12th August 1837

Fatal Accident

On Tuesday, an inquest was held at the Surly Hall public house, in the parish of Clewer, before Mr. May, coroner for the county, on view of the body of James Slade, aged 31 years, who accidentally drowned in the river Thames the day preceding. It appeared that the unfortunate deceased was the gardener to H. Walters, Esq, on Monday was putting off in a boat from the shore near the Willows, when he accidentally fell overboard into the river, and sunk before assistance could be rendered to him. The drags were immediately procured and every exertion adopted to find the unfortunate man, but his body was not recovered until about three quarters of an hour had elapsed, when life was quite extinct. The body was conveyed to the above named public house, to await the Coroner's Inquest. The Jury returned a verdict of "Accidental Death."

Suicide

On Wednesday evening an inquest was held at the Town Hall Windsor, before Mr. Marlin, coroner for the borough, on view of the body of Elizabeth Smith, a young woman only about 17 years of age, servant to Mr. Robert Eeles, one of Her Majesty's footmen, residing in the New Road. The Jury having been to view the body, which laid on the floor of her master's kitchen, returned to the Town Hall, and evidence to the following effect was adduced. It appeared from the statements of Mrs. Eeles, (the deceased's mistress), Sophia Smith (the deceased sister), and of other persons, that the deceased had been in the service of Mr.Eeles about two months, and bore the character of a cheerful and excellent servant. She was of very lively disposition , and was frequently afflicted with pains in the head, for which at one time she had had her hair cut off and her head blistered.
On Sunday last, she went to church with her sister, but during the service her head became so bad that her sister took her out and they went together to the New Terrace. There she spoke as a person evidently affected in her faculties, for when near the water, in the centre of which is the Jet d'Eau [?], she inquired of her sister if it were deep enough to drown her. Her sister took her away, and they soon after rested on the wall of the Terrace, when the deceased there asked whether it would kill her if she fell off it. The deceased returned home in the evening, and on Monday did her work as usual. On Tuesday night she slept with her mistress (whose husband was in Town on duty at the Queen's palace), and shortly after five o'clock in the morning arose to go about the household work.
A little after seven o'clock Mrs. Eeles came down stairs, and finding that no work had been done, she looked about for the deceased but could not find her. On going to the wash house door she found it fastened on the inside, and called to some workmen near the house, when they came and broke the door open, and the unfortunate woman was discovered suspended by a cord from one of the beams. She was cut down, and Mr. Pearl, of the Dispensary was sent for, but life was quite extinct. The deceased's mother stated to the Jury that she had called on her daughter, and had had, as she said,"a very good account of her and her mistress." The Jury returned a verdict that "the deceased destroyed herself while labouring under temporary mental derangement."

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