At around 6.45 pm, on Wednesday 3 June 1829, Thomas Nelhams, a local farmer, was walking across a field in Turnham Green, with a friend of his, when he thought he heard a faint cry, which sounded like the bleating of a lamb. The sound appeared to come from a ditch at the edge of the field and Thomas walked over to see what had actually caused the sound.
Arriving at the ditch, Thomas looked down and saw a piece of flannel material, largely covered over with grass and weeds. Even as he looked, the material moved and, investigating more closely, Thomas saw that there was a child beneath the material.
Pulling away some of the grass, Thomas saw that the child was lying on its back. It appeared to be in some distress, for its face was a deep black colour, as were the tips of the child’s fingers. Thomas left his friend, George, to watch over the child whilst he ran back across the field to the home of Constable Williamson.
Constable John Williamson timed Thomas Nelhams, arrival at a few minutes to 7.00 pm. Having listened to Thomas’ story, Williamson then accompanied him back to the ditch where George still stood guard. The constable then took the child out of the ditch and ran, as fast as he could, back to his house where he handed the baby to a local woman with instructions to place the child in warm water.
The baby was quickly undressed, revealing that it was in fact a girl, probably aged about three weeks or so. The warm water began to wash some of the dirt off the child’s face and upper body and only now, to his horror, did Williamson realise that beneath the dirt, the child had a black ribbon tied quite tightly around its throat. Wasting no time, Williamson cut through the ribbon, with some difficulty. Almost immediately, the baby took a deep breath and colour began to return to her cheeks. A doctor was called to examine the baby but it appeared that her life was no longer in danger and slowly she grew stronger.
It seemed reasonable to assume that whoever had dumped the baby in the ditch had to know the area quite well. There was a public footpath across the field where she had been found, but only those who knew the area well would know of it. There was also the fact that the ditch was a few hundred yards from that footpath. The miscreant must have known that people rarely strayed from the path, again indicating that he or she knew the area well.
Constable Williamson began his investigation and two important witnesses soon came forward. The first of these was Hannah Dunford, who lived at the Red Lion public house in Acton. She told Constable Williamson that at around 5.00 pm on 3 June, she had seen a woman in the tap room. The woman had two young children with her; one about two or three years old and the other a baby who appeared to be newly born. The woman had had some beer and had also bought a glass of peppermint, which she offered to both the children. She had only stayed a few minutes and left some time after 5.00 pm.
Williamson now believed that he was looking for a woman, who was possibly local, but he still did not have a name for her. This problem was solved when the second witness, Joseph Shepherd, came forward.
Shepherd said that he had seen the woman between 1.00 pm and 2.00 pm, walking up Green Lane, Acton. She had two children with her, both of which she carried. As Shepherd watched, the woman went into the bottom end of a large wheat field and sat down upon the ground. She then took a black ribbon from around her shoulders and looked around to see if anyone might be watching her. Only then did she see Shepherd looking at her from a hole in the edge. The woman then quickly put the ribbon back around her shoulders as he climbed over the gate and joined her in the field.
The two fell into conversation, during which she said that the youngest child was not hers. They walked on together along the pathway, with Shepherd carrying the eldest child for her. At another gate they parted and the woman said that she would wait there for the baby’s mother. It was then around 3.00 pm or perhaps a little later.
Shepherd, though, had one more crucial piece of evidence to impart. He had known the woman for some two or three years. She lived elsewhere now but a few years back had worked in East Acton. Her name was Ann Mary Chapman.
A warrant was now drawn up for the arrest of Ann Chapman on a charge of attempted murder. Further investigations showed that until fairly recently she had been an inmate of St George’s workhouse in Hanover Square, which was some distance from Acton. It was at that establishment that Constable Williamson interviewed two more witnesses.
Elizabeth Tyler was a nurse at the workhouse and she confirmed that Ann Chapman had been admitted so that she might have her child there. The child was born on 13 May and christened Elizabeth Chapman. Mother and child remained at the workhouse until 2 June, when they were discharged. Another of the inmates, Robert Gay, had been instructed to help Ann with the children, and escort her to her lodgings.
Robert Gay was the second witness Williamson spoke to. Robert said that on 2 June he had carried the children for Ann, and together they had travelled as far as The Swan Inn at Bayswater where they had paused for a drink together. From there, they went on as far as Notting Hill, where she said that he need not take her any further as her brother would be meeting her there. By the time Robert left her, with the two children, it was around 8.35 pm.
In fact, it took Constable Williamson a few more days to trace Ann Chapman. It was not until Saturday 6 June, at around 8.30 pm, that he saw her in the company of a man in Hammersmith. Williamson stopped them both and said to Ann, ‘I want you. I have been looking for you for a good while. Your name is Ann Chapman.’
Ann replied, ‘It is and what of it?’ Williamson then informed her that he held a warrant for her arrest, for attempting to murder her child. She denied any involvement, but admitted that she had recently given birth to a baby but it had died and was already buried. Questioned further, Ann went on to deny that she had been at Acton on 3 June and, in fact, had not been in that area for a number of years.
Constable Williamson was, of course, far from satisfied and informed Ann that she would be taken into custody pending further investigations. The young man with her, who identified himself as Matthew Varney, might also be involved, so he too was arrested.
Both prisoners were escorted back to Acton, where Ann was deposited into a private room at The George public house. Both Joseph Shepherd and Hannah Dunford were then called in and both made a positive identification. Ann Chapman was the woman they had both seen in Acton on 3 June.
Matthew Varney was then searched and Constable Williamson found a key on his person. By now, Williamson had come to believe that Varney had not been involved in the attempt upon the life of Elizabeth Chapman and, for his part, Varney seemed keen to help the officer in his enquiries. Varney volunteered that the key was to the lodgings he shared with Ann, in Starch Green. Whilst both Ann and Varney remained in custody, Constable Williamson went to search their lodgings. It was there that he found the other child, safe and well.
Back at Acton, and faced with the evidence against her, Ann Chapman finally admitted that she had been the woman who deposited the baby in the ditch. She claimed that she thought someone would find it and give it a better life than she ever could, but this did not explain why she had tied the black ribbon so tightly around the child’s neck and hidden it so well in the ditch. Later, she made a further statement which, perhaps, gave more insight into why she had tried to kill her new-born daughter. In that, Ann said that after the child had been born in the workhouse, Varney had come to visit her. He had looked at the child and announced, ‘This is not my child. It is not like me.’ He also offered violence to the baby and she perhaps felt that if she kept Elizabeth, she would lose her lover.
The trial of Ann Mary Chapman took place on 11 June 1829. She actually faced four charges, which included attempting to strangle Elizabeth and to suffocate her, but the basic charge was that of attempted murder.
After Thomas Nelhams and Constable Williamson had given their testimony, the court heard from Dr John Salter, who had been called to Williamson’s house to examine the child. He had little doubt that had the child not been found when she was, she would certainly have died from strangulation. He was unable to say how much longer Elizabeth might have lived, but it would not have been very long.
After Joseph Shepherd, Hannah Dunford, Robert Gay and Elizabeth Tyler, the nurse, had given their testimony, Matthew Varney, Ann’s paramour, was called. No charges had been made against him and he was now called as a character witness for Ann. He told the court that he had known Ann since the previous August, and they had lived together as man and wife since that time. Though she was only twenty-eight years old, he knew that Ann had given birth to no less than eight children. She appeared to be a good mother and was always kind to the other child found in their lodgings.
In the event, the verdict, when it came, was that Ann was guilty of attempted murder. She was recommended to mercy, on account of the infant’s life having been spared. Nevertheless, the sentence was that she be hanged by the neck, until she was dead.
There was no reprieve, and on 22 July 1829, Ann Mary Chapman was hanged outside Newgate prison alongside six men: Edward Turner, Thomas Crowther, Charles Jones, Edward Martelli, James Butler and Henry Conway.
Though the death sentence for attempted murder remained on the statute books until 1861, and others did suffer hanging for that offence, Ann Chapman was the last woman to be hanged in London for any offence other than murder itself.