A murder mystery dating back to 1879 has been finally resolved after a skull unearthed in BBC legend David Attenborough's garden was formally recognised as that of a woman murdered by her maid 132 years ago.
Julia Martha Thomas, a wealthy widow aged 55, was killed by her 29-year-old housekeeper Kate Webster very close to Park Road in well-to-do Richmond, but her head was never found.
The case became known as the 'Barnes Mystery', which gripped London at the time.
Webster, a convicted thief and fraudster, chopped up Thomas with an axe, boiled the remains and gave the dripping to local children to eat.
A box containing human flesh was found in the nearby River Thames days after the killing and one of the victim's feet was found on an allotment.
Webster was tried and executed, but the head was never found until it was unearthed in October by workmen building an extension at the home of Attenborough, the face of BBC natural history programmes for more than 50 years.
Thomas lived at almost exactly the same spot as the 85-year-old broadcaster, while the garden where the skull was found used to be the site of a pub said to be a favourite of the killer.
Alison Thompson, the west London coroner formerly identified the recovered skull as that Thomas. She recorded a verdict of unlawful killing and the cause of death as asphyxiation and head injury.
After reviewing records of the murder from the time of her death, along with census records and radiocarbon testing, the investigating officer was able to provide the coroner with compelling evidence that the skull was indeed Thomas's.
"This is a fascinating case and a good example of how good old-fashioned detective work, historical records and technological advances came together to solve the 'Barnes mystery'," said Richmond borough police commander Chief Superintendent Clive Chalk.
Barry Eva (Storyheart)
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Showing posts with label UK news. Show all posts
Showing posts with label UK news. Show all posts
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Friday, July 30, 2010
Camp Equality
Luxury car worth £1.2m clamped outside HarrodsA luxury car valued at £1.2m was clamped outside Harrods in central London after being illegally parked.
The Koenigsegg CCXR and a £350,000 Lamborghini Murcielago LP670-4 SuperVeloce were both clamped on the afternoon of 22 July.
Kensington and Chelsea Council said the light-blue vehicles were in serious contravention of parking rules.
The Knightsbridge store was bought by members of the Qatari royal family in April for £1.5bn.
It was bought by the Qatar Holding group, led by the Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabr Al-Thani, from Mohammed Al Fayed
Both the cars are very rare with the Swedish-made Koenigsegg being one of only six ever made.
'Effective deterrent'
A Harrods spokesman said: "Any matters relating to parking tickets and enforcement are strictly the domain of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea."
The council said £120 penalty charge notices were issued, but the cars were released for £70 each as the fines were paid within 14 days.
A spokesman said: "There is a greater shortage of parking space for residents in Kensington and Chelsea than practically anywhere else in the country.
"At the same time we have a huge number of visiting motorists attracted here by our fine shops, restaurants and other attractions.
"Our priority is our residents. To keep space available for them, we must deter visitors from taking up residents' bays and our experience is that clamping is simply the most effective deterrent."
Barry Eva (Storyheart)
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Wednesday, July 7, 2010
I know we've been around a long time but...
Humans' early arrival in Britain
Researchers have discovered stone tools in Norfolk, UK, that suggest that early humans arrived in Britain nearly a million years ago - or even earlier.
The find, published in the journal Nature, pushes back the arrival of the first humans in what is now the UK by several hundred thousand years.
Environmental data suggests that temperatures were relatively cool.
This raises the possibility that these early Britons may have been among the first humans to use fire to keep warm.
They may also have been some of the earliest humans to wear fur clothing.
The discoveries were made in Happisburgh, in the north of Norfolk. At the time there was a land bridge connecting what is now southern Britain with continental Europe.
There are no early human remains, but the researchers speculate that the most likely species was Homo antecessor, more commonly - and possibly appropriately - known as "Pioneer Man".
Remains of the species have been found in the Atapuerca region of northern Spain, and dated to 0.8-1.2 million years ago. So the species could well have been in Britain at around that time, according to Professor Chris Stringer of the Natural History Museum in London.
"If the climate was good and the land bridge was there, there's no real reason they couldn't have come (to Britain) as far back as 1.2 million years ago," he told BBC News.
Pioneer Man was much like our own species in that it walked upright, used tools and was a hunter gatherer.
But physically the species looked rather different. It had a smaller brain, strong brow ridges and big teeth, with some primitive features such as a flat face and no prominent chin on the lower jaw.
'Real pioneers'
The discovery raises many new questions, such as how these creatures dealt with the cold winters that existed at the time. Scientists have also speculated that they may have used shelters and clothing.
It also raises the possibility that Britain was the first place where fire was used in a controlled way for warmth.
"Although we don't have the evidence for fire or of clothing to get through the winters up here, I think they must have had some extra adaptations," said Professor Stringer.
"I think the evidence suggests that they were living at the edge of the inhabited world in a really challenging environment and indeed they were real pioneers living here in Britain, nearly a million years ago," he said.
"The discovery is immensely surprising because we are dealing with an incredibly early date," Dr Ashton said.
He added that the environmental data that indicated the relatively low tempertures was "even more surprising".
"It's unusual to find humans in such a cool climate this far north at this very early date," he said.
This area of Norfolk was quite a different place one million years ago.
"The [River] Thames was flowing through this area. And at the site we have sediments laid down by the Thames," he explained.
Pioneer man was eventually wiped out by an Ice Age. These occurred about every 100,000 years, and each time that happened Britain was depopulated.
As conditions became more benign, a new group of humans arrived.
There were at least eight different waves of people that came in and died out before the last wave, which is the one that survives today.
Barry Eva (Storyheart)
My Blogs:
Book Information and Things UK - Across the Pond
Book and a Chat Radio Show Guests - A Book and a Chat
Funny, Weird Or Just Interesting News From Around the World - Laugh I Thought My Trousers Would Never dry
Researchers have discovered stone tools in Norfolk, UK, that suggest that early humans arrived in Britain nearly a million years ago - or even earlier.
The find, published in the journal Nature, pushes back the arrival of the first humans in what is now the UK by several hundred thousand years.
Environmental data suggests that temperatures were relatively cool.
This raises the possibility that these early Britons may have been among the first humans to use fire to keep warm.
They may also have been some of the earliest humans to wear fur clothing.
The discoveries were made in Happisburgh, in the north of Norfolk. At the time there was a land bridge connecting what is now southern Britain with continental Europe.
There are no early human remains, but the researchers speculate that the most likely species was Homo antecessor, more commonly - and possibly appropriately - known as "Pioneer Man".
Remains of the species have been found in the Atapuerca region of northern Spain, and dated to 0.8-1.2 million years ago. So the species could well have been in Britain at around that time, according to Professor Chris Stringer of the Natural History Museum in London.
"If the climate was good and the land bridge was there, there's no real reason they couldn't have come (to Britain) as far back as 1.2 million years ago," he told BBC News.
Pioneer Man was much like our own species in that it walked upright, used tools and was a hunter gatherer.
But physically the species looked rather different. It had a smaller brain, strong brow ridges and big teeth, with some primitive features such as a flat face and no prominent chin on the lower jaw.
'Real pioneers'
The discovery raises many new questions, such as how these creatures dealt with the cold winters that existed at the time. Scientists have also speculated that they may have used shelters and clothing.
It also raises the possibility that Britain was the first place where fire was used in a controlled way for warmth.
"Although we don't have the evidence for fire or of clothing to get through the winters up here, I think they must have had some extra adaptations," said Professor Stringer.
"I think the evidence suggests that they were living at the edge of the inhabited world in a really challenging environment and indeed they were real pioneers living here in Britain, nearly a million years ago," he said.
"The discovery is immensely surprising because we are dealing with an incredibly early date," Dr Ashton said.
He added that the environmental data that indicated the relatively low tempertures was "even more surprising".
"It's unusual to find humans in such a cool climate this far north at this very early date," he said.
This area of Norfolk was quite a different place one million years ago.
"The [River] Thames was flowing through this area. And at the site we have sediments laid down by the Thames," he explained.
Pioneer man was eventually wiped out by an Ice Age. These occurred about every 100,000 years, and each time that happened Britain was depopulated.
As conditions became more benign, a new group of humans arrived.
There were at least eight different waves of people that came in and died out before the last wave, which is the one that survives today.
Barry Eva (Storyheart)
My Blogs:
Book Information and Things UK - Across the Pond
Book and a Chat Radio Show Guests - A Book and a Chat
Funny, Weird Or Just Interesting News From Around the World - Laugh I Thought My Trousers Would Never dry
Saturday, March 27, 2010
A Pub For One
Ever thought have owning your own island complete with a pub, just for yourself? Well a Swiss business man has gone one better than that.A Swiss businessman is thought to have paid about £2.5m for a small group of islands off the west coast of Scotland.
The deal includes the island of Sanda, which has its own pub but only one resident, as well as the neighboring Sheep Island and Glunimore Insland.
I must admit the "Island of Sanda" sounds very like the location where Thomas the Tank engine and his friends shunt their stuff, which is the "Island of Sodor". Perhaps he's going to turn it into a train theme island??
The three islands lie off the tip of the Mull of Kintyre, 13 miles south of Campbeltown.
The sale was confirmed by Dick Gannon, who had owned the three islands for the past 20 years with his wife Meg.
The buyer was named locally as Michi Meier, who is originally from Switzerland but now lives in Sweden.
Mr Gannon, 59, said: "The island is sold, close to the asking price, to a customer sent over by Hamburg-based selling agents Vladi Private islands, but I can't say any more about the sale than that.
"The new owner is taking over at the end of April. It's a bit of a mystery what he is going to do but I am hoping it will go on as it is now, as a business, as a tourist destination."
I think it is a bargain. Sanda is a beautiful island, you can farm there and you have also got six self catering cottages and an award winning pub
Dick Gannon
Previous owner
Sanda had been on sale since August 2008. It was originally priced at £3.2m but dropped to offers around £2.5m.
Mr Gannon said: "I think it is a bargain. Sanda is a beautiful island, you can farm there and you have also got six self catering cottages and an award winning pub."
Mrs Gannon has always lived at the family home in Campbeltown while her husband was the island's only listed resident.
Although they have three sons and a daughter, none of their family was interested in taking over Sanda.
Mr Gannon said: "20 years we have had Sanda and it's been the experience of a lifetime really but it's a bit like hiding away and I now want to visit a few places and do a few things. There is a life outside Sanda."
Mr Meier could not be contacted, but has been speaking to a number of business people in Kintyre about services for the island in recent weeks.
Terry Smith, who owns farm land at Southend, near the Mull of Kintyre - the nearest mainland point to the 314 acre isle of Sanda - said Mr Meier had visited him last week.
Tourism destination
He said it was his understanding the new owner intended to run Sanda for his family's private use.
Kintyre Councillor Donald Kelly said: "I would sincerely hope that Sanda will stay as a tourism venue and that the community will be able to work constructively with the new owner to the benefit of Kintyre."
Sanda was home to only a few derelict buildings when the Gannons bought the three-isle chain for £250,000 in 1990.
Mr Gannon spent years building the island into a unique tourism destination, renovating the buildings into the award winning Byron Darnton tavern and six self catering cottages.
The Gannons, who marketed Sanda as "a piece of paradise", are selling up because of their decision to separate.
The island's 350 breeding ewes are included in the sale, along with chickens which produce free range eggs and enjoy such a good reputation that customers, including Princess Anne, have sailed in specially to buy them.
The other two islands in the chain are uninhabited apart from a flock of 60 Soay sheep on Sheep Island.
Barry Eva (Storyheart)
My Blogs:
Book Information and Things UK - Across the Pond
Book and a Chat Radio Show Guests - A Book and a Chat
Funny, Weird Or Just Interesting News From Around the World - Laugh I Thought My Trousers Would Never dry
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