The Great Gloucestershire Hen Case

In a remote corner of the Cotswolds lie the twin villages of Eastleach Martin and Eastleach Turville. "Few places are less known," wrote the Rev. William Herbert Thomas Wright. The villages are divided by the narrow River Leach, spilling south to join the Thames at Lechlade. The Victorian population was barely 500 but there were two 13th century churches, one on each side of the river: St. Michael & St. Martin, Eastleach Martin (pictured) and St. Andrew's, Eastleach Turville. In 1888, the Rev. Mr. Wright was curate-in-charge of both, residing in Eastleach Martin. 

A great snow fell in the west of England that February. Village lads were hired to dig out roads and footpaths. 19-year old Jim Smith was trudging home when he found a black hen, all but frozen dead in a snowbank. He placed the bird inside his jacket and, when he reached the village, sold the revived bird to his friend, Richard Blackwell, for two shillings. If anyone claimed the hen, they would give it back. Meantime, as in the nursery rhyme, "Hickety-pickety, my black hen, she lays eggs for gentlemen. Sometimes nine, sometimes ten. Hickety-pickety, my black hen."

That May, Rev. Wright got information that Blackwell's hen might be his. He made enquiries and then went to Fairford to make a formal charge. Two constables arrived. Young Blackwell said he'd paid Jim Smith 2 bob for the hen. A nervous Smith "couldn't remember" but soon admitted "finding" the bird. On a Sunday morning, the police marched Blackwell and Smith to St. Michael & St. Martin where Rev. Wright was greeting his flock. Would he press charges? Yes, he would. Messrs. Smith and Blackwell were handcuffed in front of everyone and marched four miles to the nick. They were held for three days without visitors before being released to await the Quarter Sessions in July where the charges were dismissed. 

A year later, in the Queen's Bench, London, the young men sued Rev. Wright for false imprisonment and malicious prosecution. The curate insisted he acted reasonably and with probable cause. He left the matter to the police: they arrested, they prosecuted. He said he'd been tipped off by a man named Adams, an unpopular "village busybody." Wright also admitted he hadn't missed the hen for three months. 


The "Great Gloucestershire Hen Case" was heard by a jury of Londoners unfamiliar with barnyard law. Mr. Justice Wills instructed them that the Rev. Wright had the right to recover his missing property. But no felonies had been committed and there was no need for the humiliation of a public arrest and or spending days in gaol. The police were very much at fault but they weren't on trial. The jury found against Rev. Wright. Blackwell got £30, Smith got less, £25.

The Rev. Mr. Wright was forgiven his overzealous detective work. He was quite young. He remained in Eastleach Martin another 40 years, until his death in 1929. He wrote extensively about the Eastleaches. The two churches are still there, although St. Michael & St. Martin is now redundant. The Eastleaches were Betjeman's favourite spot in the Cotswolds. A modern walker's guide describes an "air of quiet perfection." 

This story is one of 30 included in the newly published collection, HOW THE VICAR CAME AND WENT, now for sale at amazon.co.uk.

Church Photo by Oswald Bertram (geograph)