Sarah Richens – drowning fatality – Radnor Street Cemetery

The body of an elderly woman was pulled out of Park Pond in November 1899. Discovered by Joseph Pinnegar she was later identified as Sarah Richens, aged 74, the wife of Joseph Richens of Tuck’s Cottages, Devizes Road,* Swindon.

At the subsequent inquest her financial sitation was examined in great detail to ascertain whether her death was an accident or something more sinister. It was revealed that Sarah and her husband survived on approximately 7s a week and that Sarah was known to beg for pennies in the street.

The jury returned a verdict of “Suicide from drowning, while temporarily insane.”

The Drowning Fatality at Old Swindon

Inquest and Verdict

As has already been announced in our columns, the woman whose dead body was taken out of the Park Pond, Swindon, last Friday, was afterwards identified as being that of Sarah Richens, wife of Joseph Richens, of Tuck’s Cottages, Devizes Road, Swindon. She was 74 years of age.

The inquest on the body was held at the Frome Hotel, Hythe Road, on Saturday, at 4.30 p.m., and a jury of whom Mr. T.P. Goodman was chosen foreman. The jury had some distance to walk to view the body – to the mortuary in the cemetery.

Returning to the Frome Hotel, the following evidence was taken:-

Joseph Richens, son of deceased, said he resided at home with his mother and father. Witness was employed at the VWH Repository, and helped to maintain his mother. Asked if he had ever heard her express a wish to destroy herself, witness said she had done so twice to his knowledge. There was nothing unusual about her behaviour when he left home to go to his work on Friday morning at half past eight. She was not at home when he returned to dinner, but he did not take any notice of it, because she often went round to her brother’s, Mr Thomas Wheeler’s, in Prospect.

The Coroner: Was she in receipt of parish relief?

Witness: Yes, sir, 3s. per week, and I had to pay 1s. a week.

The Coroner: What wages do you receive?

Witness: I get 15s. a week, sir.

The Coroner: And you help to maintain your mother out of that?

Witness: Yes.

The Coroner: Her brother is Mr. Thomas Wheeler, of this town, is he not? – Yes.

The Coroner: Has he assisted her?

Witness: No, not that I know of.

A Juryman: Does your father receive anything from the Hearts of Oak Benefit Society?

Witness: No, from the Foresters. He receives 3s. one week and 2s. another – 5s. a fortnight. Witness added that his father was almost an invalid. He had had rheumatic fever. He did not receive parish relief.

A Juryman said he must contradict the witness when he said that deceased’s brother never gave her any financial assistance, because he (the juryman) had seen Mr. Wheeler give her money.

Another Juryman asked the witness if he was aware that deceased begged coppers from persons passing her in the street. – The witness replied in the negative.

Joseph Pinniger, working foreman, in the employ of Mr. T.H. Deacon, at Park Farm, spoke of seeing the body in the water, and with assistance he got the woman out, but she was quite dead. This was before twelve o’clock on Friday. The woman could not have fallen into the water, as there was a rail fence around it, and she must have crept under the rail to get near the water. The pond was a rather deep one.

Dr. Carew Webb, assistant to Dr. J.C. Maclean, said he examined the body at the mortuary. There were no marks of violence, and death was evidently due to asphyxia, caused by drowning. Death had taken place within six hours previous to the time he saw her.

The jury returned a verdict of “Suicide from drowning, while temporarily insane.”

Extracts from The Swindon Advertiser, Friday, November 17, 1899.

Sarah Richens 65 years old of Tucks Cottages, Devizes Road was buried on November 14, 1899 in grave plot C691, a public grave, with four others.

Properties on Devizes Road pictured more recently. My thanks to local historian David Lewis who responded to my email.

‘I found “Tuck’s Cottages” in Devizes Road on the 1901 census – 16,15,14,13 – William Morris’s house, then The Fountain, Lewisdale, then Tuck’s Cottages. You will have to make up your own mind where exactly they are.’