News of the Times - Unlocking the vaults of historical crime

• Two Killers, One Scaffold: The December Double Hanging of 1911

  Two Killers, One Scaffold: The December Double Hanging of 1911News of the Times | Episode 589 | 1911On a cold December morning in 1911, the bell at Strangeways Gaol tolled across Manchester.Inside, two very different men walked the same final corridor — strangers in life, now bound together by the narrow platform of a double scaffold. One was a jealous, violent husband; the other a quiet young labourer who claimed he never meant to kill. Their crimes were months apart, their tempers and histories worlds away — yet both met the same fate on a winter morning the city never forgot. In today’s episode, we trace the paths that brought them there. From the cramped terraces of Royton and the busy mills of Manchester, to the quiet footpaths of Plumpton Wood, we follow the investigations, witness accounts, court proceedings, and newspaper reports that shaped two capital convictions. This is the story of Two Killers, One Scaffold: The December Double Hanging of 1911. Manchester in 1911 was a city of contrasts — electric trams, cinemas and industry, but also long shifts, low pay, overcrowded homes and tempers stretched thin. Through these two tragedies we glimpse Edwardian life as it was lived by ordinary families: relentless labour, domestic pressures, and communities shocked by sudden violence. And in today’s Further Particulars: a festive tale from New York in 1921, where the Christmas shopping rush produced not just queues but an entire court-room of shoplifters — ages sixteen to eighty-two — all caught in the season’s light-fingered spirit. .  👤 Hosted by Robin Coles  📅 New episodes: Monday, Wednesday & Friday  🎞️ Long-form historical crime compilations: Final Sunday of every month  ❤️ Support Independent History  If you enjoy our ad-free, archive-based storytelling, help us keep the lantern lit:  👉 **Patreon** – Full archive, early access, bonus compilations (and it keeps us independent):  https://www.patreon.com/NewsOfTheTimesHistoricalCrime  ☕ Prefer a one-off thank-you? We LOVE a posh coffee indulgence! We tip our top hats:  https://www.buymeacoffee.com/newsofthetd🕯 About the Channel  We’re an independent team of historical researchers and narrators specialising in 18th to early 20th century British true crime. Each episode is based entirely on archival material — from coroners’ inquests to forgotten newspaper columns.  If you like your true crime thoughtful, atmospheric, and rooted in real records Hear about our ad-free archive on Patreon – 650+ episodes and counting! 🎩 https://www.patreon.com/c/NewsoftheTimesHistoricalCrime Fancy a chuckle between corpses? Discover our first lovingly illustrated volume of wildly unreliable memoirs. Grab it here: https://ko-fi.com/s/b406f6f11e Support us on Patreon for ad-free early access and exclusive bonus episodes. https://www.patreon.com/c/NewsoftheTimesHistoricalCrimeSupport the showThanks for listening! You can also connect with us onOur YouTube Channel: | https://www.youtube.com/@newsofthetimesOur Facebook Page: | https://www.facebook.com/News-of-the-Times-101108282697405Have a question or comment? Get in touch with us at [email protected] If you would like to donate, we love coffee! Warmly appreciated :-) | https://www.buymeacoffee.com/newsofthetd

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• The Ivy Inn Murder: A Single Wound and a Vanishing Killer | True Crime 1891

  The Ivy Inn Murder: A Single Wound and a Vanishing Killer | True Crime 1891 News of the Times | Episode 588 | 1891 A shocking Victorian crime in which a trusted 16-year-old servant was killed in broad daylight… and her killer vanished into the hills of Huddersfield. What followed was a frantic manhunt, a wrongful arrest, mass public hysteria, and finally, a confession overheard in a prison infirmary.This episode unravels the full story — from the moment Catherine Dennis was found on the landing, to the dramatic return of the chief suspect James Stockwell, who evaded police for 17 days before creeping into his mother’s house at dawn.  Did she give her son up to police? Yes, she did.Based entirely on detailed period reporting and inquest testimony, this case reveals:• The discovery of Catherine’s body at the Ivy Inn• The suspected outrage committed upon her• The tiny but deadly wound that puzzled doctors• Two innocent strangers arrested amid public fury• A missing local man whose behaviour grew increasingly suspicious• The relentless police search through Linthwaite, Slaithwaite & Crosland Hill• And the confession that finally sealed the caseThis is one of Huddersfield’s most haunting Victorian tragedies — a story of fear, misjudgement, and a community shaken to its core.And in today’s Further Particulars:A second fugitive — entirely naked — hiding on a ship for more than a month after stabbing a crewman off the Cape of Good Hope. Victorian journalism truly never disappointed. Settle in with a cup of tea as we return to Yorkshire in 1891, where quiet afternoons could turn extraordinary in an instant.👤 Hosted by Robin Coles  📅 New episodes: Monday, Wednesday & Friday  🎞️ Long-form historical crime compilations: Final Sunday of every month  ❤️ Support Independent History  If you enjoy our ad-free, archive-based storytelling, help us keep the lantern lit:  👉 **Patreon** – Full archive, early access, bonus compilations (and it keeps us independent):  https://www.patreon.com/NewsOfTheTimesHistoricalCrime  ☕ Prefer a one-off thank-you? We LOVE a posh coffee indulgence! We tip our top hats:  https://www.buymeacoffee.com/newsofthetd🕯 About the Channel  We’re an independent team of historical researchers and narrators specialising in 18th to early 20th century British true crime. Each episode is based entirely on archival material — from coroners’ inquests to for Hear about our ad-free archive on Patreon – 650+ episodes and counting! 🎩 https://www.patreon.com/c/NewsoftheTimesHistoricalCrime Fancy a chuckle between corpses? Discover our first lovingly illustrated volume of wildly unreliable memoirs. Grab it here: https://ko-fi.com/s/b406f6f11e Support us on Patreon for ad-free early access and exclusive bonus episodes. https://www.patreon.com/c/NewsoftheTimesHistoricalCrimeSupport the showThanks for listening! You can also connect with us onOur YouTube Channel: | https://www.youtube.com/@newsofthetimesOur Facebook Page: | https://www.facebook.com/News-of-the-Times-101108282697405Have a question or comment? Get in touch with us at [email protected] If you would like to donate, we love coffee! Warmly appreciated :-) | https://www.buymeacoffee.com/newsofthetd

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• The Essex Poisoner: Mary May & the Five-Year Hunt for Britain’s Husband Killers

  The Essex Poisoner: Mary May & the Five-Year Hunt for Britain’s Husband KillersNews of the Times | Episode 587 | 1848One quiet Essex village. One determined woman. And a trail of death so shocking it forced Victorian police to investigate an entire county.Today we uncover the chilling case of Mary May, the Essex wife whose actions in 1848 sparked Britain’s first major hunt for domestic poisoners. What began as a single suspicious death soon expanded into rumours of a murder ring, burial-club schemes, and a series of sudden “illnesses” that looked far too similar to be coincidence.In this episode we explore:🔸 The sudden death of Mary May’s half-brother — and why villagers accepted her explanation… until they didn’t.🔸 How Victorian burial clubs created a deadly financial loophole.🔸 The growing panic across Essex as husbands and children linked to Mary May or her close friends began dying in identical ways.🔸 Professor Alfred Swaine Taylor — the era’s leading toxicologist — and the forensic breakthrough that exposed the truth.🔸 Fears of a female “death club” operating across Tendring, Wix, Bradfield, and Ramsay.🔸 The extraordinary five-year government investigation into suspected poisonings across the county.Was Mary May a lone murderer?A catalyst?Or the central figure in a network of women using arsenic to rid themselves of inconvenient husbands?Victorian Britain had never seen anything like it.And in today’s Further Particulars, meet the fortune-teller who could predict everyone’s future except his own — including his arrest and three months’ hard labour.👤 Hosted by Robin Coles  📅 New episodes: Monday, Wednesday & Friday  🎞️ Long-form historical crime compilations: Final Sunday of every month  ❤️ Support Independent History  If you enjoy our ad-free, archive-based storytelling, help us keep the lantern lit:  👉 **Patreon** – Full archive, early access, bonus compilations (and it keeps us independent):  https://www.patreon.com/NewsOfTheTimesHistoricalCrime  ☕ Prefer a one-off thank-you? We LOVE a posh coffee indulgence! We tip our top hats:  https://www.buymeacoffee.com/newsofthetd🕯 About the Channel  We’re an independent team of historical researchers and narrators specialising in 18th to early 20th century British true crime. Each episode is based entirely on archival material — from coroners’ inquests to forgotten newspaper columns.  If you like yo Hear about our ad-free archive on Patreon – 650+ episodes and counting! 🎩 https://www.patreon.com/c/NewsoftheTimesHistoricalCrime Fancy a chuckle between corpses? Discover our first lovingly illustrated volume of wildly unreliable memoirs. Grab it here: https://ko-fi.com/s/b406f6f11e Support us on Patreon for ad-free early access and exclusive bonus episodes. https://www.patreon.com/c/NewsoftheTimesHistoricalCrimeSupport the showThanks for listening! You can also connect with us onOur YouTube Channel: | https://www.youtube.com/@newsofthetimesOur Facebook Page: | https://www.facebook.com/News-of-the-Times-101108282697405Have a question or comment? Get in touch with us at [email protected] If you would like to donate, we love coffee! Warmly appreciated :-) | https://www.buymeacoffee.com/newsofthetd

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• The Sheffield Poisoning Case – The Artist, the Housekeeper and the Fatal Fowl (1881)

  The Sheffield Poisoning Case – The Artist, the Housekeeper and the Fatal Fowl (1881)News of the Times | Episode 586 |1881A quiet December dinner in Victorian Sheffield ends in horror — and a respected artist whispers his final words: “I am poisoned.”In today’s investigation, we unravel the 1881 case of Thomas Skinner, a brilliant Sheffield craftsman and etcher whose sudden collapse after a simple meal of fowl and onion stuffing sparked one of the most controversial poisoning mysteries of the Victorian age.At the centre of the storm stood his striking young housekeeper, Kate Dover — admired locally as “The Heeley Beauty” — whose purchases of arsenic, chloroform, and laudanum in the days before the tragedy drew the eyes of detectives, chemists, and an increasingly suspicious public.Was she a fellow victim?A naïve young woman caught in scandal?Or did forensic science — still in its infancy — uncover the truth?Join us as we explore:• The Victorian forensic tests that revealed arsenic in the stuffing• Conflicting medical testimony and the limits of 19th-century toxicology• A missing packet of poison• A mysterious £10 cheque found in the street• Trial drama, a shocking verdict, and a courtroom collapse• And the strange, quiet life Kate Dover lived after her releaseThis episode blends historical investigation, forensic analysis, and archival reporting, drawing directly from 1881 newspaper accounts and court testimony. 📜 Further Particulars:We close with a wonderfully absurd 1830 tale of a man whose thunderous snoring during a London church service caused such chaos that the beadle considered divine intervention the only possible explanation…👤 Narrated by Robin Coles  📅 New episodes: Monday, Wednesday & Friday  🎞️ Long-form historical crime compilations: Final Sunday of every month  ❤️ Support Independent History  If you enjoy our ad-free, archive-based storytelling, help us keep the lantern lit:  👉 **Patreon** – Full archive, early access, bonus compilations (and it keeps us independent):  https://www.patreon.com/NewsOfTheTimesHistoricalCrime  ☕ Prefer a one-off thank-you? We LOVE a posh coffee indulgence! We tip our top hats:  https://www.buymeacoffee.com/newsofthetd🕯 About the Channel  We’re an independent team of historical researchers and narrators specialising in 18th to early 20th century British true crime. Each episode is based entirely on a Hear about our ad-free archive on Patreon – 650+ episodes and counting! 🎩 https://www.patreon.com/c/NewsoftheTimesHistoricalCrime Fancy a chuckle between corpses? Discover our first lovingly illustrated volume of wildly unreliable memoirs. Grab it here: https://ko-fi.com/s/b406f6f11e Support us on Patreon for ad-free early access and exclusive bonus episodes. https://www.patreon.com/c/NewsoftheTimesHistoricalCrimeSupport the showThanks for listening! You can also connect with us onOur YouTube Channel: | https://www.youtube.com/@newsofthetimesOur Facebook Page: | https://www.facebook.com/News-of-the-Times-101108282697405Have a question or comment? Get in touch with us at [email protected] If you would like to donate, we love coffee! Warmly appreciated :-) | https://www.buymeacoffee.com/newsofthetd

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• The Abergavenny Christmas Massacre (1175) — The True Story Behind a Medieval Betrayal

  The Abergavenny Christmas Massacre (1175) — The True Story Behind a Medieval BetrayalNews of the Times | Episode 585 | 1175Step into the frozen winter of 1175, when a Christmas peace gathering at Abergavenny Castle turned into one of the most shocking betrayals in medieval Britain.This is the real story behind a massacre so infamous that historians believe it helped inspire Game of Thrones’ Red Wedding.In this episode, we uncover:• William de Braose, the marcher lord with a score to settle• Seisyll ap Dyfnwal, the Welsh chieftain lured into a deadly trap• A Christmas feast where weapons were surrendered… and treachery waited behind the door• The brutal aftermath that set Wales ablaze with vengeance• The chilling curse said to have followed the de Braose family for generationsFrom Marcher politics to clan loyalty, from massacre to medieval “justice,” this is Dark December at its bleakest.And in our Further Particulars:A disastrous 1738 case from Faversham, where a man “testing for witchcraft” proved that superstition is dangerous…but stupidity is lethal.If you enjoy historical true crime, medieval history, forensic folklore, and long-form storytelling, this episode is made for you.🕯 Settle in — and maybe don’t accept any Christmas invitations from Norman lords.This is News of the Times.🧐Hosted by Robin Coles  📅 New episodes: Monday, Wednesday & Friday  🎞️ Long-form historical crime compilations: Final Sunday of every month  📚 Related cases from the archive:   1693: The Poplar Witch - Mary Compton |  166 https://youtu.be/SJ9HUQFw7cU❤️ Support Independent History  If you enjoy our ad-free, archive-based storytelling, help us keep the lantern lit:  👉 **Patreon** – Full archive, early access, bonus compilations (and it keeps us independent):  https://www.patreon.com/NewsOfTheTimesHistoricalCrime  ☕ Prefer a one-off thank-you? We LOVE a posh coffee indulgence! We tip our top hats:  https://www.buymeacoffee.com/newsofthetd🕯 About the Channel  We’re an independent team of historical researchers and narrators specialising in 18th to early 20th century British true crime. Each episode is based entirely on archival material — from coroners’ inquests to forgotten newspaper columns.  If you like your true crime thoughtful, atmospheric, and rooted in real records — welcome to the va Hear about our ad-free archive on Patreon – 650+ episodes and counting! 🎩 https://www.patreon.com/c/NewsoftheTimesHistoricalCrime Fancy a chuckle between corpses? Discover our first lovingly illustrated volume of wildly unreliable memoirs. Grab it here: https://ko-fi.com/s/b406f6f11e Support us on Patreon for ad-free early access and exclusive bonus episodes. https://www.patreon.com/c/NewsoftheTimesHistoricalCrimeSupport the showThanks for listening! You can also connect with us onOur YouTube Channel: | https://www.youtube.com/@newsofthetimesOur Facebook Page: | https://www.facebook.com/News-of-the-Times-101108282697405Have a question or comment? Get in touch with us at [email protected] If you would like to donate, we love coffee! Warmly appreciated :-) | https://www.buymeacoffee.com/newsofthetd

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