A Midsummer Murder – Caleb Carter – 1903

Body In The Brook

On Monday the 29th June 1903, the gamekeeper of Chase Woods and Boer war veteran, Caleb Carter, had disappeared, and hadn’t been seen for two days. Concerns were growing for his wellbeing but what un-folded over the next few days and weeks, sent shockwaves throughout town, and one of the longest Kenilworth murder mysteries had only just begun.

Caleb Carter lived in a cottage along Chase Lane, and was last seen alive on the evening of Saturday the 27th by his younger brother Alfred, who had come over from Birmingham to spend the afternoon with him. They eventually parted company at just before 8.30, as it would be getting dark soon and Alfred needed to be on his way home.

At about the same time, Caleb’s 17-year-old fiancé Mabel Hancox and her mother Ellen, had called in at his cottage to drop off some caps and socks which they had bought for him at Kenilworth. With Caleb not being there, they thought nothing strange about that, expecting him to be out on the land somewhere with his brother or even waiting for them at their home, Warriors Lodge Farm, which was only about a quarter-of-a-mile from the cottage.

But as the evening wore-on, the Hancox family, and especially Mabel, had become increasing worried by his absence. They stayed-up late into the evening in the hope that he would eventually turn-up, but he never did.

Caleb’s Early Life

Caleb was born into the farming community of Gospel Oak, Snitterfield, on the outskirts of Stratford-Upon-Avon in 1875, to parents Alfred and Eliza. But when he was around four years-old, tragedy struck the family when his mother sadly passed away. But his father soon re-married and so for most of his young life Caleb was brought up by his step-mother, Ellen. He had three other siblings, two sisters, Lily and Agnes and brother, Alfred. By his mid-teens, just like his father, he was working on the land. In the 1891 census, he was recorded as a ploughboy.

Caleb’s Arrival in Kenilworth

Rowington Hall, the residence of James Booth, Caleb Carter’s employer

Where is Caleb?

Caleb Carter was murdered within quarter-of-a-mile of Honiley Church

Search Begins

Caleb’s Death Goes ‘Viral’

Inquest, Warriors Lodge Farm, Chase Lane, 30th June

Possible area where Caleb was last seen alive (1903 OS map)
‘Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland’ Licence CC-BY (NLS) https://maps.nls.uk/index.html

The Coroner

Evidence of Brother

Evidence of Ellen Hancox

Sovereigns and Gold Watch Found on Body

The shallow brook where Caleb Carter was found dead

Medical Evidence

Reward Offered by Police

Adjourned Inquest,Council House,Upper Rosemary Hill,10th July

The Former Council House, Upper Rosemary Hill. (Now apartments)

Brother Cross-Examined

Ellen Hancock Recalled

Miss Hancox’s Evidence

Police Inquires

Edge of the former Featherstons Grove Wood, looking across Long Meadow (2022)
Warwick Division helped with the Investigation. Inspector Parkinson and Superintendent Ravenhall are seated next to each other in the centre of the front row.
Courtesy of the Warwickshire County Records Office Ref. 165/5 Img 10298

Medical Evidence

New Witness Testimony

Possible dry pit on the edge of Chase woods referred to at the Inquest (1903 map)
‘Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland’ Licence CC-BY (NLS) https://maps.nls.uk/index.html
The field adjacent to Chase Woods, once known as Long Meadow (spring 2022)

Pearson’s Testimony

(1903 OS map)
‘Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland’ Licence CC-BY (NLS) https://maps.nls.uk/index.html

Unavailable Witness

The Verdict

Caleb’s Final Resting Place

Caleb Carter’s final resting place. St. Michael’s Church, Wilmcote near Stratford-Upon-Avon.

Hancox Family Move On – But More Tragedy

  1. According to the 1875 England & Wales Birth Index, Caleb was born in the 3rdQ (Jul-Aug-Sept). So he may have been 27 years-old at the time of his death. However, his death certificate records his age as 28, and his brother also gave his age as 28 at the inquest. ↩︎
  2. Birmingham Daily Gazette July 2nd 1903. ↩︎
  3. Marjorie Morby death certificate ↩︎
  4. Mabel Morby death certificate ↩︎

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