Out & About …

… on the North York Moors, or wherever I happen to be.

A wide, slightly elevated view captures a sprawling moorland landscape under a dynamic sky of dark, heavy clouds giving way to patches of bright blue. The foreground is dominated by a rugged terrain of low-lying, brownish-purple heather and dry grasses. Moving towards the middle ground, the landscape transitions into rolling green fields dotted with sparse vegetation and hints of yellow flowering bushes. In the distance, the prominent, smooth, conical Freebrough Hill rises from the otherwise undulating terrain, standing out against the horizon. To its right is the village of Moorsholm and a field of yellow Rapeseed stands out in contrast. Further in the background, there are glimpses of buildings and a blue stretch of the North Sea meet the horizon under the partly cloudy sky. The overall impression is of a vast, open countryside with varied textures and colours.

A Dog’s Grim Discovery: A Moorsholm Murder

It began, as many grim tales do, with a dog.

One cold March morning in 1857, Joseph Green, a farmer in the quiet village of Moorsholm—tucked between Guisborough and Whitby—was startled when his dog returned home with a gruesome prize clamped in its jaws: the leg and foot of a child1“HORRID CHILD MURDER NEAR GUISBOROUGH.” Morning Chronicle, 20 Apr. 1857. https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000082/18570420/032/00072Birmingham Journal – Saturday 18 July 1857 https://www.Britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000223/18570718/012/00123Derby Mercury – Wednesday 29 July 1857 https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000052/18570729/025/0006.

The horror of the discovery quickly spread, and the police were summoned. Officer Johnson, stationed in nearby Castleton, led the investigation. For days he scoured the surrounding moors, combing every hill and hollow for the rest of the remains—but to no avail.

Desperate, Johnson borrowed the very dog that had first uncovered the leg. He confined the animal without food for several days, hoping hunger might guide it again to what human eyes had missed. When released, the dog bounded across the heather and bracken, its nose to the wind. Johnson followed.

The trail led to Freeborough Hill, a lone, conical rise visible for miles—well known to travellers between Whitby and Guisborough. There, beneath the shadow of the hill, the dog unearthed another terrible fragment: a child’s head. Johnson rushed to stop it, but not before the dog had savaged the face.

Dr. Merryweather of Lofthouse examined the remains. The skull bore seven or eight bruises from a blunt instrument, and a portion of it was fractured. It was clear—this was no accident. The child had been murdered, dismembered, and scattered across the moor.

Rumours swirled. Villagers whispered of foul play, and the story made its way to a woman named Mrs. Marlow in the village of Sleights. Her thoughts turned to a boy she had once cared for.

Four years earlier, a young servant named Sarah Jemmison had given birth to a child out of wedlock. To continue working, she placed the boy in Mrs. Marlow’s care, paying a small weekly sum. But as time passed, the payments became irregular. By the last Martinmas, Sarah—now housekeeper for Mr. William Pearson of Egton—was pressed to settle the debt or take the child back.

She chose the latter, collecting the boy and bringing him to Pearson’s household. He remained there until December 21, when Sarah announced she was taking him to stay with relatives in Margra-park4Margrove Park. A companion accompanied her as far as Moorsholm, where he waited while she claimed to press on alone. But she returned far too quickly for someone who had walked to Margra-park and back. And she was alone.

Two weeks later, Sarah visited her sister in Sleights. She borrowed a sovereign, saying it was for the child’s funeral expenses. That same day, she stopped at Mrs. Marlow’s and handed over the coin as partial payment of her debt—yet told her the boy was “quite well.”

Mrs. Marlow, now suspicious, shared her concerns with a local man, Mr. Jonathan Featherstone, who passed them to the police.

Police Officer John Maw visited Sarah at Egton. She insisted the boy was still in Margra-park and even offered to take him there. For reasons unclear, Maw returned to Whitby without confirming her story or placing her under arrest.

The next morning, Sarah Jemmison vanished.

The rumours once doubted now rang with certainty.

By Thursday night, Officer Johnson was informed of her disappearance. At dawn, he began the chase. His search led him across rugged moorland, from village to village, until at last—on the Sunday—he found her hiding at Green Howe Bottom. On Monday, she was locked up in Lofthouse5Loftus.

Sarah Jameson duly appeared before the magistrate in Guisborough and sent to trial at York Assizes6Yorkshire Gazette – Saturday 19 June 1858 https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000266/18580619/013/00037Richmond & Ripon Chronicle– Saturday 10 November 1866 https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002938/18661110/128/0006.

More body parts turned up. The evidence was grim. Some injuries had been made while the child was still alive. The jury returned a guilty verdict but asked for mercy. Did they feel some empathy to her plight?  The judge sentenced her to death. She was told to prepare for the next world, as there would be no reprieve in this one.

But mercy came anyway—from above. The Home Secretary announced that Her Majesty had granted a reprieve. Sarah Jemmison’s life was spared but she was to serve 20 years penal servitude.

A child’s life ended on the cold moor. A dog brought home the first clue. What became of his mother remains a mystery. Perhaps she served her time and vanished into obscurity, forever tormented by remorse.

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One response to “A Dog’s Grim Discovery: A Moorsholm Murder”

  1. John Richardson avatar
    John Richardson

    Very interesting slice of Gothic. Thank you. John

    Reply

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