Brawl On Botchergate - The Death Of Thomas Higgins

Plenty of fights have erupted over the years on Botchergate, Carlisle's drinking strip, but in August 1856, one fight resulted in the death of an innocent man. 

Find out what happened that fateful night, as we tek a deeks at the Brawl On Botchergate - The Death Of Thomas Higgins.

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Transcript

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Are read and welcome to Carlisle Times and Crimes, the Lyle podcast bringing you centuries of crack and scandal from the Great Border City. This month we gan for a Saturday night out on Botchergate. Botchergate is ancient. The Romans entered the South Gate of Luguvalium from this area. It's believed the name comes from a twelfth century Flemish settler known as Botchard, who owned the land in the area in the reign of Henry I. It's likely he also gave his name to Botobi. Over the centuries, the thoroughfare continued to lead to the southern gate of Carl's medieval city walls, and due to this the street has long hosted pubs, inns, hostelries, taverns, and dive bars for those travellers who were too late to enter the city gates at night. By the 19th century, as the walls came down and industrialization cranked up, Bottergate was home to thousands of the city's poor and working class, crammed into the side streets, lanes, courtyards, and above premises. The street has long been a centre for drinking and still is today. Some of you might remember Boris Johnson's remarks after his visit to Bochegate in 2005, which probably wouldn't sound too out of place two hundred years ago. Stranded in Carlisle one Friday night, Boris retreated to a quiet corner of a Bochegate pub to read a book, but still managed to cause an argument between a couple. The female wanted to speak to Bojo, while her partner made his thoughts clear about the Tory. Don't speak to him, he's a snob, was the quote Johnson recounted. At this point the former PM escaped onto the street, which he described as Jackson Pollocked with the result of eating a kebab on top of eight pints of lager, with the natives in a state of pagan semi nudity. Faces leered and weaved towards me, pale and waxy with grink, and everybody seemed to be hurling strange oaths and invitations, and since I could find nowhere to sit and read my book, I fled to the railway station and sat shivering on the platform until the night train arrived. Boris should count himself lucky he lived to tell the tale, because not everyone survives a riotous night on Portugalate, even those who have done nothing wrong. As some of you might know only too well, it can be easy for an innocent victim to suffer by the drunken actions of others. In nineteenth century Carlisle, the word Fratch would have been used, F-R-A-T-C-H, whereas today we'd say pager P A G G E R. In plain language, simply a fight. It's a story that resonates with me as I spent eight years working in pubs on Botchergate, firstly at the Cumberland Inn, and then the Border Rambler. Trust me, I have seen these types of situations up close. Everything from cat fights to football hooliganism. As my grandma used to say, drinking, wits out. So join me as we take a deeks at the brawl on Bochegate, the death of Thomas Higgins. On the night of Saturday the 2nd of August, 1856, Bochegate was its usual centre of retail and rowdiness. People had been out and about, visiting the many pubs and beer houses on the main streets, as well as side streets and lanes all the way down the strip. Shops were allowed late night opening, and there must have been a buzz of activity, sober or not, in the streets on those weekend evenings. Twenty-one year old labourer, Patrick Higgins, lived in Hound and Hare Lane, which stretched back from the Bochegate pub of the same name. That building would later become the Krusty Cobbler next to the Cumberland Inn. Patrick was born in Ireland, and five years prior on the 1851 census, he was living with his family in Silk Street in the Ancourt area of Manchester. It's one of the strangest census pages I've ever seen, the sheet appearing to be half bloodstained, but apparently the documents were flood damaged. Patrick was out for a few beers after work, meeting up with Francis Steele around four o'clock in the afternoon. The porter and ale were flowing, and it could be said that Patrick was worse for wear by the end of the night. It was going on for two AM when Francis headed home, and Patrick walked him down Botregate. Well, at least until Patrick stopped to talk to Alas. He presumed Steele had ventured on ahead without him, and so he headed back up the slight incline towards home. Patrick walked in the middle of the carriageway, and as he approached Crown Street on his left, he could see a group of four men also in the carriageway walking towards him in a line. They would inevitably meet before he reached Tate Street on the right hand side. Higgins thought the men were holding hands or linking arms as they walked so tightly together, and perhaps in an act of alcohol fuelled arrogance, presumed the men would open up to allow him to walk through. After all, he recognized their faces from the pubs of Bochigate, but without knowing their names. When the gun refused to open up and let him pass, Patrick conceded and attempted to walk round the right hand side of them instead. As he passed, Patrick received an elbow to his body, which turned him round. Mind what you dein, Patrick told them, to which one man snapped back that Patrick should go on his way or he would stick the boots into him. Patrick laughed off the fret, saying that he wasn't even sure if the man would be able to back up that kind of talk. Coats and caps were removed, sleeves were rolled up, and the two men began to tussle, wrestling each other before punches were thrown. The other men soon joined in, though, and Patrick felt multiple kicks and blows raining down on him until he found himself backed up against a wall. One of the gang grabbed their cornered victim by the throat, squeezing Patrick's neck with his thumb and finger. Eventually, poor Patrick slumped to the ground as he tried to shield himself from the incessant blows. By this time, the fight had reached the end of William Street, where Cumberland Council Headquarters, Cumbria House, stands now, and a crowd of people were gathered watching Patrick take a beating from the men. It was all that Patrick could do but to shout Murder, Murder, repeatedly in the hope that someone would come to his rescue. Finally, someone would save him. Patrick's father, sixty-year-old Thomas Higgins, was a stickmaker and lived on East Street off Bochegate, which stood where Walkabout or Uluru is at the back of the Rambler now, and he joined Patrick and Francis for an ale earlier in the evening. As he and his wife, Watherin, were heading to bed, they were told of what was happening further down the street. Thomas and Catherine immediately ran out of the house to break the fight. When they arrived at the scene, Patrick was on the ground, with one, two, three men punching and kicking him, it's hard to know. For God's sake, don't murder my son, the father cried to the men. What happened next isn't clear, but Thomas and potentially Catherine too, were attacked by at least one of the assailants. Patrick lying on the ground close by, still being kicked relentlessly. Within seconds, Thomas was unconscious on the pavement. The gang of men, realizing that this had all gotten pretty out of hand, dispersed, scattering into the night. People rushed to Thomas's aid, propping him up against a wall. A bloody and bruised Patrick gradually got back to his feet, saw his father being attended to by a good Samaritan, and punched the poor man, presumably due to his adrenaline still running wild, thinking the friend was a foe. He then ran off in a futile chase of the perpetrators. Thomas Higgins was carried home and taken to bed to recover from his fall. Patrick came to check in on him soon after, and Thomas was sitting up in bed, although he did not speak. However, in the following hours it became apparent that the injuries were more serious than first thought.

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Sabbage was called for, and after examining Thomas and asking the family questions about how he received the injuries, he realized how grave the situation was for Thomas. Sabage consulted Dr. Elliot, who was also the mayor of Carlisle at the time, and his surgeon brother, T. S. Elliot, who quickly arrived around a quarter to eleven that morning to provide treatment to Thomas. The doctors believed Thomas was suffering from pressure on the brain. His head was shaved, cold wet cloths were applied. Leeches, calomel, and croton oil were also used as treatments. It was all in vain. Thomas Higgins died at four o'clock in the afternoon of Sunday the third of August 1856. The Gan had already been arrested by the time Thomas died. On Monday, August 4th, 18 year old Hugh Ray, 23 year old Thomas Feach, Samuel Beggs 26, and James Tinnock 22 appeared before the bench at the town hall, but they were bailed until a postmortem had been performed. Ray, Feach and Beggs were all living in Carlisle and works for the Glasgow and South Western Railway Company. Tinnock was a bleacher from Ayrshire, Scotland, and had only arrived into the city by train that night. The railway men had just finished their shifts at ten minutes to midnight. Later on the afternoon of the 4th of August, an inquest was held at the Albert Hotel, which is now Pizza Time Takeaway next to the Lloyd's pub. The accused men did not appear. The jury walked across to East Street to view the body of the deceased, and then returned to the hotel where the first witness was called. Patrick Higgins was the first to give evidence, and told his story of walking Francis Steele so far down Bochegate, and then seeing the group as he made his way back up the street. They would not part for him, and words were exchanged and the fight began. Patrick recounted the beating and how he had shouted murder when moments later his father arrived. As one man continued kicking him, Patrick said he saw three or four men near his father. He saw a hand raised and strike his father, causing Thomas to fall backwards. Patrick heard the sound of his dad hitting the paving flags, although he wasn't sure if it was his head or body that made the sickening thud upon contact with the cold hard ground. Patrick eventually got to his feet and ran down Butcher Gate looking for the assailants, claiming the landlady of the Queen Pub on London Road had taken them in and locked the door. Bystanders had taken Thomas home, and Patrick later went to see him before going home himself. Other witnesses were called. James Burns, William Street, had witnessed the fight begin as he made his way home. He saw Thomas head into a cluster of men and saw a hand come out of the melee and push Thomas away. Burns insisted it was a sharp push rather than a blow, but he saw Thomas fall backwards and hit his head on the pavement. Burns, along with a policeman, had attended Thomas and believed the poor man lay for two minutes without sign of life. A woman fetched some water, which Burns put on Thomas's brow and then helped him home. Once there, Burns said that he saw Thomas vomit some blood, with Burns afterwards lifting a glass of water to Thomas's lips for him to drink, but the teeth were clenched tightly together and the water dribbled down his chin and chest. John Pattinson, Union Street, today called Rydal Street, stated that he saw Patrick fighting and then jumping on top of a man before the others kicked him in the face. Pattinson said that when Thomas intervened, a fist struck him in the face, albeit not severely. However, Pattinson believed it it wasn't the blow to the face that felled the father, but when another man kicked Thomas's legs from under him. That was what caused old man Higgins to fall backwards and hit his head. Another resident of Union Street, William Dixon, offered a different perspective. He told the inquest that he saw Patrick walk right through the middle of the gan and then turn round and use a nasty expression towards the men, which instigated the fight. Patrick hit the man while the stranger had only half taken his jacket off. Dixon said that two women joined the brawl alongside Thomas, until a man stood holding a tin, a basket and a jacket, grabbed Thomas by the hair and pulled him over backwards. The coroner was befuddled by the varying evidence. A shove, a punch, a kick, all were blamed by different witnesses. Recollections may vary, a famous family once said. James Burough, Millbourne Street, said he was about to help break up the fight when Thomas arrived. The man holding the basket had kicked Patrick in the side two or three times, stopping only to strike Thomas in the face, forcing him backwards onto the paving flags. Burough said he was standing right next to Thomas when he fell and saw no other blows to the deceased. He believed Catherine was trying to stop Patrick from fighting rather than joining in on the rampage. By most accounts, a man holding a basket was judged to have been the one to have made contact with Thomas, but such contradictory evidence was given that the coroner adjourned until further witnesses had been found, and the postmortem had been completed. On Friday, the 8th of August, the inquest resumed with evidence from Surgeon T. S. Elliott. The postmortem showed that Higgins had three small abrasions on the left temple and four on the back of the head. His entire right arm was badly swollen and discoloured. A very dark bruise, described as quote, mashed like blackcurrant jelly, was found under the skin on his right temple, and upon inspection, half a gill of clotted blood was found once the skull cap was removed, with more clotted blood on the upper and back part of the head. Elliot deduced a punch was unlikely to have caused the right temple clot. It was more likely a kick with clogs or a blow with a heavy stick or other implement. There was no doubt death was caused by quote the pressure of the large clot of blood found between the Judameter and Skull that was the result of great violence inflicted upon the temple. Richard Morris, French polisher, lived at William Street and had heard the commotion and left his house to see what the crack was. There were four men on the ground, including Thomas, and fists and boots were flying everywhere, he said. He knew all the men involved by sight, except a male who had misses Higgins against a wall, and was striking her unmercifully with both hands. This male then lunged for Thomas with his arm raised in the air. Morris had attended to Thomas as well as he lay on the ground after falling backwards, and after the men had run away, had been punched by Patrick Higgins as Morris held Thomas' head. Morris confirmed that the man who struck Thomas wasn't holding a basket, or tin, or anything, but that he did observe a basket by the wayside. The scrap had lasted for twenty minutes, Morris said, and he believed a lack of police in the area was to blame for the death as equally as the one who struck the blow. James Norman said he saw Thomas kick one of the men on the ground, who grabbed his foot mid kick, causing him to fall backwards. This was yet another new angle of how Thomas fell. Peter McNichol, lodging at the Queen Inn, was standing at the door of the premises when Thomas Veach came by and told him that a man had attacked him. About three minutes later, a male in white appeared and punched Veach. Testimony was given relating to the father-son relationship and of Thomas's health and sobriety that night. By all accounts he was sober, having only shared a quarter veil that Patrick had bought for Thomas and Francis. Thomas had purchased a carry out of ale around 1 a.m. and was described as perfectly healthy and sober then. The inquest jury admitted that they were rather confused at the evidence given. The case was adjourned until Thursday, the 14th of August, to provide the deceased's wife, Catherine Higgins, time to recuperate before testifying. At the hearing, the accused men were present and were positively identified by Richard Morris. Catherine Higgins said they were just going to bed when the commotion started. She saw a big man pull her husband by the hair and knock him down, and then a smaller man with a basket hit him and continued kicking him on the ground. Thomas was kicked all over, she said. Sergeant Barfar had arrested the men before Higgins had died, and all had Admitted being there. Beggs had a black eye and scratched lip, and Veach's mouth and lips were swollen. Beggs stated that he and Tinnock fled down Crown Street after the scrap. Witnesses were recalled to identify the men. John Pattinson believed Hugh Ray was the man who struck the blow, and William Dixon also identified Ray as the man who he thought drove Thomas over. The accused men did not speak. After thirty-five minutes, the jury delivered a verdict of manslaughter against Patrick Higgins, Thomas Veach, Hugh Ray, Samuel Beggs, and James Tinnock. The five prisoners were taken to jail to await trial. On the 22nd of August, Vech, Beggs, Ray, and Tinnock were granted bail. On Wednesday, the 25th of February 1857, witnesses were recalled for the trial. In the opening statements made in court, it was pointed out that due to the time of night and confusion, there would be discrepancies in the testimonies given. Of course, the modern day observer should also remember the low quality of streetlights in 1850s Carlisle. The statement also painted the railway lads as respectable citizens of Carlisle who would try to shoe an aggressive Patrick Higgins away before being forced into retaliation. Bridget Higgins, Patrick's sister, said they were all going to bed when the alarm was raised. Thomas and Catherine rushed to the scene, but by the time Bridget was ready to join them, she encountered her father, insensible, being helped home by two men. Once again, William Dixon insisted that Patrick Higgins had repeatedly provoked the men and instigated the fight. Hugh Ray was identified as the man carrying the basket, who most had stated had been the man to make most contact with Thomas Higgins. It was also agreed that Veach had run away from the fight before the incident with Thomas Higgins happened. Ray and Beggs were the main culprits. But there was no evidence as to who had delivered the final kick on the ground, or blow with an object. Ray had been seen punching Thomas in the face, but again the doctors testified that such a blow could not have caused the damage to the temple, only a kick from a clog or a stick. His lordship attempted to sum up the case before the jury. The case against Thomas Veach had been disproven. As to Patrick Higgins, the judge could not fathom why he had been placed in the dock at all. He might have been indicted for riot, but there was no evidence to convict him of the manslaughter of his own father. His opinion was there was no evidence to convict, and therefore the men must all be acquitted. The jury immediately delivered a verdict of not guilty against all the prisoners. The judge told Patrick Higgins, quote, that he was sorry that he had not been indicted for a riot, as he was a great deal the most to blame in the transaction. All five prisoners were released. There would be no justice for Thomas Higgins. A father killed trying to stop a fight that his son likely started. In our previous cases, we've seen guilty verdicts delivered, but with differing results. In the case of Thomas Higgins, everyone involved walked free from court that February afternoon. Hopefully, all of them would learn a lesson about how a frackar can turn fatal, especially Patrick Higgins. He did not. In September 1860, four years after his father's death, Patrick Higgins appeared at the petty sessions held at the town hall, charged with being drunk and disorderly, and assaulting a police officer. The Carlisle Journal confirmed Higgins had been part of the fatal incident on Butchergate some years earlier. His old pal, Francis Steele, appeared alongside him, as did his brother-in-law, William Duffy, both charged with drunkenness and obstructing an officer. The jovial butcher stood next to where the Rambler is now, probably at the end of East Street, and Higgins was enjoying a rowdy Saturday night with a large group of men. The landlady wanted the drunken Higgins out. He'd had enough, and she sent her wee girl to request help from the police. PC Thornfright and PC Cale arrived at the pub to eject him. But once outside, Higgins met Francis Steele, and when he attempted to re-enter the pub alongside Steele, Higgins was arrested. A crowd of a couple of hundred people quickly gathered to watch the entertainment, with Steele, Duffy, and Duffy's wife, who turned out to be none other than Patrick's sister Bridget, jostling with the boys in blue. As PC Cale was placing the twitches, an early form of handcuffs on Higgins, Steele and Duffy took an arm of PC Thornfwaite while Bridget climbed on top of Cale to grab his head and hair, and as he fell, Higgins snatched his baton and struck him several times over the head before running off. PC Cale went up the lane towards where Higgins lived. Out of the darkness, Patrick pounced with a poker. I'll knock your bloody brains out, he threatened as he swung the poker at the copper. He missed, narrowly, with the poker embedded two inches into the wall with the force. The policeman quickly escaped, waiting until four AM when they returned with backup. Higgins jumped from his bed with the poker in hand, but was overpowered and arrested. While he did ask questions of the policeman in the witness stand, Higgins offered no defence to the magistrate and expressed his sorrow at his behaviour. This was not the first time Higgins had appeared charged with drunkenness, the judge said. He was fined twenty shillings. The judge remarked to Higgins that it was a great pity to see such a healthy looking man in that position in regard to his drinking. Steele was fined ten shillings, and William Duffy was able to prove that he wasn't drunk and was dismissed. The judge believed that his bridget should have been in the dock instead. Six months later, Patrick was again in court, charged with drunkenness and assaulting his wife and child. Returning home intoxicated, Higgins pulled his child out of bed, gave his wife two black eyes, and strangled her. The Carlisle Journal described him as a powerfully made labourer. Higgins was sent to jail for three months, but not before he cursed his wife from the dock. You deserve far more than you've got, the wife bit back, who then asked the court to be at liberty from him by a separation order. Well, you will be for three months now, the clerk quipped to her. It seems Patrick Higgins' booze fueled temper caught up with him five years later. By this time Higgins was apparently living in Newcastle, and had come through on the train on Monday the first of october eighteen sixty six. His reputation still lingered though, and when Higgins interfered in an argument on Crown Street involving Charles Ravey, old scores were settled. Charles' brother and their father, both called Edward, joined in, with the elder Edward kicking Higgins in the head, causing serious injuries. When the policeman broke the fight up, Patrick lay unconscious in a pool of his own blood. Higgins was carried into the Northumberland Arms, where he remained for some days recovering. Both the Carlisle Journal and Carlisle Patriot made comments on the reputation of Higgins. Not the choicest of characters, and notorious in the district, were the phrases used to describe Patrick Higgins. The Ravey family, who also lived on East Street, appeared at the town hall on Wednesday, the 3rd of October, charged with the disturbance and also the assault on Higgins. On that charge, a remand was requested until Higgins was fit to appear, but with no evidence presented, the ravies walked free. There are no further mentions of this case that I could find. After this, it is hard to pinpoint Patrick Higgins in the records. I have investigated a few leads and have been able to eliminate some, but nothing concrete. On the 1861 census, his mother, Catherine, and younger sister Mary Ann are still living on East Street, next door to William and Bridget Duffy. With Patrick being described as a large, powerful man, he could be the Patrick Higgins, railway labourer, boarding at Kirkandrews Moat near London. Age and location of birth both match, although Ireland is rather vague, admittedly. As we know from the report, Higgins was living in Newcastle in 1866 when he was left in a pool of his own blood by the ravies. There are reports of a labourer named Patrick Higgins being charged with drunkenness from the late 1860s to the 1880s. While I was able to eliminate some potential candidates from the Northeast, the information is too vague to be certain. We still don't know exactly what happened that fearful moment Thomas Higgins intervened in a fight. Whether it was a punch, a shove, a push, a kick, a trip, a fall, it's all irrelevant now. What we do know is that Thomas's death was down to the actions of others. And without that spark that ignites the fight, Thomas would have made it into bed next to his wife and rested easy that night. Instead, Thomas Higgins rests eternally.com slash Carlisle Times Crimes. It's ko.com slash Carlisle Times Crimes. Thanks for listening. Take care, and I'll see you again next time.