The Romford Outrage by Kathryn Abnett

Author:Kathryn Abnett
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Wharncliffe
Published: 2009-02-18T16:00:00+00:00

Newgate Prison in the 1880s, as depicted in the Illustrated London News. Authors’ collection

Permission having been granted from the Home Secretary, an order for twenty-two revolvers, at £1 17s 6d each, was placed with Philip Webley & Son for use by the Essex force. The guns would only be given to officers wishing to carry them on night duty, and were to be loaded and unloaded by the officer in charge of the police station. They were to be drawn only in self-defence. The Times of 3 November 1885 states that ‘A number of officers have already undergone a course of revolver practice at the Romford Butts.’

Meanwhile, David Dredge’s barrister Philip Stern had been working hard to have his trial held outside Essex. Stern appeared several times before the Justices of the Queen’s Bench, stating that it would be impossible to hold a fair trial in the county. He cited the way in which an angry mob had hurled abuse at Dredge in Romford, the fact that a fund was being raised there for the inspector’s widow and children, and the sight of placards posted throughout the county describing Dredge as a ‘determined burglar’. Dredge himself submitted a supporting statement in which he claimed that the failure of his hay and straw business had led to him making many enemies in the area, presumably his unpaid creditors.

On Tuesday 21 April the Grand Jury considered the evidence and returned a True Bill for murder against both Dredge and Adams. Stern’s arguments that justice would be best served by removing the case had been accepted, and it was announced that, under Palmer’s Act, the pair would be tried jointly at the Old Bailey.13 The great wheels of legal machinery were set in motion to begin the process which would place them upon the most daunting stage in the British judicial system.

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