“HORRID MURDER AT ESKDALE NEAR WHITBY”

So screamed the headline of the Yorkshire Gazette on 18 September 1841. The grim report told of the brutal killing of 61-year-old Mrs Robinson, murdered alone in her home at Eskdaleside, near Sleights. Her husband, William Robinson, a yeoman farmer of decent standing, had gone to Egton Fair that day. His servants were out in the harvest fields. When they returned for dinner, they found a nightmare.

Their mistress lay face down on the kitchen floor, her head nearly severed, her blood pooling around her. A servant ran for Robinson, who returned with the Whitby police. The motive was clear: theft. Thirty-one sovereigns, silver, and personal items were missing. The murder weapon—a knife—was tossed into the turf fire.

A Clumsy Start

The local police got to work and soon arrested two Irish reapers. They had no evidence, so both were released. Their next suspect was a local miller from Iburndale named Hill. He had visited the Robinson home at around half-past ten and was the last known person to see Mrs Robinson alive. He was questioned, re-questioned, and finally sent to York Castle to await trial.

But when the case reached the assizes, the grand jury threw it out. “No bill.” The evidence was insufficient. Hill walked free. Tensions in the area only rose.

Enter Inspector Pearce

In March 1842, the Marquis of Normanby, staying nearby at his seat at Mulgrave Castle, stepped in to calm public nerves. He summoned the police commissioners. Their response: call in the big guns.

Inspector Nicholas Pearce of Scotland Yard arrived in Whitby dressed as an ordinary man. He was no amateur. He had previously caught François Benjamin Courvoisier, the notorious murderer of Lord William Russell. This would be one of the earliest provincial deployments of a London detective¹Daniel Good (1792 – 1842) is hunted by Nicholas Pearce. History by the Yard. https://www.historybytheyard.co.uk/daniel_good.htm#:~:text=Immediately%20before%20the%20Daniel%20Good%20case%2C%20Pearce%20had%20solved%20the%20Eskdaleside%20murder%20of%20Mrs%20Jane%20Robinson%20in%20one%20of%20the%20first%20cases%20in%20which%20an%20officer%20from%20Scotland%20Yard%20was%20sent%20to%20investigate%20a%20serious%20crime%20in%20the%20provinces.

Within days, Pearce had dismissed the case against Hill. He was convinced the killer was not local.

Hiding in Plain Sight

A search of the Robinson farm revealed the killer had likely been hiding for hours in the loft above the cow-house. Pearce found signs someone had watched the house through a hole in the roof.

Witnesses had seen a man wearing a blue cloth cap, white shooting jacket, and dark trousers near a nearby wood. A pocket-book belonging to one of Robinson’s servants was later found there, along with an oddly made loaf of bread—unusual for the area.

Pearce believed this was the killer.

The Man in the Grass

Mary Frankland, Robinson’s servant, provided the breakthrough. The previous July, she had seen a man lying in the grass near the railway line. He said his name was Thomas Redhead and claimed he had just withdrawn £18 from a Whitby bank, left by a deceased brother. He planned to see John Hodgson in Goathland, and she walked with him part of the way.

Redhead matched the description of the man seen by the wood. But he never visited Hodgson. He vanished.

The Chase

Pearce learned that Redhead had arrived in the area by Stockton coach. That was enough. The detective traced him through Stockton, Hetton, Bishop Auckland, and finally to Shildon, where he discovered Redhead had died of smallpox that January.

A pitman named Bland confirmed that Redhead had lodged with a Mrs Brown in Crook until June 1841, then moved in with Bland and worked on the Shildon Tunnel. Crucially, he had disappeared for a few days in July 1841—coinciding with Frankland’s encounter—and again from 11 to 15 September, the dates surrounding the murder.

On his return to Shildon, Redhead paid off debts, made purchases, and put down £20 to open a grocery shop. All very sudden for a man who had just borrowed a shilling.

Mrs Bland confirmed he returned in the same blue cap, white jacket, and dark trousers.

Collapse and Death

The shop venture with his partner Tomlinson failed. Redhead fell apart. He was seen weeping, mumbling, “I am a lost man.” He eventually returned to Mrs Brown’s, where he became withdrawn, silent, and haunted.

In early January, he became gravely ill. He begged Mrs Brown to hear his confession, but could not get the words out. He died on 5 January 1842, broken, speechless, and alone.

When Inspector Pearce acquired Redhead’s pocket-book, he found an entry dated days before the murder, stained with blood.

That was enough. Pearce presented his findings to the Whitby magistrates. They unanimously agreed: Thomas Redhead was the murderer. Pearce was praised for his skill, method, and persistence.

Echoes in the Landscape

Today, Eskdaleside is an unremarkable settlement dominated by an housing estate. Tall hedges shield Eskdale Gate farmhouse, a mid-18th century building likely present in Robinson’s time²NYMNPA HER No: 15916. Eskdale Gate farmhouse.. The old maps show few other buildings nearby.

To accompany this tale, I stopped at Aislaby church on the way home and took a photograph from across the dale. Eskdale Gate stands in the centre, with Caley Beck to its right. A peaceful view, now—but soaked in shadows of blood and guilt.

Source

Most newspapers at the time covered the story but I found the most comprehensive to be this article in the Morning Herald (London) dated 11 April 1842. THE ESKDALESIDE MURDER-INNOCENCE OF A SUSPECTED MAN. Available online at https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002408/18420411/060/0007

• 1
  Daniel Good (1792 – 1842) is hunted by Nicholas Pearce. History by the Yard. https://www.historybytheyard.co.uk/daniel_good.htm#:~:text=Immediately%20before%20the%20Daniel%20Good%20case%2C%20Pearce%20had%20solved%20the%20Eskdaleside%20murder%20of%20Mrs%20Jane%20Robinson%20in%20one%20of%20the%20first%20cases%20in%20which%20an%20officer%20from%20Scotland%20Yard%20was%20sent%20to%20investigate%20a%20serious%20crime%20in%20the%20provinces
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  NYMNPA HER No: 15916. Eskdale Gate farmhouse.