The town lock-up at Crouches was built around 1846. In presenting the case in support of its construction in January 1846, it was reported that since 1840, 72 people had been sent from Coggeshall for trial at Chelmsford and a further 150 cases had been summarily dealt with. This was the time when Essex had its first professional police force and a lock-up in Coggeshall was though preferable to building an expensive police station. According to George Humphreys, his Grandfather, Samuel Bailey, spent every Christmas for 21 years in this lock-up for drunkenness. (See Annette Newlove's comments below)
This building was thoughtlessly demolished in the 1970's, only the door was rescued and that is now in the museum. The building on the right is 'The Engine House' where the fire engine was kept - it was never called a fire station (as it is wrongly named at the moment). The site of the lock up is now part of the surgery car park, so the demolition was obviously well worth-while.
Annette Newlove writes: 'George Humphrey's maternal grandad was Samuel Bailey. He was born in Coggeshall in 1845. He married Sarah Wade who was a niece of William and Walter Wade, notorious for being members of The Coggeshall Gang. They were both transported to Van Diemans Land in the early 1850's so may well have been, along with other members of the gang, some of the first occupants of this lock up before being sent to Chelmsford Gaol. There are many newspaper reports of Samuel Bailey being arrested in Coggeshall for drunken behaviour and problems with his wife so he will have been in and out of this place a lot during his lifetime. He was a silk weaver when they married and they had 14 children! He ended up as a farm labourer. The last newspaper report about him entitled 'A Tragic Death' was in The Newsman in Aug 1915. He had been living in The Workhouse in Braintree since May. On Mon 23rd Aug at 9.45am he was found in St Michael's Churchyard by Mrs Ellen Buttle. He was sitting against the wall by the path, cutting at his throat with a large table knife. She went to the police station to report it and PC Rogers found him dying in the churchyard with a terrible wound in his throat extending from ear to ear and a pool of blood beneath his body. At the inquest it was said that Samuel and another inmate, John Gray, had left the workhouse, unauthorised, at 9am. Samuel had said to John 'I have had enough of this, I'm going to cut my throat'. John advised him not to and they parted company in South St. Ellen Buttle said that as he drew the blade across his throat he murmured 'Thank god at last'. A verdict of 'suicide during temporary insanity' was returned. His son, William Bailey, said that his father had been suffering with religious mania for several years.'
Date: May 1941
Ref: 63/30
This building was thoughtlessly demolished in the 1970's, only the door was rescued and that is now in the museum. The building on the right is 'The Engine House' where the fire engine was kept - it was never called a fire station (as it is wrongly named at the moment). The site of the lock up is now part of the surgery car park, so the demolition was obviously well worth-while.
Annette Newlove writes: 'George Humphrey's maternal grandad was Samuel Bailey. He was born in Coggeshall in 1845. He married Sarah Wade who was a niece of William and Walter Wade, notorious for being members of The Coggeshall Gang. They were both transported to Van Diemans Land in the early 1850's so may well have been, along with other members of the gang, some of the first occupants of this lock up before being sent to Chelmsford Gaol. There are many newspaper reports of Samuel Bailey being arrested in Coggeshall for drunken behaviour and problems with his wife so he will have been in and out of this place a lot during his lifetime. He was a silk weaver when they married and they had 14 children! He ended up as a farm labourer. The last newspaper report about him entitled 'A Tragic Death' was in The Newsman in Aug 1915. He had been living in The Workhouse in Braintree since May. On Mon 23rd Aug at 9.45am he was found in St Michael's Churchyard by Mrs Ellen Buttle. He was sitting against the wall by the path, cutting at his throat with a large table knife. She went to the police station to report it and PC Rogers found him dying in the churchyard with a terrible wound in his throat extending from ear to ear and a pool of blood beneath his body. At the inquest it was said that Samuel and another inmate, John Gray, had left the workhouse, unauthorised, at 9am. Samuel had said to John 'I have had enough of this, I'm going to cut my throat'. John advised him not to and they parted company in South St. Ellen Buttle said that as he drew the blade across his throat he murmured 'Thank god at last'. A verdict of 'suicide during temporary insanity' was returned. His son, William Bailey, said that his father had been suffering with religious mania for several years.'
Date: May 1941
Ref: 63/30
Also in: Market Hill
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Comments
By Chrissy Stewart: Walter Wade was my great great grandfather on my maternal side. His parents were Daniel Wade snr and Ann Lawrence. Walter married Alice Phillips nee Newton in Launceston Tasmania in 1859. They had been together since 1855. Alice already had 4 daughters to John Phillips also a,convict. He died in 1855. Wa,ter and Alice went on to have 11 more children one being Eliza Wade my great grandmother. Eliza married Orlando Mills. Their daughter Grace Mills was my grandmother who arrived Arthur Barry. They had 4 children Jack, Jeffrey, twins Joan and Doreen, Doreen was my Mother. Doreen married Cecil (Bob) Hanson and had 8 children in Tasmania. Walter died in 1888 in his home in York St Launceston..he had his bakery and shop in the Temperance Hotel cnr Brisbane St and The Quadrant Launceston and his son Walter Jnr took it over.Alice went on to live a long life dying in 1916. Walter had left her comfortably well off. I have been tracing the Wade family and I am through Daniel Wade snrs parents Daniel wade and wife Lucia directly related back through the Wade, walford, Desborough/Disbrowe/Cromwell line to Jane Cromwell . Its been quite a journey for a young girl born in Tasmania whose parents died young and not knowing barely any relatives (my dad grew up in orphanage and I never new Mums family) to now being related back to Walter Wade and his notorious family and friends in the Coggeshall Gang. I also traced my line back to Owen and Jasper Tudor and Catherine of Valois of France who married a England King. My children are excited by there heritage and eager to know more. ?.chrissy