Druitt - the final days

[Johnr]

Sorry Robert,
Your contributions also deserve specific mention. Useful as usual.
You can now consider yourself promoted as "Teaboy". And not just because there is a drought in Sri Lankha, causing the price of tea to soar this year of 2009. JOHN RUFFELS.

[Robert]

Aha! Teaboy! Now I'm getting somewhere. How can they stop me now?

[aspallek]

Interesting thread Chris,
Fine work by Andy, Chris, Natalie and others.
Roy's photos were very atmospheric.I had not realised the tide went out so far from the bank of The Thames at Chiswick.
Now, regarding the supposed two notes left by MJD:
I would surmise one note was definitely addressed to his brother."Going to be like mother"...has the right tone and phrasing for a note addressed to a family member.
To me, it would be logical to leave the note at Eliot Place.
Leighton's book claimed Valentine resided off the school grounds; this would, combined with the approaching end of term, make it easier for MJD to stay at the school a little longer to organise alternative arrangements. After all, I assume afterseven years, MJD and Valentine were fairly close friends.
Perhaps, if there was a second note, he might have taken that into town to his chambers to ensure at least one note got to the proper intended recipient.
As regards a law clerk as the logical informant about MJD's absence at chambers: law clerks would have been discreet about a member of chambers. A note to Druitt's family or the Druitt's London agent (Legal contact in London) would have done the trick.
Alternatively, a quiet note or chat to a fellow cricketer...
So I plump for a second note. JOHN RUFFELS.

Yes, Roy's photos are quite helpful and the tide does indeed go out quite far.

I'm not convinced there were two letters. I think this is something the press merely got confused. My guess is that there was one letter (which may or may not have been genuine) and it was left at Druitt's residence at the school. Remember, that there is no provenance for this bit of evidence. It was merely "produced" by Montie's brother William at the inquest.

Valentine did indeed reside away from the school in 1888, at a house in Blackheath. The term would have ended on Friday November 30, thus I suspect you are right in that Montie would have been given some days to clear out his things. Valentine may have even gone off on holidays by the time William appeared at the school asking about his brother. This may be why Valentine was apparently not called at the inquest but I'm speculating here.

[Johnr]

Tossing Some Surmises Onto The table

I'd like to air a couple of theories which have popped into my mind after reading all these posts.
I think the absence of Rev. Charles Druitt from J. H. Lonsdale's wedding, and the failure in attendance by any of the Druitt family at the Wimborne Royal Ball, might have been because of the strict Victorian obsession with "appearance" and " respectability '.
Out of consideration, the whole Druitt family would have put all social engagements on hold until MJD's fate was known.
After all, because they would have known his personality intimately, (especially William), I think they might have had concerns prior to the communication alerting William to Montague's unusual absence.

And secondly, a possible explanation for MJD's strange train-travelling pattern on the 1st December: could he have taken unexpected trains because of the serious fog delays on and around The Thames?
Were train journeys delayed that day because of the fog? JOHN RUFFELS.

[aspallek]

Hi John,

I think you are making the same mistake I often begin to make about the fog on the Thames. The extreme fog conditions were on Dec. 31, the day Druitt was found. The weather on Dec. 1 was not particularly bad.

The absence of any Druitts at the Lonsdale wedding is puzzling. Yet we have to remember that the list in the newspaper account does not claim to be complete. The explanation you propose is indeed plausible.

[Johnr]

Trying To Discover who MJD Was Closest to In The family

Thanks Andy,
You are correct. My mistake.
In an attempt to analyse just what MJD's likely last moves would have been, we really need to know more about his links with his siblings.
From the extremely limited glimpse afforded by the Druitt papers in the West Sussex Records Office, it is possible to see Montague liked the company of his female cousins; male cricketers; and appeared to be impressed by his Uncle Robert at Strathmore Gardens.They both shared a common interest in Horace.
But no letters have survived to help us glean just who he was emotionally closest to.
Farson and others have wondered if MJD was close to his cricket-playing younger brother Edward.
A look at the Catholic Who's Who for the U.K. (the copy I saw was dated 1908).. would reveal Edward foresook the church of his father
and embraced Catholicism in 1887, the year before he married the daughter of the catholic squire of Chideock, Dorset.So given the sectarian divides of the time, it looks as if no Druitt attended Edward's wedding, and except for a clipping in the above records, no contact after that date seems to have taken place.
So.Should we be delving further into his siblings lives? JOHN RUFFELS.

[Johnr]

And Another Thing..

Has anyone checked to see if there was trackwork on the rail line Montague normally rode on 1st December?
Perhaps prompting a need to go via another line or station? JOHN RUFFELS.

[aspallek]

Hi John,

Good thinking all around. I agree that we should be delving into Montie's relationship with his immediate family. Unfortunately, no records of correspondence are available. Perhaps there are some letter squirreled away in some forgotten Dorset archives but we don't know of any.

The West Sussex archives compiled by Montie's cousin Gertrude are as close as we can come and they do provide us valuable insights. I think most promising is the lead concerning "Linden Gardens." If this is indeed the Linden Gardens in Chiswick it suggests a connection between the Druitts and Tuke as early as 1887 which, in turn, suggests a potential reason for Montague to travel to Chiswick on Dec 1. I would like to have about two more days to dig through those archives.

I'm afraid we will never know the reason for Montie's rather aborted rail journey to Hammersmith. My latest find is that there was a tram service between Hammersmith Station and Turnham Green. This would have taken Druitt within a few yards of Linden Gardens. On the other hand, he may have just fancied a walk along Chiswick Mall. We will never know.

[caz]

I'm afraid we will never know the reason for Montie's rather aborted rail journey to Hammersmith. My latest find is that there was a tram service between Hammersmith Station and Turnham Green. This would have taken Druitt within a few yards of Linden Gardens. On the other hand, he may have just fancied a walk along Chiswick Mall. We will never know.

Hi Andy,

Yes, I think it could really have been that simple - and a very bittersweet experience it could have been for a deeply depressed man who had done that walk in happier times.

Back on May 27th this year, I posted about a perfect day I had just spent doing Monty's walk here:

http://www.jtrforums.com/showthread.php?t=6581

In case it’s of any interest, here is most of that post:

The book… Wanderings In London… was spotted by chance and snapped up by hubby in a charity shop on Saturday. The curious thing is that he had already planned to take me up the Thames Path… the very next day, Sunday, for a nice leisurely walk and pub crawl, and had chosen Hammersmith for the purpose. I went to school in Hammersmith but had never walked along the river there before.

Anyway, I was flicking through this little treasure trove on the Saturday afternoon, and on page 17 I found this:

'You hardly ever see a pub near the river bank. Oddly enough, the possibilities of the riverside have not been fully exploited in central London, and even in the suburbs pubs are rare. But there are a few between Chiswick and Hammersmith, and here is an old pub called "The Doves" [sic] with a garden and a terrace looking out over the river.'

On page 91 there is a pretty little sketch of "The Doves" - its history, according to the narrative, dating back three hundred years.

On Sunday it was a fabulously hot and sunny day and we strolled from Hammersmith Station down Queen Caroline Street to the river, had a pint and a half of Timothy Taylor's Landlord and a pint of shell-on prawns in the Blue Anchor (est 1722), and then headed towards Chiswick. We went round a bend in the path and there in front of us was the Dove:

http://www.pubs.com/pub_details.cfm?ID=175

Hubby had to try the London Pride - it would have been rude not to - followed by a pint of Youngs Ordinary in the Old Ship, further along the riverbank. Hubby hadn't a clue, and it was only just beginning to dawn on me, that we could be 'walking the Monty Druitt' walk from Hammersmith to Heaven.

Next came the Black Lion, where we had one for the long road (Adnams for hubby and a diet Coke for me) to Barnes Railway Bridge via Duke's Meadows. And suddenly there was Miller's Court (W4!) in front of us, followed swiftly by the Osiers. It was about 3pm by this time and the high tide had flooded the path ahead, so we had to take our shoes off, roll up our trews and paddle, soaking in the beautiful scenery, houses and watery wildlife.

It was an absolutely idyllic walk and it struck me that anyone who was feeling suicidal, who had ever walked the walk in summer, in happier times, could well have been overcome by the awful contrast of doing it all alone on a miserable December day with all hope gone.

Over Barnes Bridge (where a fashion shoot was taking place) we found ourselves at the White Hart, where we looked out over the river and were serenaded by a small group of travelling musicians. We had half an hour more to kill before the 19.50 from Barnes Bridge to Waterloo, via Clapham Junction, so we decided to have a final quick one in the nearby Bull's Head. On the way, we passed a blue plaque (the last of many we had come across) that really put the icing on the cake for me. It was for Gustav Holst, or "Gussie", as he was known to my mother when he taught music at her school.

On the way home I kept humming what those musicians had been playing. Hubby asked if it was "Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White" and I said yes it was.

Yesterday I looked up Duke's Meadows and found these:

http://www.dukesmeadowstrust.org/areahistory.html

http://www.dukesmeadowstrust.org/shipbldg.html

http://dmtrust.photobook.org.uk/c154970.html

http://chiswickpolish.homestead.com/index.html

Can't seem to get away from it, wherever I go and whatever I do…

Two months after posting this, hubby came across the following news item, which confirms mum’s “Gussie” anecdote:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/gloucestershire/8165835.stm

Love,

Caz
X

[Natalie Severn]

Yes ,it can be a very beautiful walk -like many Thames Path walks.
But I must say I find it a bit odd that Monty chose Chiswick to throw himself in the Thames, particularly as the area nearer his place of work at Temple -eg from Blackfriars Bridge to Tower Bridge is known to be popular for suicides .Ofcourse if he was suffering from a serious depression nothing would have cheered him let alone a December walk along that stretch of river!
Cheers Caz and Andy,
Norma

[John Savage]

Hi Caz and Norma,

I walked down Chiswick Mall last week, from the Lamb Tap to Hammersmith Bridge, a very pleasant and enjoyable walk on a warm summer afternoon.

In the course of my walk I noticed a house with a blue plaque commemorating A.P. Herbert, the author and satirist, who had lived there during his life. He was responsible for a series of satirical articles in Punch Magazine entitled Misleading Cases, one of these was "Port ot Port" which argues whether the law of the road or the law of the sea apply to Chiswick Mall when it floods. The answer of course, was the law of the sea, and that motorists should drive on the right and give way to sailing boats when the mall is flooded.

A great story that I still enjoy, but it gave rise to a more serious thought; could it be that on a cold and possibly icy winters night, Monty whilst walking along the Chisick Mall, simply fell into the water and drowned?

I don't suppose this helps us much but it was just a thought.

Rgds
John

[caz]

Yes ,it can be a very beautiful walk -like many Thames Path walks.
But I must say I find it a bit odd that Monty chose Chiswick to throw himself in the Thames, particularly as the area nearer his place of work at Temple -eg from Blackfriars Bridge to Tower Bridge is known to be popular for suicides .Ofcourse if he was suffering from a serious depression nothing would have cheered him let alone a December walk along that stretch of river!
Cheers Caz and Andy,
Norma

Hi Nats,

I don't find it 'odd' as such, because there could be a million and one reasons why he was drawn to that particular stretch of river. Also, don't forget that the Thames water would have been quite foul the nearer one got to central London, and I dare say the more discerning suicidal gent of the day might have stopped short of spending his last moments ingesting anything resembling the kind of muck that the poor Princess Alice victims had no choice but to swallow.

Love,

Caz
X

[aspallek]

In an upcoming article for Ripperologist I present my discoveries from the Druitt archives at Chichester. Among these is a letter of July 1887 indicating that Ann Druitt (Montie's mum) is to go to "Linden Gardens." I argue that this is likely the Linden Gardens in Chiswick, a stones throw from Tuke's Manor House Asylum. There seems to be every likelihood that Ann Druitt was already being treated by the Tukes in 1887. If she were there in the Fall of 1888, Montie would certainly had a reason for raveling t o Chiswick to take leave of her before ending his life. Even in mum was not residing in Chiswick at the time, Montie might have gone to Chiswick to consult with her doctors on his own behalf, fearing a breakdown.

As to his getting off at Hammersmith, we cannot possibly know. It seems a bit unlikely that a suicidal individual would care to take a scenic walk on a cold late autumn day but it is possible. He may even has been scouting out a place along the Thames for his intended suicide.

[Natalie Severn]

John,Its possible but then rather odd if it was Monty himself who weighted his pockets with stones before the "slip"!
Look forward to your upcoming article Andy.
Cheers everyone

[Johnr]

Who Was T.W.Leigh ?

Amongst my scribbled notes.
Obviously based upon something in the West Sussex Records Office archived Druitt Papers, during the date range 1836 - 1883, I see reference to :
'' Dr Robert Druitt.Letter from T.W. Leigh of Hammersmith ".


So, just who was "T.W.Leigh" ?

JOHN RUFFELS.