The Caterham Asylum Scandal

Twas not for all young clergymen to find a cozy rectory in a pleasant village, dining a time or two each year with the cheerful squire up at the Great Hall. This is the story of the Rev. Thomas Closs who served his God and his Church as chaplain of the massive Caterham Imbeciles Asylum, south of London. Mr. Closs was a Welshman, 40 years old, married with a small family, when he first came to Caterham in 1891. The institution was built in 1867, designed to house 1500 inmates. In the chapel, which seated more than 500, Closs said morning and evening prayers and held full choral Sunday services. One visitor thought the singing by "the idiots ... might serve as an admirable example to many of the congregations in our fashionable London churches."

But in 1893, Alice Sarah Hockley, not a patient but an employee in the asylum laundry, accused Closs of being the father of her baby girl. In Croydon Police Court, she claimed that Closs had taken her up to London a few times before he first seduced her in the vestry. "The intimacy was frequently renewed," usually right after the Sabbath service. Once, when interrupted by the Asylum director, the chaplain hid her among the robes in his vestments closet. Alice was unmarried and when she got pregnant, she was sacked. 

The chapel stood alone, left of the main building

In court, the Rev. Closs denied everything. There was much evidence that Alice had “walked out” with other men and frequented pubs. The mayor of Croydon, presiding, declared that there was "not the faintest scintilla of corroboration" of this woman's charges and Rev. Closs was free to go. But as the clergyman left the building, Alice - in "an infuriated manner" - rushed at him to begin striking him about the head with her fists. She took his silk hat, crushed it and threw it into the street, before the police hauled her away.

The Rev. Closs returned to his duties at the asylum but left the following year, having been accused of giving unwanted kisses to several female servants. He found a curate's billet in Malmesbury for several years and ended his days as the vicar of Wickham Skeith in Suffolk.

The Caterham Imbeciles Asylum - renamed St. Lawrence's Hospital - closed some years ago and was recently torn down for a residential development. For more photos and an excellent history of Caterham see http://www.workhouses.org.uk/MAB-Caterham/

Five fascinating full length accounts of Victorian clerical scandals can be found in Clerical Errors - A Victorian Series, Vol. 2.

A Deserter in the Vicarage

When the (Second) Boer War began in 1899, the troopships bound for Cape Town were quickly filled with newly enlisted soldiers. But, as the fighting continued on in to the new century, dissent at home increased. Broadly speaking, support for the war remained much greater in the Church of England than among non-conformists. Thus, "a bedroom in a country vicarage would seem to be the last place in the world in which to find an army deserter, yet that has just happened." 

The Rev. George Bolney Browne had been the vicar of St. Saviour, Aston, Stone, Staffs, since 1881. His commodious vicarage was nicely situated, just steps from the church beside the River Trent. 

One evening, in February 1901, a local policeman arrived with a warrant to search the vicarage, having heard "whispers" in the village that a soldier who'd deserted the Army was being harboured there. The Rev. Browne was "considerably surprised" to hear this. It couldn't be true, he insisted, but, of course, he permitted the constable to have a look about. The two men went room to room and, in the attic chamber of one of the maids, they found him "crouching under the bed." 

21-year old Private Elie Robert Lewis Colquhoun of the Royal Army Medical Corps had gone missing the previous July. Whilst on the run, he came to Aston where he met a young woman, who was the lady's maid to the vicar's wife. The servant - never identified - admitted she had hidden the man in her bedroom for six months, feeding him with leftovers and takings from the larder, doing his laundry, etc. He remained in her room every day; occasionally they would sneak out at night. It was, the newspapers reported, "an extraordinary tale of desertion and female devotion." But, it's hardly believable.

The Rev. Browne was an active churchman, involved in many good causes, including supporting the African missionaries. Still, he insisted that he had no idea Private Colquhoun had been creeping about his vicarage for six months. 

Angloboerwar.com

As for the deserter, he was returned to his unit and sent out to South Africa, not returning until 1904. The Rev. Brown remained at St. Saviour's until he retired in 1922, having served the parish throughout the Great War to end all wars. 

If you have any additional information about this story, please leave a comment below. Thank you.

Clerical Errors - A Victorian Series, Volume 2 is on sale now at Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.