…led astray by a young man living only yards away from her own home.
On 25 October 1876 Mrs Eliza Ann Downing of Somerset Street drowned herself in the canal. She left a sheet of paper on the canal bank on which she had written that she had been led astray by a young man living only yards away from her own home. The young man’s identity being known to neighbours, he had since been subjected to much taunting and derision, resulting in him deciding to leave Somerset Street and move to Dodworth. The young man concerned was Tom Dowing, a debt collector. As he prepared to leave Somerset Street late on 28 October a large crowd had gathered opposite his house. At about midnight, the crowd, composed chiefly of women burnt and effigy of Dowing. As he prepared to leave the house with his box he was knocked down and kicked several times. He was then dragged head first along the street to Town End, where on reaching the water troughs, he was pushed in and dragged through several times, until he was almost drowned. Afterwards he was conveyed to Dodworth in a cart.