Tracking down info on a 1920's murder

[Helen Louise]

Hi
I am trying to gain some more info on a murder that is related to a Gt uncle of mine, the details I have are

Victim, Gladys Ashman although she could be Luff as she was married but separated at the time,

Location, Goldsmiths Arms Albion Buildings London

She was shot in the temple & the case was investigated by Sir Bernard Spilsbury, she was the manageress of the above named pub, although she was married & her husband/son was left in Bath, her son I am 99% sure is my Gt uncle,

I don't have any date but it is thought to have happened in the 1920's as her son was born in 1917 & they separated after WW1 & her son was still at school

I would be grateful of any info or pointers as to how I can find out more

[Chris]

I suppose a search of the Times would be your best bet. I expect someone will be along shortly who can help with that.

In the meantime, this - from a City of London Police chronology - at least gives you a date:
1932 The first fully automated traffic signals were installed at the Cornhill/Bishopsgate intersection. The murders of Annette Friedson in Fore Street and Gladys Luff in a public house at Aldersgate Street.

http://www.cityoflondonpolicehistory.co.uk/1900.htm

[Helen Louise]

Wow that makes things easier with an actual year, many thanks Chris!

[Chris Scott]

There are two articles in the Times
The shorter one is below, the longer I'll post later

Chris S

The Times
12 Feb 1932

[Chris Scott]

The Times
16 Feb 1932

[Helen Louise]

Thank you so much! I am off to Bath next month & I'll have a look at the archives of the Bath chronicle, thats made it so much easier knowing the dates etc, in the newspaper clipping I have (No dates) it says her husband found out by reading an evening newspaper & the chronicle was/is the only newspaper about then,

There was me thinking I had a boring family history!

[George Hutchinson]

Wish we had this sort of thing more often on Casebook! Great thread.

PHILIP

[Robert]

Here's the Luff inquest, Times Feb 25th 1932.

On Sir Bernard's papers :

http://library.wellcome.ac.uk/doc_WTX050177.html

[Helen Louise]

Fabulous!

I've googled Albion buildings & it appears to still be there, Back Hill in Camden
although I can't find any ref to the pub there, will search on

Thank you very much!

[m_w_r]

I've googled Albion buildings & it appears to still be there, Back Hill in Camden although I can't find any ref to the pub there, will search on

I'm not sure that's the right location. Give me a few minutes and I'll have another look.

Mark

[Chris]

I've googled Albion buildings & it appears to still be there, Back Hill in Camden
although I can't find any ref to the pub there, will search on

I'm not sure Camden is right - it's just to the west of the Barbican, and seems to be known as Albion Way now. There is some information on the earlier publicans here:

http://londonpublichouse.com/LondonPubs/StBart/GoldsmithsArms.shtml

I'd guess the building will have gone, though. This area was heavily blitzed.

[m_w_r]

Hi -

I think it was here, much closer to Aldersgate Street than the "Albion Buildings" identified on Google Maps.



The map is Stanford's (1862). Aldersgate Street runs N-S up the right-hand edge of the area I've provided. You can see Albion Buildings to its west, in the south-eastern section of the area.

It makes much more sense to refer to this Albion Buildings as "near Aldersgate-street" (Times, 12.02.1932); notice that Times, 16.02.1932 refers to the pub as "the Goldsmiths Arms, Bartholomew Close" - you can see Bartholomew Close on the map I have provided.

We can demonstrate that there was a pub of the correct name on this Albion Buildings through testimony given at the Old Bailey: click the following links for examples:

Goldsmiths Arms 1

Goldsmiths Arms 2

Note that another search of the Old Bailey archives shows that the Goldsmiths Arms was at "the corner of Albion Buildings, in St. Bartholomew the Great". You can see the parish church on the map I have provided.

Judging from Google Maps, there isn't much left of the fabric of Albion Buildings nowadays, but the name survives, in part, in the form of Albion Way, joining Bartholomew Close to Montague Street.

Regards,

Mark

[Chris]

On the 1873 O.S. map a pub is shown roughly as indicated below on the map posted by m_w_r.

[Robert]

Geography's not my strong point. Where am I?

Anyway here it is in the 1895 PO directory. Only four years before, I think the buildings were called Goddard Buildings.

[Bob Hinton]

If anyone ever asks....

the purpose of a website like this, point them towards this thread. The speed at which good, solid research has been carried out is breathtaking. Not so long ago it would have taken days of trawling through boxes of files just to get this far.

Congratulations everyone!