The Moral Guardian of Thorpe-le-Soken

The Rev Abraham Rumboll had been vicar of St. Michael's, Thorpe-le-Soken for thirty years. Of course, he was invited to the introductory tea for Major George Duberly and Mrs. Duberly who had "taken" the Grange for the summer in 1895. The vicar, his wife, and their daughter Clara joined the get-acquainted session. It was probably a disappointment among the villagers that the major was not a be-medalled hero of any of Victoria's "little wars," but rather just the paymaster of the Royal Sussex Regiment. Still, everyone was quite friendly and the Duberlys were made to feel most welcome. At first.

Maj. Duberly detected a growing chill by the time of the Harvest Festival and not just in the air. He traced the problem to the vicarage; the Rev. Rumboll, he was told, had discouraged the locals from calling at The Grange, owing to "scandalous" information about Mrs. Duberly. 

The major wrote to Rumboll demanding an explanation and apology for this lying slander or he would refer the matter to his solicitor. The vicar declined to see the officer. Duberly tried repeatedly to confront the clergyman without success. The, in September, he was called to the vicarage to hear Rumboll's daughter admit, "I regret repeating the report I had heard that Major and Mrs. Duberly were not married." Duberly demanded an apology be published in every Essex newspaper received in Thorpe. The Rumbolls refused but Clara did write her apology on a card and gave it to the major. But the "scandalous" report had gotten around, even reaching Duberly's regiment. His commanding officer declared Clara's apology insufficient. Was "the report" true or false? The major had to clear his name as an officer and a gentleman. In November 1896, Clara Rumboll, with her father and mother in the gallery, was the defendant in a slander action heard in London. 

Major Duberly, now 37, swore that he and his wife were married 16 years previous on the isle of Guernsey. He had the paperwork. He related his sense that the village was cutting him, a feeling which he traced to the vicarage. The Rev. Rumboll, though not on trial, spread the slander but refused to apologise. Instead, he coaxed his hysterical daughter to hand over a mere scrap of paper.

The QC for the Rumbolls suggested there were other reasons Duberly was out of favour in Thorpe-le-Soken. Was it proper for a married man to be seen kissing young Edith Watson in the open day? Duberly fenced for a while but finally confessed, "I am bound to admit that I did kiss the young lady mentioned once at a stile." Wouldn't the vicar be within his rights to discourage his unmarried daughter and others in the village from visiting the major's home? Duberly allowed that he had behaved "stupidly" but it was a harmless kiss and hardly scandalous. 

A Kissing Stile

Clara Rumboll told the court that she'd seen that kiss. Her first reaction was that maybe the major wasn't really married. The story was soon "common talk" in the village. Under cross-examination, she was asked if she understood that her gossip accused Mrs. Duberly of being a courtesan. She began to cry. She was very sorry for spreading the rumor, but "I never believed it and I never said it was true."

The jury was told that Clara's words were none the less vicious and hurtful because they came from the mouth of the young daughter of a country vicar. The Rev. Rumboll could have stopped this with a prompt recantation and apology. Instead, he set himself up as the moral guardian of Thorpe-le-Soken. For the Rumbolls, their case was that Major Duberly's conduct in Thorpe left him open to unfortunate speculation. Now he meant to get his revenge on the vicar by crushing an innocent 22-year old woman. 

It was a one day trial and the jury was quick at its work. The verdict came in for the Duberlys but for damages of just £5! The Duberlys left the courtroom with their matrimonial and military honor intact. The Grange was once again for let.

For new readers in 2020, welcome. Full-length stories can be found in Clerical Errors - A Victorian Series, available here.