A 'dangerous' walk
A mysterious 18th century murder
You never know when you’re going to come across an historical murder, and when I was staying overnight at the Devil’s Punchbowl Hotel, in Hindhead near Haslemere, after dinner with friends, I should have suspected by the rather strange name that this visit would become quite macabre. The following morning, under a grey, overcast sky, we decided to take a brisk walk in the local country park before heading home. Despite the gloomy weather, the experience soon brightened up when I inadvertently stumbled across (not literally) a mysterious murder.
The Devil’s Punch Bowl is a large hollow in the earth, near Hindhead in Surrey, that looks like a meteor crater or a natural amphitheatre. According to local legend, the devil lived at Devil’s Jumps, which is three miles away near the village of Churt. The story ran that he tormented Thor, the god of thunder, who resided in nearby Thursley, by leaping from hill to hill. In an attempt to stop the devil, Thor sent thunder and lightning to strike him, and the devil retaliated by scooping up handfuls of earth and throwing it back at the god. This left a depression in the earth known as the Devil’s Punch Bowl. A different myth suggests that the devil became so angry about churches being built in the area that he dug a channel to flood it, which resulted in huge mounds of excavated earth.
A surprising discovery
Dodging the puddles from a night of heavy rain, I made my way in my sparkly pumps (I had no other footwear with me) along the sandy path and suddenly came across what looked like a solitary gravestone, overlooking a stunning panoramic view of the local countryside. Known as the Sailor’s Stone, this marks the spot of a violent crime which took place over 200 years ago.
On 24 September 1786, a sailor was travelling along the old road from London to Portsmouth, when he stopped at the Red Lion at Thursley. He was in the company of three men whom he had met at a previous inn. Flush from his recent sea journey, he bought them all several rounds of drinks. After more ale, the group set out once again on the road. On reaching a secluded spot, the sailor’s companions suddenly knocked him to the ground, stripped him of his clothes and money, and slit his throat with knives, almost severing his head. They then threw his body over the side of the Devil’s Punch Bowl.
After their terrible act, the trio set off in the direction of Liphook, unaware that they had been spotted; two customers from the Red Lion had seen them disposing of the sailor’s body. When the coast was clear, the two spectators went to the spot and, when they discovered the sailor’s body, they raised the alarm. The assailants were arrested at the Sun Inn, Rake near Petersfield by a soldier who had overheard them discussing the murder in the bar. Michael Casey, 42, Edward Lonegon, 26 (also written as ‘Lanigon’), 24, and James Marshall, 24 were taken to Haslemere in a longcart where they were questioned by Justice of the Peace Reverend James Fielding. They were then conveyed to Guildford Gaol on the charges of wilful murder of a person unknown and the theft of £1 7s 6 d.
On 5 April 1787, the men were tried at Kingston Assizes for the murder of the unknown sailor, and the theft of his clothing, including two jackets, a pair of blue trousers, two chequered shirts, chequered and black silk handkerchiefs and an oilskin hat, a blue waistcoat and a pair of buckles. All three were found guilty and sentenced to death.
A gruesome sight
A nine-metre-high gibbet was set up in Hindhead Commons, near the spot where the sailor was killed and the hanging was carried out two days later. Once they were dead, the felons were cut down and placed in irons, adjusted by a blacksmith, ironically at the Red Lion Inn, and soaked in tar. They were then fixed to the post and left to swing in chains as a warning to other highwaymen and would-be criminals. The site became known as Gibbet Hill and was painted by J M W Turner in 1807 (see featured image). The gibbet remained in place until 1827.
Soon after the murder, a memorial stone was placed near the scene. Originally known as the Murderers’ Stone, it was later renamed the Sailor’s Stone to commemorate the life of the unknown victim. In 1826, the Turnpike Trust moved the stone to the side of a new road but it was reinstated to its former position shortly after, following a local dispute. At this time, a curse was inscribed on the stone to prevent further removals and, when in 1932 the stone was transferred to its current site, the curse appears to have come true, as one of the men who moved the stone suffered serious injuries and another died suddenly.
The unknown sailor was buried in the churchyard at St Michael and All Angels, Thursley. His inscription reads:
When pitying Eyes to see my Grave shall come,
And with a generous Tear below my Tomb,
Here shall they read my melancholy Fate,
With Murder and Barbarity complete,
In perfect Health, and in the Flow’r of Age,
I fell Victim to three Ruffians’ Rage;
On bended Knees I mercy strove t’obtain,
Their Thirst of Blood made all Entreaties vain
No dear Relation; or still dearer Friend,
Weeps my Hard Lot, or Miserable End
Yet o’er my sad Remains (my Name unknown)
The sailor remembered
The impact of this brutal murder lingered in the place where the unknown sailor met his fate long after the event, and stories of hauntings were shared by local residents who lived in fear of ghostly sightings near the crime scene. In 1851, a granite Celtic cross was erected near the gibbet site to dispel the rumours and restore the confidence of the local people. I walked up to the gibbet site and the Celtic cross stands at the top of the hill with the Latin inscription:
Light after darkness
Peace in passing away
Hope in light
Salvation after death
It is a peaceful place despite its tragic and violent history. I was also interested to learn that this relatively unknown murder had inspired Charles Dickens. In Nicholas Nickleby, Nicholas stopped at the Sailor’s Stone with Smike on their way to Portsmouth:
The grass on which they stood, had once been dyed with gore; and the blood of the murdered man had run down, drop by drop, into the hollow which gives the place its name. “The Devil’s Bowl”, thought Nicholas, as he looked into the void, “never held fitter liquor than that!”
The Devil’s Punch Bowl and Hindhead Commons are maintained by the National Trust.
Great story Angela