Somerset Murders by John Van der Kiste

Author:John Van der Kiste
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780752484310
Publisher: The History Press
Published: 2013-11-05T00:00:00+00:00

16

‘NO ONE KNEW OF

MY INTENTION’

Rode, 1860

In January 1829, Samuel Savill Kent, a factory inspector, married Mary Anne Windus, the daughter of a coach builder. They settled in Finsbury, London, and within a year, their first son Thomas was born, a sickly child who died soon after his first birthday. Two daughters, Mary Anne and Elizabeth, were followed by another son, Edward Windus. By then, the family had moved to the south west, settling first in Sidmouth. Edward was educated at Crewkerne, and at the age of 14, went to the naval school at Gosport. Six more children were born, the next four all dying before they were a year old. Mary’s physical and mental health were beginning to decline by the time the last two arrived, Constance Emily in February 1844 and William Savill in July 1845.

In 1839, Mary Drewe Pratt, the 19-year-old daughter of a Devon grocer, became governess to the children. This lively, attractive girl probably presented temptations which Mr Kent, married to an ageing invalid who had borne him ten children, found hard to resist, but such gossip is difficult to substantiate. Factory inspectors were never popular, least of all with factory owners intent on cutting costs in order to increase their profits, and the relatively wealthy Mr Kent may have been the type of self-made man, always keen to better himself, with whom poorer members of the community were ready to find fault. Nevertheless, soon after William’s birth, he moved out of his wife’s room and into one next to that of the governess. He already had a reputation for being over-familiar with pretty maidservants, and soon stories were circulating throughout Sidmouth. After an interview with the local factory commissioner, he decided to move himself and his family away, and they settled at Walton in Gordano, near Clevedon.

Here, Mary Anne Kent found herself replaced as mistress of the house by Mary Pratt. The youngest daughter, Constance, was brought up mainly by the latter, and hardly knew her mother. After more local gossip made life uncomfortable again for the household, in March 1852, they moved to Baynton House, East Coulston, Wiltshire. Within a few weeks, family sickness had taken its toll. On 1 May, Mary Pratt returned to Devon to look after her ailing father; on the next day Mrs Kent was taken ill with stomach trouble, and died three days later. Mary hurried back to Baynton House and joined the rest of the family at the funeral on 11 May at East Coulston church. Four days later her father died. Wagging tongues suggested that the deaths might not have been due to natural causes.

On 11 August 1853 Mr Kent married Mary Pratt. In order to avoid further gossip, Mary had registered herself as a resident of the district of Lewisham, London, and the wedding took place there with Constance and her two elder sisters as bridesmaids. Their brother Edward was at sea at the time, and when he returned home on leave, he was so angry on being told the news that he left the house at once to rejoin his ship.

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