The Tragic Death of Harriet Rollinson - Walkley Sheffield September 1874
The following report appeared in the press regarding the death of a lady called Rollinson in the Walkley district of Sheffield
But when I located the report of the subsequent inquest most of the facts in the report were erroneous
The Sheffield Daily Independent dated 1st October 1874 carried this report of the inquest that was held the previous day 30th September 1874. The victim was Harriet Rollinson and she was 32 years of age and not 34. The well was in Cundy Street and not Hadfield Street, and the boards over the well gave way rather than Harriet looking into the well and falling in
Of course the other point of note was the deplorable condition of the well and the filthy condition of the drinking water in the well. There was no mains water supply and so people had to rely on wells such as this for all their water needs. The well was in "a dangerous and filthy condition" and from the testimony this was a long-standing problem. The pistol shot was explained to the satisfaction of the coroner and it appears that it was fired after the woman had entered the well. I wonder if the canon was some form of warning device to alert locals to distress?
I believe that the inquest was held in what became the Royal Hotel on Cundy Street, Walkley - it is now a private dwelling
This page was last updated on 30/09/24 15:22