- 2 months ago
- #mariatheresia
- #janeeyre
- #theborgias
#mariatheresia #janeeyre #theborgias The Case of George Harry Storrs.
Julian Fellowes examines the unsolved case of wealthy industrialist George Harry Storrs, murdered at his home in Stalybridge in 1909. Starring: Michael Fassbender, Christina Cole, David Schofield, David Calder, Stella Gonet.
Julian Fellowes examines the unsolved case of wealthy industrialist George Harry Storrs, murdered at his home in Stalybridge in 1909. Starring: Michael Fassbender, Christina Cole, David Schofield, David Calder, Stella Gonet.
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00The
00:08setting for this case is Staleybridge in Cheshire,
00:12once at the heart of the industrial north.
00:15On a hill outside the town stood Gorse Hall,
00:18a fine place with magnificent views,
00:20but in 1909 it was the scene of a savage crime
00:24when the master there was killed.
00:26It remains unsolved today,
00:28and what makes it particularly intriguing
00:31is that the victim, one George Harry Storrs,
00:34apparently knew he was going to be murdered.
00:58If you say your words can, I'll shoot.
01:10George! Stay here! Don't go!
01:14George! Stay here! Don't go!
01:35Now I've got you.
01:37No!
01:45Someone ring the bell!
01:46Don't go down!
01:47No!
01:54No!
01:59No!
02:00No!
02:01No!
02:02No!
02:03No!
02:04Yeah!
02:20No!
02:21No!
02:23No!
02:24No!
02:25No!
02:26No!
02:27No!
02:28No!
02:29Get out of here!
02:59Get out of here!
03:21George Harry Stores died from his wounds soon after.
03:25The police arrived and the hunt for the mystery killer, or the hard assassin, duly began.
03:33I'd like you please to tell me what you said in the police station when you saw the defendant.
03:38There were two trials which soon attracted widespread national coverage.
03:42First accused was Cornelius Howard, George Harry's cousin.
03:46Second was a local man, Mark Wilde, seen here being tried for his life.
03:51Oddly, both men had the same defence lawyer.
03:54The remarkable Edward Theophilus Nelson, one of the first West Indians called to the English bar.
03:59But they were by no means the only suspects with motive and opportunity, even if they were the only ones the police cared to pursue.
04:07George Harry's wife looked every inch the stricken widow, dressed in deepest mourning.
04:12But what was the real story of her marriage?
04:15His elder brother received the news of George Harry's death remarkably easily.
04:19His greatest friend was rumoured to have fallen out with George Harry in the months leading up to his murder,
04:24while his wife could barely bring herself to say his name.
04:28The case duly collapsed. There were to be no more trials.
04:33It was clear that George Harry's death would go unavenged.
04:37His assassin had simply disappeared into that misty night.
04:41The End
04:50George Harry was the second son of William's stores, a brilliant local businessman, but
05:17he was the only one to inherit the father's passion for commerce, and it was probably
05:21in recognition of this that when George Harry married in 1891, William gave him Gorse Hall
05:27as a wedding present. From here, there was a magnificent view of Staley Bridge and of
05:32the aqueduct mill, the heart of George Harry's empire when Cotton was still king. It was also
05:38here, five years before the events you've just witnessed, that George Harry embarked
05:43on his greatest, and as it would turn out, final professional gamble.
05:50What do you think? I think that I've just had a ride in a time machine. Robert, this is
06:03the revolution. Are you all right, sir? Of course I'm all right, and don't you two have
06:07any work to do? Worrell, you will get a motor car as soon as you can, won't you? I wish
06:12I could, sir. Eliza? I'd marry one if it was legal. Good for you. See? So, are you going
06:18to keep it then? No, no, I don't want to buy one. I want to make for them, and if I can't,
06:22then I shall invest in somebody who can. Hello, James. I didn't know you were coming. I was
06:29in the Liverpool club. The fellow said he'd seen the car arrive, thought I'd come up and
06:33take a look. Robert? I wouldn't if I were you. Hands covered in grease. Come inside and
06:38clean up. No, no, no, no. I'll let you and James get on. Robert? See you tonight. Looking
06:44forward to it. I could hear you from the bottom of the driveway. Well, this town could do with
06:49a wake-up. George Harry was no grad grand. He was always more interested in the future than
06:56the past, and he'd already expanded into building and manufacturing. But he did have one great
07:02sorrow. The marriage to Maggie Middleton, his older and socially superior wife, had produced
07:08no children. Hello, James. You had a turn in the motor car? I have no intention of going
07:15anywhere near it. How are the children? Well, thank you. James, his eldest son, inherited the
07:22main estate as well as more of the business than some thought he deserved. But the real
07:27source of tension within the family was that he and his wife had nine children when Maggie
07:32was barren. Oh, you must excuse me, James. I'm sure you and George Harry would like to
07:36talk. Well, the fact of the matter is, I'm a little embarrassed. I'd be pleased to buy
07:57some of your shares. I don't want to sell my shares. I don't see what else we can do. I hesitate to suggest
08:04this, James, but you could always work. Aunt Margaret, would you...? Uncle James! How
08:10lovely to see you. Your aunt went upstairs, I think. I'll run and find her. I want some
08:15advice on a new dress, and it's no good asking you. It is not.
08:20Marian's in good form. I dread to think what the house would be like without her. She's a nice
08:29girl. But I hope you remember she's not blood, George Harry. If you mean by that, then I have
08:33no child of my own. Nobody knows that better than I do. I don't suppose you want my advice
08:39about this motor car idea? Perhaps you'll let me give you some advice. Stick to what you know
08:44and don't meddle in things that you don't understand. It'll make us both richer in the
08:47long run.
08:50It depends. The blue makes you look more serious than the rose. Then without question, I shall
08:56have the rose. The last thing I want is for a man to think me serious. Anything less likely
09:01to result in a proposal, I cannot imagine. You don't have a very high opinion of men.
09:06Oh! I think men fun-loving creatures, it's true. But I don't dislike them for it. Don't
09:12you agree, Uncle George? I think we do love fun on the whole, yes. I was just on my way
09:20out. Enjoy your evening. Give them my regards. I will.
09:27I have the name, thank you, of the agent in America. Well, that's good. We must ride to
09:42him. If my workforce can manage cotton, then they can certainly make wheels or engine parts.
09:46And what does James think? Oh, you know James, he'd love to drive a motor car but work to make
09:52it happen. Yes. Talent for business doesn't always run in families. Worse
09:57look. What about his sons? Would they be any good, do you think? Are you suggesting that
10:03I should borrow my brother's sons to make up for the lack of my own? I shan't dignify that
10:07with an answer. Heavens! Sounds like pistols at dawn. Bags that hold the horses. Meanwhile,
10:14to get your strength up for the test, come and have some dinner.
10:19Robert Innes was George Harry's solicitor. And it was through the Innes's that he first
10:23met Maggie. They were part of that higher social set that he aimed at by his marriage.
10:29They lived comfortably and their children were looked after by a governess, Maria Hull,
10:33whom by this time George Harry knew well. The children are almost fluent in German and French.
10:38Mama. That's very impressive. Most Swiss people speak at least two languages.
10:43Oh, dear. I can hardly manage one.
10:47Maria wants to take them home with her next time she visits. Let them have some real practice.
10:51There's nothing more important than travel. You should travel. Might do you good to get away for a bit.
10:56Oh, he hasn't got time for travel. Not now. Why?
10:59George Harry's about to embark upon his next great adventure. I'm thinking of manufacturing motor cars.
11:05It seems strange not to travel so you can make motor cars if the motor car is going to change travel forever.
11:11Do you think so? I know so. The motor car is going to shrink the world.
11:16I do hope not. Sounds rather uncomfortable.
11:20I'd really love to see Switzerland. Are the picture postcards true? Is it all snow-capped mountains and houses like cuckoo clocks?
11:30A little. But most of all, it feels very big, with nature all around, so you can really breathe.
11:37As opposed to Staley Bridge, which just makes you cough.
11:41I know it sounds silly, but I do miss the views.
11:44That's not quite fair. You should see the views at Gorse Hall.
11:48Why not? You could come and visit.
11:52We've a bit of a garden there that you might like to walk in.
11:56Will she be company for Marion?
11:58Marion is my wife's niece. She's a jolly girl, and you like her.
12:02Yes, she is. Jolly. That's a very good word for Marion.
12:07Maria Hull was a pastor's daughter. She was well-educated and bright, but the role of governess was more or less the only one open to a middle-class woman with no income, and it was never easy.
12:21She might dine with her employers. She might even be quite well-treated, but she remained awkwardly poised between the family and the servants, and not really part of either group.
12:31See you tomorrow.
12:33George.
12:45What are you doing?
12:47Nothing.
12:49We never talk anymore, do we?
12:56We can talk if you like.
12:59What do you want to talk about?
13:02Never mind.
13:06Sleep well.
13:08Mr Stoots?
13:34Mr. Hull?
13:35Miss Hull?
13:36I hope you don't mind.
13:37Not at all.
13:39The children have gone to visit their aunt.
13:42I don't issue invitations unless I mean them.
13:47I can't remember the name of it in English.
13:50Oh, I haven't the first idea, I'm afraid.
13:58Your English is so good.
14:00I envy that.
14:01If I did travel, I could never make myself understood,
14:04and it's not the same.
14:06But speaking a foreign language is strange.
14:10You know it, but you are a different person when you speak it.
14:13How do you mean?
14:15I think here, when I speak English, I'm very serious.
14:19I am a governess, and I sound like a governess.
14:22I can hear myself.
14:27I left school at 13.
14:30We haven't got to languages.
14:31Well, for someone who left school at 13,
14:37you seem to have done quite a lot with your life.
14:42I must go.
14:44They'll be wondering what's become of me.
14:46I hope we shall meet again.
14:47Perhaps on one of your walks, Miss Holtz.
14:54Come in.
15:12Dinner's nearly ready.
15:19I'll be there in a minute.
15:26Did you see anyone today?
15:27No.
15:30Nobody out of the ordinary.
15:36Would you like to look at these?
15:38They're my first thoughts on the motor car venture.
15:40I wouldn't know what to make of them.
15:47Whenever you're ready.
16:03Good morning, Uncle George.
16:06Good morning.
16:06Good morning.
16:10Can I get you anything else, sir?
16:16No, thank you, Eliza.
16:32Are you all right, Uncle George?
16:40You should have been a botanist.
16:50And why not?
16:52You don't know my parents, Mr. Storrs.
16:55For them, a lady botanist is only one step up from a suffragette.
16:59Do you miss your family?
17:05Of course I do.
17:06No, of course about it for me, I'm afraid.
17:09I don't think I'd miss mine very much.
17:11Well, I do miss them.
17:14Especially my youngest brother, John.
17:16My baby.
17:17Why do you call him that?
17:19It's how I think of them.
17:21My mother had nine children, Mr. Storrs.
17:23And there's a limit to what one person can do.
17:27So I used to look after him when we were younger.
17:31He trained me for my job, really.
17:33Now, when I'm lonely, he's the one I miss most.
17:36You once said that when you spoke English, you didn't feel like your true self.
17:42Yes.
17:43I was wondering, do you feel like your true self when you talk to me?
17:49Because I certainly feel like my true self when I talk to you.
17:54In fact, I don't think I felt more like myself in 20 years.
17:58I shouldn't like you to be like me.
18:02I shouldn't like you to be like me.
18:04You must be delayed at work.
18:19I expect so.
18:22Though I couldn't have sent a message.
18:29That's very pretty.
18:31Is it a cushion?
18:32It's a kneeler for the church.
18:35Oh.
18:36How splendid.
18:45Well, I really think I should get going.
18:48Emma would be wondering what's happened to me.
18:50I'll let him know that you were here.
18:52I'm sure there's a reason.
18:54Don't worry about it.
18:56Tell him I wait to hear from him.
18:58And I'll see myself out.
19:04I'm afraid I've let you down.
19:12I've let myself down.
19:16You don't want to hear this, but...
19:18I can't be sorry.
19:21How can I be sorry?
19:23And I can't ever remember feeling happy.
19:27What you've done was stupid in life.
19:30Then tell me that it made you unhappy and I'll not try to see you again.
19:34Just tell me that.
19:36And I'll leave you alone.
19:37I can't.
19:46Of course the situation was hopeless.
19:48Guilt ridden for Maria.
19:50Dangerous for George Harry.
19:52But the fact remains they were deeply in love.
19:55Perhaps for the first time in either of their lives.
20:02What was that governess doing here the other day?
20:05Hmm.
20:05What governess?
20:06The Swiss woman who works for the Inneses.
20:08She was walking in the gardens down by the cops a couple of days ago.
20:12I don't know anything about it.
20:15I told her she could come and walk here if she wanted to.
20:18Hmm.
20:18You should have said.
20:22I didn't think it was important.
20:29She was talking about missing her home and the views and such like,
20:33so I asked her to come and walk here.
20:37Why?
20:37Have you any objections?
20:39Of course not.
20:40Heaven knows it costs enough to keep it all going.
20:41I suppose even you won't mind if somebody enjoys it once in a while.
20:44I don't think anybody...
20:45I'm going to the mill.
20:47Remember James is coming this evening.
20:48I know.
20:49Only you forgot Robert was here.
20:52A couple of days ago.
21:02George Harry may have been putting his work and his whole position in Staleybridge at risk,
21:06but their mutual infatuation was beyond their control and the relationship drifted on over the coming weeks.
21:13I was wondering, if I managed to get away for a few days, do you think you could find an excuse to join me?
21:22Where?
21:22I could go to Germany, because I should see the Mercedes plant anyway, and then you could go to Switzerland.
21:29I think the most sensible thing we can do is just enjoy being here together, the point of making plans if we have no future.
21:38Oh, if it were only myself that I had to worry about.
21:41And what about me, running away with a married man?
21:44I couldn't do that to my parents.
21:47I couldn't do it to the Innocent.
21:49I wouldn't do it to myself.
21:51No.
21:52This is as much as we will ever have.
21:56It has already been so wonderful that I know I will be punished.
22:06Are you listening to me?
22:08There's no point in my beating about the bush.
22:11The share price is falling, and I believe it reflects this newfangled idea of yours about motorcars.
22:17James, let me stop you right there.
22:19I don't see why.
22:20I am a partner in the firm. I have a right.
22:22What right?
22:23Don't think because you've inherited shares you can come in here and threaten me with some absurd notion you picked up at your club.
22:29I will not be spoken to like this.
22:31All right, then why don't I just leave the business for you to run?
22:34You wouldn't do that.
22:35Oh, no.
22:36As a matter of fact, I have been thinking that I might sell my shares and move abroad for a while.
22:40Maybe stay there, make a new life for myself.
22:42Oh, be ridiculous.
22:45You couldn't do that. What about Maggie?
22:46She would have to make a new life, too.
22:54There you are.
22:57How did you get on?
22:57Not too badly.
23:01I found the gloves and ordered the boots.
23:04And what about that?
23:05Nothing I'd be caught dead in.
23:08I'll tell you what I did here.
23:10Do you remember that Swiss governess to the Innes children?
23:12The one who used to come and walk here?
23:14Yes.
23:14Well, apparently, she's leaving to go and study at Oxford.
23:20Can you imagine anything more odd?
23:22I disagree.
23:23Why shouldn't a woman have a decent education?
23:27I think it's wonderful news.
23:30Don't you?
23:32Yes, I suppose so.
23:34Wasn't possible in my day.
23:35But then so much has changed.
23:46Who did you get started?
23:48No!
23:48No!
23:49George!
23:51We didn't expect you.
23:53I'm sorry to push in like this, but...
23:55I remembered something I should have told Robert about the hospital contract.
24:01Well, never mind that now.
24:03Can we persuade you to some dinner?
24:04Are you sure?
24:06Of course!
24:08Come sit next to me, Henry.
24:09Move down a little.
24:11Come on.
24:15There we go.
24:18We were just talking about whether we should give in to the children and get a dog.
24:21Of course, everyone knows it's going to be Emma and I that can have to look after the thing.
24:24No, it wouldn't.
24:25I hear you're going to Oxford, Miss Hall.
24:28Yes.
24:30That's right.
24:32Miss Hall seems rather so good.
24:33She's only just decided.
24:34We were quite surprised, too.
24:36When are you leaving?
24:38In a few days.
24:41She's just like you, George.
24:42When she makes her mind up, that's it.
24:44But I do hope that we shall meet again on one of your walks before you go.
24:47I don't think she'll have the time, will you, Maria?
24:49There's such a lot to do.
24:51Well, I am sorry to hear that.
24:56That is, I'm sure that everybody here will miss you.
25:00Well, we certainly shall.
25:05And I hope that you will miss Staleybridge.
25:10Just a bit.
25:11More than you know.
25:19This grave is stone cold.
25:21Annie.
25:21Women undergraduates were still a novelty.
25:33My own great-aunt was allowed to attend university lectures in the 1890s, but only if she sat no exams and was accompanied at all times by a maid.
25:42Even so, there were women's colleges.
25:45Women's votes, women's rights were topical.
25:48Maria's decision wasn't so extraordinary.
25:51It's the suddenness of it that's hard to account for.
25:54Perhaps Emma Innes thought it was time for her to make a clean break.
25:58With unfortunate timing, it was at this moment that George Harry's cousin, Cornelius Howard, emerged from the woodwork, hand-held out in search of a favour.
26:10But if it's Uncle George's cousin, why don't we know him?
26:13He's been serving in India for years.
26:15Is he an officer?
26:16Non-commissioned.
26:18And he's out of the army now.
26:21He is quite nice-looking.
26:23And his father was a butcher.
26:24Uncle George's brother was a butcher.
26:26His aunt's husband was a butcher.
26:29And as far as I'm aware, it's not yet a crime.
26:35This sort of disparity in families wasn't unusual in the highly mobile world of the late Victorians.
26:41William Storrs had founded a fortune.
26:43His sister married a pork butcher.
26:45As a result, their sons were born under very different stars.
26:49Cornelius Howard drifted into the army after a career as a petty criminal.
26:53He made bombardier, but he left the army shortly after the death of his father.
26:58He saw cousin George as his one link to rank and money, and he meant to make serious use of him.
27:05I'd love to go to India.
27:06How do you know you'd like it?
27:10Well, he's got to be more interesting than Staleybridge.
27:14Well, I don't know.
27:16There are some things about Staleybridge that interest me very much.
27:24We've got a visitor.
27:26Cousin George.
27:28Cousin James suggested I pay you a visit.
27:30You're most welcome.
27:41Aunt Maggie, I wonder if I could drag you away for a minute.
27:45There's something upstairs I want to show you.
27:47Of course.
27:48Your niece is charming.
28:01She's my wife's niece.
28:03Oh.
28:08So you've left the army, then?
28:10Yes.
28:11And what are you going to do now?
28:12I hoped you might be able to give me some advice.
28:16Advice or help?
28:17I don't have much family, Cousin George, especially now my father's dead.
28:23Of course, you don't know me, but...
28:25You worked in your father's shop, didn't you?
28:27Yes.
28:28Well, what's wrong with that?
28:29Everyone has to eat.
28:31Maybe, but...
28:33Well, I'd like to try some other business, and Cousin James said...
28:36What do you know about business?
28:38I can do accounts.
28:39I was battery pay sergeant for the Royal Field Artillery.
28:42Well, that should serve you well round here.
28:44There are plenty of new companies who might need an accountant.
28:46It's a boom time.
28:48Is there any possibility...
28:51Couldn't you find something for me, Cousin George?
28:57I'm afraid I don't care to mix family with business.
29:00I hear Denton's expanding into new premises.
29:08Perhaps they'll need a wages clerk.
29:10But I've run a whole administrative unit.
29:12And it will not take you too long to move up, will it?
29:16You must come back and tell us how you get along.
29:23Elijah!
29:23Mr. Howard is leaving.
29:34Good luck with your search.
29:36Cornelius Howard was living on sixpence a day.
29:48His father had lived the princely sum of 32 pounds to his daughter.
29:53George Harry's refusal to help may well have been simply because he neither liked nor trusted his cousin.
29:58History would prove him right.
29:59But even so, it's no wonder that Cornelius should have been enraged by it.
30:06As the months passed, George Harry must have prayed that Maria might return to Stalybridge as suddenly as she had departed.
30:13Maria?
30:23What's going on?
30:25I'm ever so sorry, Master.
30:26I know you.
30:28You used to work here on the roof and you gave up your job.
30:31If I did...
30:32That's enough of your impertinence.
30:34Then how dare you to come here!
30:36How dare you!
30:38How dare you!
30:39How dare you!
30:43What's all this, then?
31:03The 11th of August!
31:05Your wedding anniversary, Uncle George.
31:07Is it?
31:09What happens now?
31:10Well, you blow out the candles and cut the cake and we all eat it.
31:18Whoa!
31:19What a defeat!
31:20A candle for every year you've been married.
31:22Oh!
31:28Devil!
31:29I'll go, sir.
31:29Where's Mr Storrs?
31:40He's not available.
31:41It's all right, Eliza.
31:42I'll see to this.
31:44Thank you, Eliza.
31:47What can I do for you?
31:49You can give my girl her job back.
31:50That's what you can do, you arrogant bastard.
31:52She's gone to work and she's had to move away.
31:54And all because of you.
31:55I dismiss Kate Kenworthy because she was unfit for decent society.
31:59What do you know about decent society?
32:01What did you say?
32:02I'll make you sorry for what you've done.
32:04Go on, clear off now before I send for the police.
32:07I'm not scared of you, you bully.
32:08Jeff!
32:09Uncle!
32:11I'll make you sorry you were born!
32:12In January 1907, eight months after she'd left, Maria Hole came back to Staleybridge.
32:28Her return was as unexpected as her departure.
32:30But she would pay no more visits to Gorse Hall, and there is no evidence that the wretched George
32:37Harry received any explanation as to why she wouldn't see him.
32:41More alone than he'd ever been, George Harry retreated into a world of his own.
32:47The lovers would never meet again.
32:50On the evening of the 7th of February, 1907, Maria Hole sat down to write her final goodbyes.
32:57Do not expect me back tonight.
33:01Nobody is to blame, only myself.
33:05It is heart-wending to leave you all.
33:08Please console my poor parents, and accept the heartfelt thanks of a miserable sinner.
33:27Goodness, Marion, you made me jump.
33:35I didn't hear you come in.
33:37I ran into one of the Innocis servants in town.
33:40Maria Hole has gone missing.
33:42For three weeks, Maria's whereabouts remained a mystery, until one evening, Robert Innes paid his friend a visit.
34:02Robert, won't you come in?
34:04No, thank you.
34:06I require a quick word for George.
34:08George.
34:12Robert?
34:15What is it?
34:19They found Maria's body in the river.
34:25And they're sure?
34:29Emma identified her.
34:33And they have performed a post-mortem.
34:35Is this...
34:47I do not wish to discuss it.
34:52I wanted you to know the facts.
34:54That's all.
34:55Or rather, you to know that we now know.
35:04You will understand you're not welcome at the funeral.
35:07Robert.
35:07Or at my house.
35:15Goodbye.
35:16Maria Hole was laid to rest in the Innes family vault.
35:26The verdict of the inquest was that she had taken her own life in a fit of insanity.
35:30Which comfortably obviated the need to investigate her depression.
35:34We can only guess at the feelings of those around her.
35:37Robert Innes soon quarrelled with George Harry.
35:39But as for Maria's father, we can't say exactly what he knew.
35:43Only that his grief was terrible.
35:45Later, he would bring his family to England on a pilgrimage.
35:49To visit the place where his beloved daughter met her end.
35:53Pastor Hall.
35:55Who wants him?
35:57My name is Storrs.
35:58George Harry Storrs.
35:59Got him.
36:00Who?
36:00I knew your sister.
36:01We are aware of who you are, Mr. Storrs.
36:04Will you please leave us?
36:06George Harry?
36:07What the hell do you think you're doing?
36:08I just wanted to...
36:09Mr. Storrs!
36:11You've done enough.
36:15There's a letter for you.
36:36Did you see who brought this?
36:38I didn't see.
36:39Thank you, Mary.
36:47The letter must have struck George Harry like the knell of doom.
36:51Terrified for his life, but trapped inside a web of his own secrets,
36:55he seems to have felt there was only one person he could safely confide in.
36:59His devoted servant, James Worrell.
37:02What did they want?
37:03This was delivered.
37:09My God.
37:11When did it arrive?
37:12Sometime yesterday.
37:14What did they say?
37:15They need more information.
37:17That's ridiculous.
37:18He said that people who write letters like this have no intention of carrying out any threat.
37:23They just want to frighten you.
37:24Well, I should think they've done that all right.
37:28Can't they offer some protection?
37:29To reassure his master, Worrell agreed to make regular patrols of the grounds at Gorse Hall.
37:42What are you doing here?
37:44This is private property, and we don't tolerate poaching.
37:49Around this time, there were reported sightings of strangers in the area.
37:53A fact that Worrell decided to keep from George Harry, presumably in a misguided attempt to protect him.
38:04Did you see who left this?
38:07No.
38:08Sorry.
38:08You look nice.
38:35Maggie.
38:36Maggie.
38:38You do know that I'm very grateful to you, don't you?
38:44I can't think why.
38:45If anything should happen, I shouldn't like you to think that I don't appreciate everything that you've ever done for me.
38:53Everything but make you happy.
38:57That isn't your fault.
38:58Anyway, nothing's going to happen.
39:08Hand me my shawl, will you?
39:12Why don't you ask a friend to come and stay?
39:15I'm not so much at the time.
39:17You must be lonely.
39:18I've got married.
39:19Not always, and she has her own life these days.
39:22Why don't you invite Georgina MacDonald to come and visit just for a few days?
39:27You do like her, don't you?
39:28Of course.
39:30Well, then that's settled.
39:32I'll see you downstairs.
39:33I'll see you downstairs.
39:52do you ever have the feeling that you're being followed what do you mean sir that you're being
40:03watched i do i get this feeling sometimes that there's somebody following close behind me
40:10keeping just out of sight sounds quite mad i'll double my patrol time sir no no i can't ask that
40:18don't you you can ask anything of me master you know that
40:22people praise the quiet of the country but i never find it so
40:30and those noises are so disagreeable when you think of those animals and all the machinery and so on
40:37you don't have many pictures do you you like it plain i suppose we do where's marion staying
40:46oh just with some friends not far away i hope you know them oh yes because these days i find that
40:54young people seem to have forgotten how to behave
40:56not well mr stores that's quite a nasty cough have you got anything for it it's nothing that's what
41:06my mother said god rest her soul and she was dead as a doornail 10 hours later i'll be right as rainy
41:10in a couple of days what is it george harry there's somebody in the garden
41:14hands up all right it's you what the total
41:18what's that noise
41:25eliza don't get one of them yes sir
41:27should she be doing that it's all right he's gone
41:30i heard him run off
41:32you all right mrs mcdonald
41:36thanks to this curious incident the authorities were finally persuaded to listen
41:45it was agreed that constables would patrol the grounds at night
41:49and as an extra precaution a bell was installed on the roof to be rung in times of danger
41:54whatever the police might make of the threats it was clear that george harry was taking them very seriously indeed
42:01what's happened sir
42:15i thought i'd run a test
42:19well you never said i was scared witless
42:22well that's the whole point of the test isn't it
42:24gentlemen i'm very impressed with the speed of your response
42:28happily for me this was a false alarm
42:32george harry's false alarm was long remembered in staley bridge
42:38one child describing years later how he felt he had been woken by the clappers of doom
42:42it was probably self-defeating
42:45three days later all the constables were needed to protect the polls of a local election
42:50and perhaps in revenge for this pointless exercise or for whatever reason
42:54the senior officer decided not to warn the stores that there would be no one available to patrol gorse hall that night
43:01have you been dinner ready yet
43:15not long now
43:17just got to fetch the milk from the cellar
43:19i'm starving
43:27you're always starving
43:28there's a man in the house
43:40there's a man in the house
43:43now i've got you
43:54no
43:54bring the bell
43:58someone bring the bell
44:00i'll go get her
44:01and get her
44:04won't people
44:11tell you
44:14please
44:15get
44:18so much
44:20stay
44:21early
44:22where you gonna get the way
44:22get
44:23sour
44:24coming
44:24come
44:24to the
44:25for
44:25that
44:26awake
44:26get
44:28you
44:28you
44:28let
44:29you
44:29out
44:30here
44:30and
44:30close
44:30away
44:30you
44:31crazy
44:31No, no, no.
45:01No, no.
45:31No, no.
46:01No, no.
46:02No, no.
46:03No, no.
46:04No, no.
46:05Oh, God.
46:06Oh, God.
46:08He's asking for Mrs Storrs.
46:10She won't stop ringing the bell.
46:12He's asking for you.
46:21But he's there.
46:23Help me take her to the room.
46:27No.
46:28I can't breathe.
46:30If only I'd been here.
46:32If only I'd been here.
46:34On my way.
46:36Where's Maggie?
46:38Oh.
46:39George Harry Storrs died less than an hour after abandoning his game of patience.
46:51There was a flurry of rumour and suspicion.
46:54An inquest at Gorse Hall on the 8th of November excited local interest and George Harry's funeral the following day brought out huge crowds.
47:01And in the midst of it all, the crime claimed another victim.
47:06James Worrell hanged himself three days after the burial of his master.
47:11He left no note.
47:13So the question remains.
47:24Who did kill George Harry Storrs?
47:34At the time, of course, people wondered about Worrell's motive for suicide, but whatever that was, he had no motive for murder.
47:42Plus an unbreakable alibi from the local publican on the evening of the crime.
47:47He did work with knives and guns.
47:50And he hadn't an alibi for that curious earlier attack, but we'll come to that later.
47:55I think he blamed himself for George Harry's death.
47:58As he knew more than any other the degree of danger his employer was in.
48:04My God.
48:09Cornelius Howard was the first real suspect.
48:14He was a trained soldier.
48:15He had a grudge against his cousin.
48:17His alibi was dubious and the maids identified him.
48:20But what had it again?
48:22If James were running the business, he might have had a better chance of a job, but it's a pretty thin motive to risk a noose for.
48:29Some people thought Maggie or James might have employed him as a hitman, but I don't think so.
48:35Whatever we might think about Cornelius Howard, there wasn't the evidence to convict him.
48:41Mark Wilde was next up. He was clearly pretty odd.
48:45Some months after George Harry's death, he mounted an unprovoked and savage attack on a young couple.
48:50And after his arrest, the maids once more identified him as George Harry's assassin.
48:55I call Eliza Cooper.
48:58Like Howard, Wilde had also had a spell in the army.
49:02And although his mother tried to provide an alibi for the night of the attack, it seemed to many that the case against him was compelling.
49:09Miss Cooper, I'd like you please to tell me what you said in the police station when you saw the defendant.
49:17Don't be afraid. Just say how you described him at the station.
49:22I said he looked more like the attacker than the other gentleman.
49:25Which other gentleman?
49:27That one.
49:29So, when you saw Mr. Wilde, you thought he looked more like the man who attacked Mr. Stores than Mr. Howard.
49:36The man you had previously identified.
49:39In other words, you have positively sworn that two quite different men were the murderer.
49:47Well, yes. I suppose I have.
49:52Thank you, madam.
49:55Well, very surprisingly, the second trial, like the first, collapsed.
49:59Of course, to this day, many people favour Wilde for the crime.
50:07His mood swings may have been symptoms of syphilis.
50:09His face bore the scars of it, and he was unquestionably violent.
50:13I made you sorry you were born!
50:15But his history was to run away from the scene, not stay to kill.
50:18Besides, what motive did he have?
50:20Beyond an anger at George Harry for spoiling his relationship with the mill worker Kate Kinworthy.
50:25You domain, I'm daring you!
50:28It's not enough to swing for.
50:34What about James Stores?
50:36Could he have hired an assassin?
50:38Are you listening to me?
50:40There's no point in it.
50:41Whilst their relationship was at best cool, James never showed any desire to run the family business.
50:47He simply wanted to live off the profits that George Harry had worked so hard for.
50:51Why don't I just leave the business for you to run, then?
50:54The truth is, James had nothing to gain from the death of his brother.
51:00So who was the murderer?
51:03George Harry Stores was in a loveless, childless marriage when he met, and I think quite genuinely fell in love with Maria Hull.
51:12But any future together was impossible.
51:16Perhaps it was the very hopelessness of their situation which made them lovers, with its attendant risks of conception.
51:26I hear you're going to Oxford, Miss Hull.
51:29Yes.
51:31That's right.
51:32I would say without any question that Maria went to Oxford to give birth.
51:36Her time there bore no relation to the academic year, and the length of her stay, eight months, could hardly be more suggestive.
51:44It's my belief that George Harry knew nothing about it.
51:48I think he loved Maria deeply, I think he would have wanted to take care of her.
51:52And the child, the child for which, after all, he'd always longed.
51:55So my guess is that Emma Innes managed the details.
51:59I don't think she'll have the time, will you, Maria?
52:01There's such a lot to do.
52:03She allowed Maria to come back to her house, so that does mark her as generous.
52:07But it wouldn't have occurred to her to let Maria keep the baby.
52:11Abortion would have been ruled out as too dangerous, once the usual methods of hot baths and gin had failed.
52:17But for Maria to bring up her own child, it wouldn't even have been considered.
52:23Postnatal depression, the surrender of her baby, despair over her lost love.
52:30These more than account for her death in the icy midnight waters, poor creature.
52:35And the autopsy will have recorded that the dead woman had given birth.
52:38When George Harry learned the truth, his decency and his love meant that he was filled, not just with a sense of crushing guilt, but seemingly with a belief that sooner or later, he would have to pay for what he'd done.
52:56That the birth of the child would lead to his death.
53:00It did.
53:01It will also lead us to his killer.
53:06Who then knew about the baby?
53:09Well, Robert and Emma Innes must have, and clearly they were angry.
53:14But murderous?
53:16They might have wished their former friend ill, but they were no more likely to hire a killer to dispatch him than I am.
53:21Maggie had much more motive.
53:26The failed marriage, the affair with all the betrayal and lies that goes with it.
53:31And then the news comes that Maria's given birth when Maggie's own marriage had founded on her barrenness.
53:38Could that have tipped her over the edge?
53:39That she knew about the affair, and probably the baby, is the only possible explanation for her refusal to see him at the end.
53:48She would not hear George Harry's dying confession.
53:52I was asking for you!
53:54But he said...
53:56She chose to miss her husband's deathbed rather than risk her good name.
54:00Is that the choice of a killer?
54:02Hardly.
54:03When the first anonymous letter arrived, George Harry sensed at once that the threat was real, because he felt that the crime was great.
54:14The second letter comes. His terror grows. But he has a difficulty.
54:21How is he to convince the police, or his wife, that he's in grave danger without revealing his secret?
54:27Let's look at that first strange attack.
54:30A man pushes the barrel of a gun through the glass, and what does George Harry do?
54:35He runs to the window, and he pulls down the blind.
54:39Then he sends a maid out in the dark to fetch hell.
54:44And finally he's insisted that Maggie has a friend to stay, so that for the first time in ages there's an outsider in the house to witness these events.
54:53I believe the answer is simple.
54:54The man outside was James Worrell, and the whole thing was staged solely to persuade the police to take the situation seriously.
55:07It works. The police are alerted, the bell is installed.
55:11But then George Harry's nerve fails him, and probably fatally, he decides to test his plan.
55:16The bell is rung, the police come running.
55:20But when they leave, they take their good will with them.
55:23I didn't ready yet!
55:25I didn't ready yet!
55:26At last the expected killer does turn up.
55:30And he picks a night when the police are busy with the local elections.
55:34But what were George Harry's feelings when he heard those words?
55:38Now I've got you.
55:40Now I've got you.
55:42No!
55:44Any idea that this was a random killing vanishes right there.
55:48It was George Harry he had come to kill.
55:51Just as George Harry had known and feared he would.
55:55Hold up!
55:56While I have no doubt that Maria Hull's suicide was the motive,
56:12obviously one has to guess her bit as to the exact identity of her Avenger,
56:16but we know that in her own family her favourite, her treasured darling,
56:21was her younger brother John Gottfried Hull, and I believe he was the murderer.
56:26After all, he had to grow up watching his father lose everything,
56:29his family disintegrate, and all because Maria had met a man called George Harry Stores.
56:36You have done enough.
56:39What are you doing here?
56:40I am fairly sure that John Gottfried came to Gorse Hall intent on vengeance.
56:45George Harry could not perhaps have identified his murderer, but he could have told them why he was dying and he chose not to.
57:01The reason for his silence?
57:03Well, I suspect that as he was lying there, he thought about his beloved Maria, and he felt he deserved it.
57:10There was one survivor.
57:12Marion Lindley was Maggie's heiress and, much to James's fury I'm sure, she eventually inherited George Harry's fortune.
57:21As a wife and mother, she lived a long and happy life.
57:24But the case had cast a dark shadow over them all.
57:27A year after the murder, Maggie had Gorse Hall torn down.
57:34In grief, in anger, in remorse, who can say?
57:38It's in ruin still.
57:40A melancholy memorial to a personal tragedy.
57:43It's in ruin still.
57:44It's in ruin still.
57:45It's a tragedy.
58:13It's in ruin still.
58:20How am I appreciate it?
58:22It's in ruin still.
58:25My heart, I'm possiamo whoam who was old мож I am a princess,
58:32I am Hahklos, so I am a master of his quarry alive but not to die down to end...
58:36One day after the death of zombies is in ruin still ocult one night..
58:39I really ninguém mensong as perhaps one night.
Be the first to comment