousy on Judd Street - crime of passion | Kitty Byron | Ep545 https://www.patreon.com/posts/jealousy-on-judd-141707777?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link1903: The Scampston Murder | The Riverbank Crime That Shocked Edwardian England (1903) | EP568 https://www.patreon.com/posts/scampston-murder-142037739?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link1909: Too Drunk to Hang? The Brutal 1909 Murder That Changed British Law | EP572 https://www.patreon.com/posts/too-drunk-to-law-142667895?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link❤️ Support Independent History If you enjoy our ad-free, archive-based storytelling, help us keep the lantern lit: 👉 **Patreon** – Full archive, early access, bonus compilations (and it keeps us independent): https://www.patreon.com/NewsOfTheTimesHistoricalCrime ☕ Prefer a one-off thank-you? We LOVE a posh coffee indulgence! We tip our top hats: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/newsofthetd🕯 About the Channel We’re an independent team of historical researchers and narrators specialising in 18th to early 20th century British true crime. Each episode is based entirely on archival material — from coroners’ inquests to forgotten newspaper columns. If you like your true crime thoughtful, atmospheric, and rooted in real records — welcome to the vault. 🎩 — RC & Team #HerefordshireHistory #WheelbarrowMurder #LastExecution#HerefordGaol #1903 #TrueCrimeCommunity #BritishHistory #ColdCaseHistory #TrueCrimeStories #CrimeHistory #VictorianEngland #EdwardianEra #HistoricalMystery #OldBailey #UKCrimeCases #DarkHistory #ArchiveCrime #TrueCrimeDocumentary
The Arsenic Exhumation: How Mary Bailey’s Body Exposed a Killer | True Crime 1863News of the Times | Episode 598 1863In 1863, a quiet Stockport household became the centre of one of Victorian Britain’s most chilling poisoning investigations.When Mary Bailey died after days of violent sickness, her daughter insisted it was illness… but a newly taken life-insurance policy, two purchases of arsenic, and growing neighbourhood whispers told a very different story.What followed was extraordinary:a rare Victorian exhumation,a body preserved almost intact 74 days after burial,and early forensic toxicology revealing arsenic in every tissue.In today’s episode, we explore how a suspected insurance fraud spiralled into a full murder inquiry — and how Victorian science uncovered the truth when no living witness could.Featuring:• the “penny policies” that targeted the Victorian poor• arsenic bought “for killing vermin” — in deadly quantities• doctors whose overlapping visits hid a much darker pattern• forensic tests that transformed suspicion into certainty• a confession that revealed coercion, poverty, and fear• and the chilling final hours of one of Britain’s forgotten murderessesThis is the Mary Bailey arsenic case — a story of deception, desperation, and the forensic breakthrough that exposed a killer.Stay to the end for Further Particulars, where Victorian jealousy, a runaway lover, and a very unfortunate shop mannequin collide in spectacular fashion.Settle in with a warm drink and join us as we step back into the streets of 1863 Stockport.👤 Hostedby Robin Coles 📅 New episodes: Monday, Wednesday & Friday 🎞️ Long-form historical crime compilations: Final Sunday of every month 📚 Related cases from the archive: •1869: Arsenic, Bonnets and Betrayal: The 1869 Dudley Poisoning of Joseph Oliver | EP559 https://youtu.be/Igt7pytWWxU1865: Bayonet Madness in Batley: A Victorian Double Murder | EP562 https://youtu.be/A08XNdHDzso1867: The Malthouse Murder | Wolverton’s Burning Secret (1867) | EP564https://youtu.be/FQKaaNrDD9k1867: The Limehouse Mystery — The 1867 Case That Divided Victorian London | EP565 https://youtu.be/36DqA1p_W7s❤️ Support Independent History If you enjoy our ad-free, archive-based storytelling, help us keep the lantern lit: 👉 **Patreon** – Full archive, early access, bonus compilations (and it keeps us independent): https://www.patreon.com/NewsOfTheTimesHistoricalCrime ☕ Prefer a one-off thank-you? We LOVE a posh coffee indulgence! We tip our top hats: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/newsofthetd🕯 About the Channel We’re an independent team of historical researchers and narrators specialising in 18th to early 20th century British true crime. Each episode is based entirely on archival material — from coroners’ inquests to forgotten newspaper columns. If you like your true crime thoughtful, atmospheric, and rooted in real records — welcome to the vault. 🎩 — RC & Team #victoriantruecrime #HistoricalCrime #ArsenicMurder #ForensicHistory #VictorianForensics #HistoricalForensics #ExhumationCase #1860sHistory #VictorianEngland #BritishHistory #StockportHistory #TrueCrimeDocumentary #TrueCrimeCommunity #CrimeHistory #MurderInvestigation #NewsoftheTimes
The Workhouse Path Murder — South Wales, 1902 | A Fatal December Evening
News of the Times | Episode 597 | 1902
Southeast Wales, 1902.
A woman runs bleeding down a narrow workhouse path, four children behind her screaming “Murder!” into the cold December air.
Moments earlier, she was walking with the man who had vowed she would never have another home.
Today we uncover one of the most chilling and deeply human domestic murder cases of Edwardian South Wales — a tragedy witnessed entirely by children, shaped by poverty, jealousy, alcohol, and the harsh realities of the workhouse system.
This episode explores:
• The world of the lodging houses and the Bedwellty Workhouse
• The final walk up the walled footpath
• Eyewitness testimony from neighbours and children
• Medical evidence and early forensic interpretation
• The attempted defence of delirium tremens
• The Edwardian court and the rapid machinery of justice
• The social pressures that gave rise to the crime
It is a case that shocked the valleys — not for mystery, but for its stark inevitability.
Join us as we retrace the final hours of Hannah Shea, and the violent jealousy that ended her life on a cold winter evening beneath the shadow of the workhouse.
🕯️ FURTHER PARTICULARS
Today’s end of episode lighter (and explosively cautionary) tale comes from Belfast, where a Christmas pudding met its untimely end via a tin of petrol mistaken for syrup.
The results? Flaming dessert, melted gas pipes, and a moral lesson for us all...
👤 Narrated by Robin Coles
Other episodes you may like:
1867: The Malthouse Murder | Wolverton’s Burning Secret (1867) | EP564
https://youtu.be/FQKaaNrDD9k
1867: The Limehouse Mystery — The 1867 Case That Divided Victorian London | EP565
https://youtu.be/36DqA1p_W7s
❤️ Support Independent History
If you enjoy our ad-free, archive-based storytelling, help us keep the lantern lit:
👉 **Patreon** – Full archive, early access, bonus compilations (and it keeps us independent):
https://www.patreon.com/NewsOfTheTimesHistoricalCrime
☕ Prefer a one-off thank-you? We LOVE a posh coffee indulgence! We tip our top hats:
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/newsofthetd
🕯 About the Channel
We’re an independent team of historical researchers and narrators specialising in 18th to early 20th
Hear about our ad-free archive on Patreon – 650+ episodes and counting! 🎩 https://www.patreon.com/c/NewsoftheTimesHistoricalCrime
Fancy a chuckle between corpses? Discover our first lovingly illustrated volume of wildly unreliable memoirs.
Grab it here: https://ko-fi.com/s/b406f6f11e
Support us on Patreon for ad-free early access and exclusive bonus episodes.
https://www.patreon.com/c/NewsoftheTimesHistoricalCrime
Thanks for listening! You can also connect with us on
Our YouTube Channel: | https://www.youtube.com/@newsofthetimes
Our Facebook Page: | https://www.facebook.com/News-of-the-Times-101108282697405
Have a question or comment? Get in touch with us at newsofthetimespodcast@gmail.com
If you would like to donate, we love coffee! Warmly appreciated :-) | https://www.buymeacoffee.com/newsofthetd
Stalked by Her Brother-in-Law: The Christmas Murder That Shook Post-War Britain | Liverpool, 1918
News of the Times | Episode 595 |1918
As Britain celebrated the end of the Great War, one young Liverpool widow was facing a danger far closer to home.
This week, we step into December 1918, a moment when church bells rang for peace, soldiers returned to broken households, and thousands of war widows tried to rebuild lives reshaped by loss.
But for Mary Ellen Rooney, a 32-year-old widow raising four children, the threat did not come from the battlefield —
it lived across the street.
After months of unwanted attention, jealousy, and open threats from her brother-in-law, Mary’s attempts to find safety ended in a Paddington corner shop on a cold November afternoon.
Witnesses would describe what happened next as sudden, furious, and chillingly deliberate.
Why did this case — shocking, public, and tragic — receive almost no press coverage at the time?
What can it tell us about post-war Britain, the pressures on returning soldiers, and the precarious position of the women left behind?
And how did one man’s fixation escalate into murder just weeks after the Armistice?
In tonight’s episode, we uncover:
The realities of life in 1918 Liverpool after the war
The hidden dangers faced by war widows
A deeply unsettling pattern of stalking and threats
A murder that played out in broad daylight
A trial that passed almost without notice
And an execution carried out one week before Christmas
For our Further Particulars, we turn to Widnes in 1881, where a revolver accident led to…
another revolver accident — a Victorian tragedy so bizarre it defies summary.
👤 Narrated by Robin Coles
📅 New episodes: Monday, Wednesday & Friday
🎞️ Long-form historical crime compilations: Final Sunday of every month
❤️ Support Independent History
If you enjoy our ad-free, archive-based storytelling, help us keep the lantern lit:
👉 **Patreon** – Full archive, early access, bonus compilations (and it keeps us independent):
https://www.patreon.com/NewsOfTheTimesHistoricalCrime
☕ Prefer a one-off thank-you? We LOVE a posh coffee indulgence! We tip our top hats:
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/newsofthetd
🕯 About the Channel
We’re an independent team of historical researchers and narrators specialising in 18th to early 20th century British true crime. Each episode is based entirely on archival materi
Hear about our ad-free archive on Patreon – 650+ episodes and counting! 🎩 https://www.patreon.com/c/NewsoftheTimesHistoricalCrime
Fancy a chuckle between corpses? Discover our first lovingly illustrated volume of wildly unreliable memoirs.
Grab it here: https://ko-fi.com/s/b406f6f11e
Support us on Patreon for ad-free early access and exclusive bonus episodes.
https://www.patreon.com/c/NewsoftheTimesHistoricalCrime
Thanks for listening! You can also connect with us on
Our YouTube Channel: | https://www.youtube.com/@newsofthetimes
Our Facebook Page: | https://www.facebook.com/News-of-the-Times-101108282697405
Have a question or comment? Get in touch with us at newsofthetimespodcast@gmail.com
If you would like to donate, we love coffee! Warmly appreciated :-) | https://www.buymeacoffee.com/newsofthetd
Murder on the Winter Road: A Christmas Killing in Ballinrobe | True Crime 1880
News of the Times | Episode 594 | 1880
A Christmas walk home… a dark boreen outside Ballinrobe… and two figures lying in wait.
Tonight we return to County Mayo, Ireland, 1880, for a chilling winter murder that stunned a rural community and left questions hanging over the snow-covered road for generations.
This is the story of Peter Mullen, a small farmer whose final journey took him through family quarrels, a mysterious sprinkling of holy water, and—according to his son—an ambush by two tall, clean-shaven men on a moonlit December night.
But who really knew he would pass that way?
And was this tragic killing a random act… or something far more calculated?
In this episode we explore:
• Life in Ballinrobe at Christmas, 1880
• Domestic tensions and a bitter marital quarrel
• Holy water, strange choices, and a wife in hiding
• A son’s account that raised more questions than it answered
• The midnight ambush on the frozen road
• Why the suspects—his wife and two nephews—were ultimately released
• How this case slipped quietly into the long history of unsolved Irish rural killings
As always, we draw from contemporary newspaper reports and inquest testimony to follow the story as people of the time understood it.
This episode includes material from:
And in today’s Further Particulars, we detour briefly to Derbyshire—where a Victorian vicar, a bread knife, and a very excitable evening led half the parish straight to the magistrates’ court.
Settle in with something warm and join us for The Christmas Road Murder: Ballinrobe, 1880—an atmospheric winter mystery where small choices, quiet tensions, and old grievances may have led a man straight into the line of fire.
👤 Hosted by Robin Coles
📅 New episodes: Monday, Wednesday & Friday
🎞️ Long-form historical crime compilations: Final Sunday of every month
❤️ Support Independent History
If you enjoy our ad-free, archive-based storytelling, help us keep the lantern lit:
👉 **Patreon** – Full archive, early access, bonus compilations (and it keeps us independent):
https://www.patreon.com/NewsOfTheTimesHistoricalCrime
☕ Prefer a one-off thank-you? We LOVE a posh coffee indulgence! We tip our top hats:
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/newsofthetd
🕯 About the Channel
We’re an independent team of historical researchers and narrators specialising in 18t
Hear about our ad-free archive on Patreon – 650+ episodes and counting! 🎩 https://www.patreon.com/c/NewsoftheTimesHistoricalCrime
Fancy a chuckle between corpses? Discover our first lovingly illustrated volume of wildly unreliable memoirs.
Grab it here: https://ko-fi.com/s/b406f6f11e
Support us on Patreon for ad-free early access and exclusive bonus episodes.
https://www.patreon.com/c/NewsoftheTimesHistoricalCrime
Thanks for listening! You can also connect with us on
Our YouTube Channel: | https://www.youtube.com/@newsofthetimes
Our Facebook Page: | https://www.facebook.com/News-of-the-Times-101108282697405
Have a question or comment? Get in touch with us at newsofthetimespodcast@gmail.com
If you would like to donate, we love coffee! Warmly appreciated :-) | https://www.buymeacoffee.com/newsofthetd
THE WHITELEY MURDER (1907) — The Crime That Shook Edwardian Britain
News of the Times | Episode 593 | 1907
In January 1907, William Whiteley — London’s famous “Universal Provider” and the man who transformed British shopping — was shot dead inside his own department store.
The killer? A well-dressed young man who calmly announced he was Whiteley’s illegitimate son.
What followed was one of the most sensational murder trials of the Edwardian age: a story of hidden relationships, vast wealth, respectability, scandal, and a public so captivated that hundreds of thousands signed a petition to save the killer from the gallows.
In today’s episode, we uncover:
• The moment gunfire shattered Britain’s most modern store
• The extraordinary claim that turned a murder into a national reckoning
• A tangled family history of secrecy, money and legitimacy
• How the press shaped public outrage — and unexpected sympathy
• Why the Whiteley case still echoes through British legal and social history
Plus:
A remarkable Further Particulars story — when a runaway horse smashed through a Moorgate jeweller in 1922 and left London’s pavement literally covered in diamonds.
👤 Narrated by Robin Coles
📅 New episodes: Monday, Wednesday & Friday
🎞️ Long-form historical crime compilations: Final Sunday of every month
📚 Related cases from the archive:
1907: Monte Carlo Trunk Murder | EP284
https://youtu.be/oTOwoof-jKs
1907: The Croydon Killer | Ep287
https://youtu.be/JOcmekUMZjw
1907: Camden Town Murder Mystery | EP326
https://youtu.be/glZvLvCJVZY
❤️ Support Independent History
If you enjoy our ad-free, archive-based storytelling, help us keep the lantern lit:
👉 **Patreon** – Full archive, early access, bonus compilations (and it keeps us independent):
https://www.patreon.com/NewsOfTheTimesHistoricalCrime
☕ Prefer a one-off thank-you? We LOVE a posh coffee indulgence! We tip our top hats:
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/newsofthetd
🕯 About the Channel
We’re an independent team of historical researchers and narrators specialising in 18th to early 20th century British true crime. Each episode is based entirely on archival material — from coroners’ inquests to forgotten newspaper columns.
If you like your true crime thoug
Hear about our ad-free archive on Patreon – 650+ episodes and counting! 🎩 https://www.patreon.com/c/NewsoftheTimesHistoricalCrime
Fancy a chuckle between corpses? Discover our first lovingly illustrated volume of wildly unreliable memoirs.
Grab it here: https://ko-fi.com/s/b406f6f11e
Support us on Patreon for ad-free early access and exclusive bonus episodes.
https://www.patreon.com/c/NewsoftheTimesHistoricalCrime
Thanks for listening! You can also connect with us on
Our YouTube Channel: | https://www.youtube.com/@newsofthetimes
Our Facebook Page: | https://www.facebook.com/News-of-the-Times-101108282697405
Have a question or comment? Get in touch with us at newsofthetimespodcast@gmail.com
If you would like to donate, we love coffee! Warmly appreciated :-) | https://www.buymeacoffee.com/newsofthetd
The Wardrobe Murder: The Grim Discovery in 1889 Bury
News of the Times | Episode 592| 1889
A missing businessman. A manager with too many stories. A wardrobe that no one was meant to open.
In 1889 Bury, Lancashire, a routine visit to a bustling Bolton Street furniture shop ended in one of the most shocking Victorian murder discoveries ever recorded. Behind drawn blinds, shifted furniture, and a locked cupboard with a missing key, police found a scene that stunned even seasoned detectives.
This is the true story of George Gordon, a respected young businessman who vanished after a mid-week meeting — and the extraordinary investigation that exposed deception, forged letters, a fake customer, suspicious errands, and a chilling attempt to conceal a body in plain sight.
From disturbed flagstones in a cellar to charred ledgers in a hearth, every clue pointed toward one man: shop manager William Dukes.
Tonight, we unspool the lies, the forensic twists, and the Victorian policework that led to the discovery that would dominate northern newspapers and remain one of the most disturbing cases in Bury’s history.
🕯 PLUS: Today’s Further Particulars
A New Jersey gaol, a hands-on ghost, and a haunting with far more initiative than anyone wanted…
If you enjoy atmospheric Victorian true crime blended with real archival reporting, this is one to settle in for.
Warm drink ready, lights a little low — and perhaps… keep wardrobes firmly shut.
👤 Narrated by Robin Coles
📅 New episodes: Monday, Wednesday & Friday
🎞️ Long-form historical crime compilations: Final Sunday of every month
📚 Related cases from the archive:
•1889: The Infamous Bloody Trunk Case | Ep254
https://youtu.be/esL5RNishTU
1889: The Mystery of the Hansom Cab Murder | EP368
https://youtu.be/OObOZ1J_-Mk
1889: Was This the Ripper’s Comeback? The 1889 Whitechapel Murder | EP508
https://youtu.be/5Um9DOETHHI
1889: The Goatfell Murder: A Charming Stranger, A Missing Tourist, and the Mountain with Secrets | Ep521
https://youtu.be/nA-yUf84JK4
❤️ Support Independent History
If you enjoy our ad-free, archive-based storytelling, help us keep the lantern lit:
👉 **Patreon** – Full archive, early access, bonus compilations (and it keeps us independent):
https://www.patreon.com/NewsOfTheTimesHistoricalCrime
☕ Prefer a one-off thank-you? We LOVE a posh coffee indulgence! We tip our top hats:
https://www.buym
Hear about our ad-free archive on Patreon – 650+ episodes and counting! 🎩 https://www.patreon.com/c/NewsoftheTimesHistoricalCrime
Fancy a chuckle between corpses? Discover our first lovingly illustrated volume of wildly unreliable memoirs.
Grab it here: https://ko-fi.com/s/b406f6f11e
Support us on Patreon for ad-free early access and exclusive bonus episodes.
https://www.patreon.com/c/NewsoftheTimesHistoricalCrime
Thanks for listening! You can also connect with us on
Our YouTube Channel: | https://www.youtube.com/@newsofthetimes
Our Facebook Page: | https://www.facebook.com/News-of-the-Times-101108282697405
Have a question or comment? Get in touch with us at newsofthetimespodcast@gmail.com
If you would like to donate, we love coffee! Warmly appreciated :-) | https://www.buymeacoffee.com/newsofthetd
The Christmas Execution No One Tried to Stop | True Crime 1898
News of the Times | Episode 591 | 1898
In today’s episode, we travel to Bugsworth, Derbyshire, where the brutal murder of Hannah Cotton shocked Victorian reporters… but what stunned them even more was this:
When her husband John Cotton was sentenced to hang — just four days before Christmas — no one asked for clemency.
No neighbours.
No friends.
No anti-capital-punishment campaigners.
Not even the canal community who had known him for decades.
Victorian newspapers called him “friendless,” a man whose violence had driven away every human tie long before the gallows claimed him. Tonight, we examine how a life shaped by hardship, jealousy, and cruelty ended with an execution that the public accepted without hesitation.
Along the way, we uncover:
• the shadowy world of Victorian canal-boat life
• allegations surrounding two previous wives
• the testimony of three schoolgirls who saw the murder
• why even at Christmastime, no voice rose to save him
• shifting attitudes toward capital punishment in 1890s Britain
And in a lighter Further Particulars: a wedding at St John’s, Hammersmith, collapses spectacularly when someone stands mid-ceremony to announce, “Stop! That man has a wife already!”
👤 Narrated by Robin Coles
📅 New episodes: Monday, Wednesday & Friday
🎞️ Long-form historical crime compilations: Final Sunday of every month
📚 Related cases from the archive:
1843 - 1898: Favourite Victorian Cases 2024 | EP428
https://youtu.be/K-6i26HYCgI
1898: The Case of the St Neots Murder | EP448
https://youtu.be/4qvv0FZ36g8
1898: The Nolagh House of Horror: Ireland’s 1898 Family Massacre | EP556
https://youtu.be/jLFY8LtgtZk
❤️ Support Independent History
If you enjoy our ad-free, archive-based storytelling, help us keep the lantern lit:
👉 **Patreon** – Full archive, early access, bonus compilations (and it keeps us independent):
https://www.patreon.com/NewsOfTheTimesHistoricalCrime
☕ Prefer a one-off thank-you? We LOVE a posh coffee indulgence! We tip our top hats:
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/newsofthetd
🕯 About the Channel
We’re an independent team of historical researchers and narrators specialising in 18th to early 20th century Brit
Hear about our ad-free archive on Patreon – 650+ episodes and counting! 🎩 https://www.patreon.com/c/NewsoftheTimesHistoricalCrime
Fancy a chuckle between corpses? Discover our first lovingly illustrated volume of wildly unreliable memoirs.
Grab it here: https://ko-fi.com/s/b406f6f11e
Support us on Patreon for ad-free early access and exclusive bonus episodes.
https://www.patreon.com/c/NewsoftheTimesHistoricalCrime
Thanks for listening! You can also connect with us on
Our YouTube Channel: | https://www.youtube.com/@newsofthetimes
Our Facebook Page: | https://www.facebook.com/News-of-the-Times-101108282697405
Have a question or comment? Get in touch with us at newsofthetimespodcast@gmail.com
If you would like to donate, we love coffee! Warmly appreciated :-) | https://www.buymeacoffee.com/newsofthetd
The Clergyman Who Hid His Wife’s Murder: The Shocking Case of Rev. Selby Watson | True Crime 1871
News of the Times | Episode 590 |1871
London 1871
A quiet Stockwell street.
A respected clergyman.
A locked room… and a truth no one wished to imagine.
In October 1871, Reverend John Selby Watson — scholar, headmaster, and a man thought incapable of violence — calmly told his servant that his wife had “gone out of town.” What followed was one of the most chilling domestic murders of the Victorian era: a brutal killing, a body hidden behind a library door, and a carefully written confession that raised as many questions as it answered.
Was this a momentary lapse?
A lifetime of strain erupting all at once?
Or a premeditated act disguised as madness?
Tonight, we walk through the investigation as it unfolded — from the servant’s first suspicions, to Dr Rugg’s devastating discovery, to the courtroom debate that divided Victorian London.
This is the case of a clergyman whose life unravelled in a single, terrible moment
And in today’s lighter end-of-episode Further Particular's tale:
Three cats, two furious ladies, and one judge who absolutely did not sign up for any of this.
A “Persian stud” turns out to be more “Camden wanderer,” and Victorian justice must decide which whiskers are genuine.
👤 Hosted by Robin Coles
📅 New episodes: Monday, Wednesday & Friday
🎞️ Long-form historical crime compilations: Final Sunday of every month
📚 Related cases from the archive:
1871 - 1910: Scorned: Jilted Partners and Vengeance | Ep264
https://youtu.be/IyU0PpewCD0
1870-1871: Stories of in-law Issues | EP319
https://youtu.be/NTNGLpFdOmU
1871-1873: Murder in Uniform: The Death of William Glass and the Hanging of Inspector Montgomery | EP580
https://youtu.be/mPgfbM-2fGw
❤️ Support Independent History
If you enjoy our ad-free, archive-based storytelling, help us keep the lantern lit:
👉 **Patreon** – Full archive, early access, bonus compilations (and it keeps us independent):
https://www.patreon.com/NewsOfTheTimesHistoricalCrime
☕ Prefer a one-off thank-you? We LOVE a posh coffee indulgence! We tip our top hats:
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/newsofthetd
🕯 About the Channel
We’re an independent team of historical
Hear about our ad-free archive on Patreon – 650+ episodes and counting! 🎩 https://www.patreon.com/c/NewsoftheTimesHistoricalCrime
Fancy a chuckle between corpses? Discover our first lovingly illustrated volume of wildly unreliable memoirs.
Grab it here: https://ko-fi.com/s/b406f6f11e
Support us on Patreon for ad-free early access and exclusive bonus episodes.
https://www.patreon.com/c/NewsoftheTimesHistoricalCrime
Thanks for listening! You can also connect with us on
Our YouTube Channel: | https://www.youtube.com/@newsofthetimes
Our Facebook Page: | https://www.facebook.com/News-of-the-Times-101108282697405
Have a question or comment? Get in touch with us at newsofthetimespodcast@gmail.com
If you would like to donate, we love coffee! Warmly appreciated :-) | https://www.buymeacoffee.com/newsofthetd
Two Killers, One Scaffold: The December Double Hanging of 1911
News of the Times | Episode 589 | 1911
On a cold December morning in 1911, the bell at Strangeways Gaol tolled across Manchester.
Inside, two very different men walked the same final corridor — strangers in life, now bound together by the narrow platform of a double scaffold. One was a jealous, violent husband; the other a quiet young labourer who claimed he never meant to kill. Their crimes were months apart, their tempers and histories worlds away — yet both met the same fate on a winter morning the city never forgot.
In today’s episode, we trace the paths that brought them there. From the cramped terraces of Royton and the busy mills of Manchester, to the quiet footpaths of Plumpton Wood, we follow the investigations, witness accounts, court proceedings, and newspaper reports that shaped two capital convictions. This is the story of Two Killers, One Scaffold: The December Double Hanging of 1911.
Manchester in 1911 was a city of contrasts — electric trams, cinemas and industry, but also long shifts, low pay, overcrowded homes and tempers stretched thin. Through these two tragedies we glimpse Edwardian life as it was lived by ordinary families: relentless labour, domestic pressures, and communities shocked by sudden violence.
And in today’s Further Particulars: a festive tale from New York in 1921, where the Christmas shopping rush produced not just queues but an entire court-room of shoplifters — ages sixteen to eighty-two — all caught in the season’s light-fingered spirit. .
👤 Hosted by Robin Coles
📅 New episodes: Monday, Wednesday & Friday
🎞️ Long-form historical crime compilations: Final Sunday of every month
❤️ Support Independent History
If you enjoy our ad-free, archive-based storytelling, help us keep the lantern lit:
👉 **Patreon** – Full archive, early access, bonus compilations (and it keeps us independent):
https://www.patreon.com/NewsOfTheTimesHistoricalCrime
☕ Prefer a one-off thank-you? We LOVE a posh coffee indulgence! We tip our top hats:
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/newsofthetd
🕯 About the Channel
We’re an independent team of historical researchers and narrators specialising in 18th to early 20th century British true crime. Each episode is based entirely on archival material — from coroners’ inquests to forgotten newspaper columns.
If you like your true crime thoughtful, atmospheric, and rooted in real records
Hear about our ad-free archive on Patreon – 650+ episodes and counting! 🎩 https://www.patreon.com/c/NewsoftheTimesHistoricalCrime
Fancy a chuckle between corpses? Discover our first lovingly illustrated volume of wildly unreliable memoirs.
Grab it here: https://ko-fi.com/s/b406f6f11e
Support us on Patreon for ad-free early access and exclusive bonus episodes.
https://www.patreon.com/c/NewsoftheTimesHistoricalCrime
Thanks for listening! You can also connect with us on
Our YouTube Channel: | https://www.youtube.com/@newsofthetimes
Our Facebook Page: | https://www.facebook.com/News-of-the-Times-101108282697405
Have a question or comment? Get in touch with us at newsofthetimespodcast@gmail.com
If you would like to donate, we love coffee! Warmly appreciated :-) | https://www.buymeacoffee.com/newsofthetd
The Ivy Inn Murder: A Single Wound and a Vanishing Killer | True Crime 1891
News of the Times | Episode 588 | 1891
A shocking Victorian crime in which a trusted 16-year-old servant was killed in broad daylight… and her killer vanished into the hills of Huddersfield. What followed was a frantic manhunt, a wrongful arrest, mass public hysteria, and finally, a confession overheard in a prison infirmary.
This episode unravels the full story — from the moment Catherine Dennis was found on the landing, to the dramatic return of the chief suspect James Stockwell, who evaded police for 17 days before creeping into his mother’s house at dawn. Did she give her son up to police? Yes, she did.
Based entirely on detailed period reporting and inquest testimony, this case reveals:
• The discovery of Catherine’s body at the Ivy Inn
• The suspected outrage committed upon her
• The tiny but deadly wound that puzzled doctors
• Two innocent strangers arrested amid public fury
• A missing local man whose behaviour grew increasingly suspicious
• The relentless police search through Linthwaite, Slaithwaite & Crosland Hill
• And the confession that finally sealed the case
This is one of Huddersfield’s most haunting Victorian tragedies — a story of fear, misjudgement, and a community shaken to its core.
And in today’s Further Particulars:
A second fugitive — entirely naked — hiding on a ship for more than a month after stabbing a crewman off the Cape of Good Hope. Victorian journalism truly never disappointed.
Settle in with a cup of tea as we return to Yorkshire in 1891, where quiet afternoons could turn extraordinary in an instant.
👤 Hosted by Robin Coles
📅 New episodes: Monday, Wednesday & Friday
🎞️ Long-form historical crime compilations: Final Sunday of every month
❤️ Support Independent History
If you enjoy our ad-free, archive-based storytelling, help us keep the lantern lit:
👉 **Patreon** – Full archive, early access, bonus compilations (and it keeps us independent):
https://www.patreon.com/NewsOfTheTimesHistoricalCrime
☕ Prefer a one-off thank-you? We LOVE a posh coffee indulgence! We tip our top hats:
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/newsofthetd
🕯 About the Channel
We’re an independent team of historical researchers and narrators specialising in 18th to early 20th century British true crime. Each episode is based entirely on archival material — from coroners’ inquests to for
Hear about our ad-free archive on Patreon – 650+ episodes and counting! 🎩 https://www.patreon.com/c/NewsoftheTimesHistoricalCrime
Fancy a chuckle between corpses? Discover our first lovingly illustrated volume of wildly unreliable memoirs.
Grab it here: https://ko-fi.com/s/b406f6f11e
Support us on Patreon for ad-free early access and exclusive bonus episodes.
https://www.patreon.com/c/NewsoftheTimesHistoricalCrime
Thanks for listening! You can also connect with us on
Our YouTube Channel: | https://www.youtube.com/@newsofthetimes
Our Facebook Page: | https://www.facebook.com/News-of-the-Times-101108282697405
Have a question or comment? Get in touch with us at newsofthetimespodcast@gmail.com
If you would like to donate, we love coffee! Warmly appreciated :-) | https://www.buymeacoffee.com/newsofthetd
The Essex Poisoner: Mary May & the Five-Year Hunt for Britain’s Husband Killers
News of the Times | Episode 587 | 1848
One quiet Essex village. One determined woman. And a trail of death so shocking it forced Victorian police to investigate an entire county.
Today we uncover the chilling case of Mary May, the Essex wife whose actions in 1848 sparked Britain’s first major hunt for domestic poisoners. What began as a single suspicious death soon expanded into rumours of a murder ring, burial-club schemes, and a series of sudden “illnesses” that looked far too similar to be coincidence.
In this episode we explore:
🔸 The sudden death of Mary May’s half-brother — and why villagers accepted her explanation… until they didn’t.
🔸 How Victorian burial clubs created a deadly financial loophole.
🔸 The growing panic across Essex as husbands and children linked to Mary May or her close friends began dying in identical ways.
🔸 Professor Alfred Swaine Taylor — the era’s leading toxicologist — and the forensic breakthrough that exposed the truth.
🔸 Fears of a female “death club” operating across Tendring, Wix, Bradfield, and Ramsay.
🔸 The extraordinary five-year government investigation into suspected poisonings across the county.
Was Mary May a lone murderer?
A catalyst?
Or the central figure in a network of women using arsenic to rid themselves of inconvenient husbands?
Victorian Britain had never seen anything like it.
And in today’s Further Particulars, meet the fortune-teller who could predict everyone’s future except his own — including his arrest and three months’ hard labour.
👤 Hosted by Robin Coles
📅 New episodes: Monday, Wednesday & Friday
🎞️ Long-form historical crime compilations: Final Sunday of every month
❤️ Support Independent History
If you enjoy our ad-free, archive-based storytelling, help us keep the lantern lit:
👉 **Patreon** – Full archive, early access, bonus compilations (and it keeps us independent):
https://www.patreon.com/NewsOfTheTimesHistoricalCrime
☕ Prefer a one-off thank-you? We LOVE a posh coffee indulgence! We tip our top hats:
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/newsofthetd
🕯 About the Channel
We’re an independent team of historical researchers and narrators specialising in 18th to early 20th century British true crime. Each episode is based entirely on archival material — from coroners’ inquests to forgotten newspaper columns.
If you like yo
Hear about our ad-free archive on Patreon – 650+ episodes and counting! 🎩 https://www.patreon.com/c/NewsoftheTimesHistoricalCrime
Fancy a chuckle between corpses? Discover our first lovingly illustrated volume of wildly unreliable memoirs.
Grab it here: https://ko-fi.com/s/b406f6f11e
Support us on Patreon for ad-free early access and exclusive bonus episodes.
https://www.patreon.com/c/NewsoftheTimesHistoricalCrime
Thanks for listening! You can also connect with us on
Our YouTube Channel: | https://www.youtube.com/@newsofthetimes
Our Facebook Page: | https://www.facebook.com/News-of-the-Times-101108282697405
Have a question or comment? Get in touch with us at newsofthetimespodcast@gmail.com
If you would like to donate, we love coffee! Warmly appreciated :-) | https://www.buymeacoffee.com/newsofthetd
The Sheffield Poisoning Case – The Artist, the Housekeeper and the Fatal Fowl (1881)
News of the Times | Episode 586 |1881
A quiet December dinner in Victorian Sheffield ends in horror — and a respected artist whispers his final words: “I am poisoned.”
In today’s investigation, we unravel the 1881 case of Thomas Skinner, a brilliant Sheffield craftsman and etcher whose sudden collapse after a simple meal of fowl and onion stuffing sparked one of the most controversial poisoning mysteries of the Victorian age.
At the centre of the storm stood his striking young housekeeper, Kate Dover — admired locally as “The Heeley Beauty” — whose purchases of arsenic, chloroform, and laudanum in the days before the tragedy drew the eyes of detectives, chemists, and an increasingly suspicious public.
Was she a fellow victim?
A naïve young woman caught in scandal?
Or did forensic science — still in its infancy — uncover the truth?
Join us as we explore:
• The Victorian forensic tests that revealed arsenic in the stuffing
• Conflicting medical testimony and the limits of 19th-century toxicology
• A missing packet of poison
• A mysterious £10 cheque found in the street
• Trial drama, a shocking verdict, and a courtroom collapse
• And the strange, quiet life Kate Dover lived after her release
This episode blends historical investigation, forensic analysis, and archival reporting, drawing directly from 1881 newspaper accounts and court testimony.
📜 Further Particulars:
We close with a wonderfully absurd 1830 tale of a man whose thunderous snoring during a London church service caused such chaos that the beadle considered divine intervention the only possible explanation…
👤 Narrated by Robin Coles
📅 New episodes: Monday, Wednesday & Friday
🎞️ Long-form historical crime compilations: Final Sunday of every month
❤️ Support Independent History
If you enjoy our ad-free, archive-based storytelling, help us keep the lantern lit:
👉 **Patreon** – Full archive, early access, bonus compilations (and it keeps us independent):
https://www.patreon.com/NewsOfTheTimesHistoricalCrime
☕ Prefer a one-off thank-you? We LOVE a posh coffee indulgence! We tip our top hats:
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/newsofthetd
🕯 About the Channel
We’re an independent team of historical researchers and narrators specialising in 18th to early 20th century British true crime. Each episode is based entirely on a
Hear about our ad-free archive on Patreon – 650+ episodes and counting! 🎩 https://www.patreon.com/c/NewsoftheTimesHistoricalCrime
Fancy a chuckle between corpses? Discover our first lovingly illustrated volume of wildly unreliable memoirs.
Grab it here: https://ko-fi.com/s/b406f6f11e
Support us on Patreon for ad-free early access and exclusive bonus episodes.
https://www.patreon.com/c/NewsoftheTimesHistoricalCrime
Thanks for listening! You can also connect with us on
Our YouTube Channel: | https://www.youtube.com/@newsofthetimes
Our Facebook Page: | https://www.facebook.com/News-of-the-Times-101108282697405
Have a question or comment? Get in touch with us at newsofthetimespodcast@gmail.com
If you would like to donate, we love coffee! Warmly appreciated :-) | https://www.buymeacoffee.com/newsofthetd
The Abergavenny Christmas Massacre (1175) — The True Story Behind a Medieval Betrayal
News of the Times | Episode 585 | 1175
Step into the frozen winter of 1175, when a Christmas peace gathering at Abergavenny Castle turned into one of the most shocking betrayals in medieval Britain.
This is the real story behind a massacre so infamous that historians believe it helped inspire Game of Thrones’ Red Wedding.
In this episode, we uncover:
• William de Braose, the marcher lord with a score to settle
• Seisyll ap Dyfnwal, the Welsh chieftain lured into a deadly trap
• A Christmas feast where weapons were surrendered… and treachery waited behind the door
• The brutal aftermath that set Wales ablaze with vengeance
• The chilling curse said to have followed the de Braose family for generations
From Marcher politics to clan loyalty, from massacre to medieval “justice,” this is Dark December at its bleakest.
And in our Further Particulars:
A disastrous 1738 case from Faversham, where a man “testing for witchcraft” proved that superstition is dangerous…
but stupidity is lethal.
If you enjoy historical true crime, medieval history, forensic folklore, and long-form storytelling, this episode is made for you.
🕯 Settle in — and maybe don’t accept any Christmas invitations from Norman lords.
This is News of the Times.
🧐Hosted by Robin Coles
📅 New episodes: Monday, Wednesday & Friday
🎞️ Long-form historical crime compilations: Final Sunday of every month
📚 Related cases from the archive:
1693: The Poplar Witch - Mary Compton | 166
https://youtu.be/SJ9HUQFw7cU
❤️ Support Independent History
If you enjoy our ad-free, archive-based storytelling, help us keep the lantern lit:
👉 **Patreon** – Full archive, early access, bonus compilations (and it keeps us independent):
https://www.patreon.com/NewsOfTheTimesHistoricalCrime
☕ Prefer a one-off thank-you? We LOVE a posh coffee indulgence! We tip our top hats:
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/newsofthetd
🕯 About the Channel
We’re an independent team of historical researchers and narrators specialising in 18th to early 20th century British true crime. Each episode is based entirely on archival material — from coroners’ inquests to forgotten newspaper columns.
If you like your true crime thoughtful, atmospheric, and rooted in real records — welcome to the va
Hear about our ad-free archive on Patreon – 650+ episodes and counting! 🎩 https://www.patreon.com/c/NewsoftheTimesHistoricalCrime
Fancy a chuckle between corpses? Discover our first lovingly illustrated volume of wildly unreliable memoirs.
Grab it here: https://ko-fi.com/s/b406f6f11e
Support us on Patreon for ad-free early access and exclusive bonus episodes.
https://www.patreon.com/c/NewsoftheTimesHistoricalCrime
Thanks for listening! You can also connect with us on
Our YouTube Channel: | https://www.youtube.com/@newsofthetimes
Our Facebook Page: | https://www.facebook.com/News-of-the-Times-101108282697405
Have a question or comment? Get in touch with us at newsofthetimespodcast@gmail.com
If you would like to donate, we love coffee! Warmly appreciated :-) | https://www.buymeacoffee.com/newsofthetd
The Wife Killer of Watchfield: The Brutal Case of John Carter (1893)
News of the Times | Episode 584 | 1893
In 1893, the quiet Berkshire hamlet of Watchfield discovered a horror hiding in plain sight.
Rhoda Carter — a young wife with no reason to run — vanished overnight. Her husband, John Carter, insisted she’d gone to tend her pregnant sister. But every part of his story began to crumble.
A locked washhouse.
A fire burning far too hot for a July night.
A nine-year-old boy woken by thuds, cries, and something heavy dragged down the stairs.
And beneath the blacksmith’s floor… a shocking discovery that shook the entire county.
What no one realised at first was this:
Rhoda was John Carter’s third wife — and the last in a disturbing pattern of women who died or disappeared around him.
In today’s episode, we follow the investigation step-by-step — from neighbours’ whispered suspicions, to the police search, to the inquest that exposed a brutal killing, and finally to the execution that confirmed Carter as one of Berkshire’s most chilling murderers.
This case would become so notorious that John Carter’s wax figure stood for years in Madame Tussaud’s Chamber of Horrors.
Along the way, we also explore the extraordinary Victorian reporting that surrounded the case — including a wonderfully outraged commentary from the Illustrated Police News, who never missed a chance for melodrama.
So sit back, settle in, and let us take you to Watchfield, Berkshire, 1893 — a place where life moved slowly… until the night it didn’t.
👤 Hosted by Robin Coles
📅 New episodes: Monday, Wednesday & Friday
🎞️ Long-form historical crime compilations: Final Sunday of every month
❤️ Support Independent History
If you enjoy our ad-free, archive-based storytelling, help us keep the lantern lit:
👉 **Patreon** – Full archive, early access, bonus compilations (and it keeps us independent):
https://www.patreon.com/NewsOfTheTimesHistoricalCrime
☕ Prefer a one-off thank-you? We LOVE a posh coffee indulgence! We tip our top hats:
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/newsofthetd
🕯 About the Channel
We’re an independent team of historical researchers and narrators specialising in 18th to early 20th century British true crime. Each episode is based entirely on archival material — from coroners’ inquests to forgotten newspaper columns.
If you like your true crime thoughtful, atmospheric, and rooted in real
Hear about our ad-free archive on Patreon – 650+ episodes and counting! 🎩 https://www.patreon.com/c/NewsoftheTimesHistoricalCrime
Fancy a chuckle between corpses? Discover our first lovingly illustrated volume of wildly unreliable memoirs.
Grab it here: https://ko-fi.com/s/b406f6f11e
Support us on Patreon for ad-free early access and exclusive bonus episodes.
https://www.patreon.com/c/NewsoftheTimesHistoricalCrime
Thanks for listening! You can also connect with us on
Our YouTube Channel: | https://www.youtube.com/@newsofthetimes
Our Facebook Page: | https://www.facebook.com/News-of-the-Times-101108282697405
Have a question or comment? Get in touch with us at newsofthetimespodcast@gmail.com
If you would like to donate, we love coffee! Warmly appreciated :-) | https://www.buymeacoffee.com/newsofthetd
The Kidsgrove Tragedy: Murder, Madness & the Vanished Mind | Staffordshire, 1911
News of the Times | Episode 582 |1911
In October 1911, the quiet mining town of Kidsgrove was shaken to its core.
Inside a secluded villa, three people — a widow, her four-year-old daughter, and their 16-year-old servant — were found brutally murdered. No forced entry. No screams. Just silence… until an eight-year-old child came running for help.
The prime suspect? Karl Kramer — a German labourer with a forged identity, a borrowed bicycle, and a suspicious amount of stolen silver jingling in his pockets.
But when the police finally caught him, a disturbing question emerged:
Was Kramer a calculated killer… or a man whose mind had simply vanished?
This episode follows the manhunt across counties, the extraordinary behaviour of the accused in custody, and the courtroom spectacle that left a jury trying not what the man had done — but whether he knew anything at all.
A chilling story of murder, madness, and a fugue state that baffled doctors, magistrates, and the Edwardian press.
🔎 Featuring:
• The shocking crime at Avenue Villa
• Witness sightings and the frantic police chase
• Kramer’s shifting identity and sudden “collapse”
• Courtroom confusion over sanity vs. shamming
• The extraordinary decision that sent him to Broadmoor
If you enjoy intelligent historical true crime, forensic missteps, and strange Edwardian tragedies, this episode will be right up your cobblestone street.
Stay to the end for today’s Further Particulars:
A nine-year-old boy, a bit of pocket money, and one extremely deceased mother —
proving that some Edwardian “playdates” should really come with a parental advisory.
It’s grim… but in a way the Victorians would have confidently labelled “character-building."
👤 Narrated by Robin Coles
📅 New episodes: Monday, Wednesday & Friday
🎞️ Long-form historical crime compilations: Final Sunday of every month
❤️ Support Independent History
If you enjoy our ad-free, archive-based storytelling, help us keep the lantern lit:
👉 **Patreon** – Full archive, early access, bonus compilations (and it keeps us independent):
https://www.patreon.com/NewsOfTheTimesHistoricalCrime
☕ Prefer a one-off thank-you? We LOVE a posh coffee indulgence! We tip our top hats:
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/newsofthetd
🕯 About the Channel
We’re an independent team of his
Hear about our ad-free archive on Patreon – 650+ episodes and counting! 🎩 https://www.patreon.com/c/NewsoftheTimesHistoricalCrime
Fancy a chuckle between corpses? Discover our first lovingly illustrated volume of wildly unreliable memoirs.
Grab it here: https://ko-fi.com/s/b406f6f11e
Support us on Patreon for ad-free early access and exclusive bonus episodes.
https://www.patreon.com/c/NewsoftheTimesHistoricalCrime
Thanks for listening! You can also connect with us on
Our YouTube Channel: | https://www.youtube.com/@newsofthetimes
Our Facebook Page: | https://www.facebook.com/News-of-the-Times-101108282697405
Have a question or comment? Get in touch with us at newsofthetimespodcast@gmail.com
If you would like to donate, we love coffee! Warmly appreciated :-) | https://www.buymeacoffee.com/newsofthetd
Yarmouth’s Darkest Day Since the Plague | The 1845 Bridge Disaster
News of the Times | Episode 581 | 1845
What began as a light-hearted Victorian spectacle — a clown in a tub drawn by four geese — became one of the worst civilian disasters in British history.
In 1845, hundreds gathered on Great Yarmouth’s suspension bridge to witness a novelty act. Within minutes, the bridge collapsed, sending a crowd — mostly women and children — plunging into the River Bure. Nearly 100 people lost their lives in a tragedy the press would call “a judgment too dreadful to be forgotten.”
In this episode, we uncover:
The bizarre origins of the event
Eyewitness horror and miraculous escapes
The haunting aftermath: legal confusion, public grief, and buried truths
How one young survivor described stabbing his way to safety beneath the water
And in this week’s Further Particulars, we leave tragedy behind to share the most curious Victorian headlines of 1845 — from exploding cotton bales to a pheasant illegally entering a workhouse.
Frankly, it's the best Victorian Twitter feed we’ve ever read.
📜 Join us as we walk the fog-bound quays of Yarmouth on its darkest day. A story of broken chains, a grieving town, and a spectacle gone terribly, fatally wrong.
👤 Hosted by Robin Coles
📅 New episodes: Monday, Wednesday & Friday
🎞️ Long-form historical crime compilations: Final Sunday of every month
📚 Related cases from the archive:
1845: The Shapwick Poisoner - Sarah Freeman | Ep175
https://youtu.be/NfR4QR2uqGE
1845 - 1895: Fatal Attractions | Ep177
https://youtu.be/CHRQZJ486mo
1842: Bad Daniel Good | Ep188
https://youtu.be/B4YxkMmmpDU
❤️ Support Independent History
If you enjoy our ad-free, archive-based storytelling, help us keep the lantern lit:
👉 **Patreon** – Full archive, early access, bonus compilations (and it keeps us independent):
https://www.patreon.com/NewsOfTheTimesHistoricalCrime
☕ Prefer a one-off thank-you? We LOVE a posh coffee indulgence! We tip our top hats:
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/newsofthetd
🕯 About the Channel
We’re an independent team of historical researchers and narrators specialising in 18th to early 20th century British true crime. Each episode is based entirely on archival material — from
Hear about our ad-free archive on Patreon – 650+ episodes and counting! 🎩 https://www.patreon.com/c/NewsoftheTimesHistoricalCrime
Fancy a chuckle between corpses? Discover our first lovingly illustrated volume of wildly unreliable memoirs.
Grab it here: https://ko-fi.com/s/b406f6f11e
Support us on Patreon for ad-free early access and exclusive bonus episodes.
https://www.patreon.com/c/NewsoftheTimesHistoricalCrime
Thanks for listening! You can also connect with us on
Our YouTube Channel: | https://www.youtube.com/@newsofthetimes
Our Facebook Page: | https://www.facebook.com/News-of-the-Times-101108282697405
Have a question or comment? Get in touch with us at newsofthetimespodcast@gmail.com
If you would like to donate, we love coffee! Warmly appreciated :-) | https://www.buymeacoffee.com/newsofthetd
Murder in Uniform: The Death of William Glass and the Hanging of Inspector Montgomery
News of the Times | Episode 580 | [1871 - 1873
🔍 A Victorian bank clerk found butchered. £1,600 in notes vanished. And standing at the centre of the storm? A decorated police inspector with debts, secrets... and a very damp coat.
In 1871, the quiet Irish town of Newtownstewart was shattered by a murder so brutal — and so unexpected — it dominated headlines across the Empire. But when the evidence began to point not to a stranger… but to the very man charged with protecting the town, the story turned from tragedy to national scandal.
👮♂️ Three trials. A buried cache of bloodstained notes. A murder weapon pulled from the undergrowth. And one of the most extraordinary prosecutions in British legal history.
In today’s News of the Times, we dive deep into the case of Inspector Thomas Hartley Montgomery, the only serving Irish police officer ever executed for murder.
And in today's end of episode further particulars story...
At the end of this harrowing tale of betrayal and bloody justice, we bring you a story of crime on a very different scale:
A Halloween prank. A Glasgow cinema display. And a gang of 13-year-old fashion bandits who left poor Harold Lloyd trouserless in a shop window.
Because nothing says “festive mischief” quite like grand theft flannel.
☕ Settle in with a strong brew and join us for this atmospheric journey into betrayal, justice, and the terrifying question: What happens when the murderer wears the uniform of trust?
👤 Narrated by Robin Coles
📅 New episodes: Monday, Wednesday & Friday
🎞️ Long-form historical crime compilations: Final Sunday of every month
📚 Related cases from the archive:
1874: Family Killings in Ripon | Ep210
https://youtu.be/pl8viuZayD4
1872: The Bermondsey Tragedy | Ep212
https://youtu.be/R5Xo4gsu4Ig
1872: The Murder at Great Coram Stree | Ep224
https://youtu.be/lXJWjOTjNM8
❤️ Support Independent History
If you enjoy our ad-free, archive-based storytelling, help us keep the lantern lit:
👉 **Patreon** – Full archive, early access, bonus compilations (and it keeps us independent):
https://www.patreon.com/NewsOfTheTimesHistoricalCrime
☕ Prefer a one-off thank-you? We LOVE a posh coffee ind
Hear about our ad-free archive on Patreon – 650+ episodes and counting! 🎩 https://www.patreon.com/c/NewsoftheTimesHistoricalCrime
Fancy a chuckle between corpses? Discover our first lovingly illustrated volume of wildly unreliable memoirs.
Grab it here: https://ko-fi.com/s/b406f6f11e
Support us on Patreon for ad-free early access and exclusive bonus episodes.
https://www.patreon.com/c/NewsoftheTimesHistoricalCrime
Thanks for listening! You can also connect with us on
Our YouTube Channel: | https://www.youtube.com/@newsofthetimes
Our Facebook Page: | https://www.facebook.com/News-of-the-Times-101108282697405
Have a question or comment? Get in touch with us at newsofthetimespodcast@gmail.com
If you would like to donate, we love coffee! Warmly appreciated :-) | https://www.buymeacoffee.com/newsofthetd
The Ardlamont Mystery: Murder, Money, and the Missing Man
News of the Times | Episode 579 | 1893
Scotland, 1893 — A young aristocrat lies dead on a hunting estate. His tutor claims it was a tragic accident. But as investigators dig deeper, a tangled web of insurance policies, disappearing witnesses, and suspicious identities begins to unravel.
🔍 Who was the enigmatic "Edward Scott"?
💼 Why was a life insurance policy taken out just days before the death?
🧠 And what did the famed Dr Joseph Bell — the real-life inspiration for Sherlock Holmes — conclude when he examined the evidence?
In this gripping tale of privilege, planning, and misdirection, we uncover the true story behind one of the most mysterious deaths of the Victorian age — and the courtroom drama that followed.
📜 Featuring:
Greedy tutors
Vanishing witnesses
An inheritance at stake
And the curious forensic mind of Dr Bell…
💀 Did justice prevail — or did a killer walk free?
🐇 Further Particulars: The Ghost Rabbit That Shoots Back
And finally — as a curious footnote to our tale of hunting and misadventure — we bring you a moonlit story from Cornwall involving a haunted churchyard, a full pub, and a white rabbit that absolutely refuses to be shot.
One poor soul tried.He lost.To a rabbit.
True story. Victorian weirdness at its finest.
🎩Hosted by Robin Coles
📅 New episodes: Monday, Wednesday & Friday
🎞️ Long-form historical crime compilations: Final Sunday of every month
📚 Related cases from the archive:
1896: The Murder of Emma Hunt: Cold Case or Victorian Injustice? | EP514
https://youtu.be/WHgRw1RSC9w
1893: The Inheritance Scandal of Lady Gooch: Fake Pregnancy, Stolen Baby, and a £3.8 Million Estate | EP533
https://youtu.be/t59vycUkFP0
❤️ Support Independent History
If you enjoy our ad-free, archive-based storytelling, help us keep the lantern lit:
👉 **Patreon** – Full archive, early access, bonus compilations (and it keeps us independent):
https://www.patreon.com/NewsOfTheTimesHistoricalCrime
☕ Prefer a one-off thank-you? We LOVE a posh coffee indulgence! We tip our top hats:
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/newsofthetd
🕯 About the Channel
We’re an independent team of historical researchers and narrators specialising in 18th to early 20th century British true crime
Hear about our ad-free archive on Patreon – 650+ episodes and counting! 🎩 https://www.patreon.com/c/NewsoftheTimesHistoricalCrime
Fancy a chuckle between corpses? Discover our first lovingly illustrated volume of wildly unreliable memoirs.
Grab it here: https://ko-fi.com/s/b406f6f11e
Support us on Patreon for ad-free early access and exclusive bonus episodes.
https://www.patreon.com/c/NewsoftheTimesHistoricalCrime
Thanks for listening! You can also connect with us on
Our YouTube Channel: | https://www.youtube.com/@newsofthetimes
Our Facebook Page: | https://www.facebook.com/News-of-the-Times-101108282697405
Have a question or comment? Get in touch with us at newsofthetimespodcast@gmail.com
If you would like to donate, we love coffee! Warmly appreciated :-) | https://www.buymeacoffee.com/newsofthetd
Spectral Evidence: The Chilling Case of Anne Walker’s Ghost | A Notorious November Episode
News of the Times | Episode 579 | 1631
In 1630s County Durham, the dead didn’t just whisper… they testified.
This is the gothic true crime story of Anne Walker — a young servant girl who vanished, only for her ghost to return, describe her murder, name her killers, and send shockwaves through a superstitious society. Incredibly, the courts listened. And a conviction followed.
In an era before fingerprints or forensics, “spectral evidence” was taken seriously — and in this case, it led to the gallows. Was it justice? Superstition? Or something stranger still?
Join us as we uncover a forgotten case where the veil between life and death thinned just enough… for a voice to cross it.
🕯️ Part of our Notorious November series exploring infamous, eerie, and unjust cases from the past.
👻 Further Particulars:
If you think a ghost naming her killer is the strangest thing you’ll hear today, wait until a reaper with a sickle meets a Welsh clergyman, a vanishing horseman, and a suspiciously well-timed “Amen.”
There’s divine intervention, roadside skulduggery, and possibly the politest haunting on ecclesiastical record. The Lord moves in mysterious ways. So, it seems, do mysterious men on white horses.
📌 Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and share with someone who still refuses to close their cupboard door at night.
Unlock full access to our ad-free archive — hundreds of historical true crime cases from Georgian jealousy to Edwardian scandal — for just £5/month:
👉 newsofthetimeshistoricalcrime@Patreon.com
👤 Hosted by Robin Coles
📅 New episodes: Monday, Wednesday & Friday
🎞️ Long-form historical crime compilations: Final Sunday of every month
❤️ Support Independent History
If you enjoy our ad-free, archive-based storytelling, help us keep the lantern lit:
👉 **Patreon** – Full archive, early access, bonus compilations (and it keeps us independent):
https://www.patreon.com/NewsOfTheTimesHistoricalCrime
☕ Prefer a one-off thank-you? We LOVE a posh coffee indulgence! We tip our top hats:
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/newsofthetd
🕯 About the Channel
We’re an independent team of historical researchers and narrators specialising in 18th to early 20th century British true crime. Each episode is based entirely on archival material — from coroners’ inquests to forgotten newspaper columns.
Hear about our ad-free archive on Patreon – 650+ episodes and counting! 🎩 https://www.patreon.com/c/NewsoftheTimesHistoricalCrime
Fancy a chuckle between corpses? Discover our first lovingly illustrated volume of wildly unreliable memoirs.
Grab it here: https://ko-fi.com/s/b406f6f11e
Support us on Patreon for ad-free early access and exclusive bonus episodes.
https://www.patreon.com/c/NewsoftheTimesHistoricalCrime
Thanks for listening! You can also connect with us on
Our YouTube Channel: | https://www.youtube.com/@newsofthetimes
Our Facebook Page: | https://www.facebook.com/News-of-the-Times-101108282697405
Have a question or comment? Get in touch with us at newsofthetimespodcast@gmail.com
If you would like to donate, we love coffee! Warmly appreciated :-) | https://www.buymeacoffee.com/newsofthetd