The Death of Elias Armitage - Canal Basin Sheffield March 1908
Sheffield Canal Basin, now known as Victoria Quays, is at the head of the Sheffield and Tinsley Canal, close to Sheffield City Centre. The basin dates from 1814, when the canal opened to connect with the River Don Navigation, allowing canal boats to reach the heart of Sheffield for the first time. The basin was a busy, thriving trans-hipment point for many years, but trade declined as more goods were moved by rail and later by road. By the 1970s, it had declined into a forlorn and unwelcoming state, with the warehouses becoming dilapidated.
Sheffield Canal Basin
The first report appeared in Sheffield Daily
Telegraph dated Monday 06 April 1908
BODY RECOVERED FROM' CANAL Sheffield Canal yesterday yielded up the body of man. Between six and seven in the morning the body was observed
on the surface of the water. It. was removed, and subsequently conveyed to the mortuary. Later in' the day the remains were identified
as those of Elias Armitage, 19 years age. and a resident at 65, Jericho Street. Deceased had been missing a fortnight.
The following day this report appeared in both the Sheffield Evening Telegraph and the Sheffield Daily Telegraph-dated Tuesday 07 April 1908
Jericho Street Sheffield circa 1939
The inquest that was held on Monday 06 April 1908 was a strange one inasmuch as the Coroner directed the jury NOT to return a verdict of suicide on the grounds that there was insufficient evidence to prove that this was the case. He then goes on to say that the case points strongly to the fact that the victim did commit suicide and he had "no doubt that Armitage did commit suicide." If that was his strong belief why did he not convey this to the jury? But he the goes on to say that it was possible for Armitage to have fallen into the canal unintentionally. The jury must have been by this time been totally confused by the Coroner's musings and returned an open verdict. This was of course the correct verdict as no one could say for certain what caused Elias's death.
Elias was laid to rest in Stannington Churchyard
Notes
Name: Elias Armitage
Age: 17 Estimated Birth Year: abt 1891
Registration Quarter: Apr-May-Jun
Death Registration Place: Sheffield, Yorkshire West Riding, United Kingdom
Death Date: Jun 1908 Inferred Death Place: Yorkshire West Riding, United Kingdom
Volume: 9c Page: 287
Sources
Sheffield Evening Telegraph and the Sheffield Daily Telegraph -dated Tuesday 07 April 1908
Sheffield Daily Telegraph dated Monday 06 April 1908
Sheffield Indexers
Ancestry
This page was last updated on 03/02/26 09:01