JAMES BLOOMFIELD RUSH AND THE STANFIELD HALL MURDERS.

Press, Volume XLIX, Issue 8358, 17 December 1892, Page 2

JAMES BLOOMFIELD RUSH AND THE STANFIELD HALL MURDERS.

A CURIOSITY OF CRIME.

As the statesman and poet half a centaryajro and less found the seal of celebrity iaa portrait on the lid of a circular snuffbox, : o at the same period tHe criminal lradwitneaa to his notoriety in the street ballads pablished by Jemmy Catnach. That euttrprismg Seven Dials printer had set hi 9 seeay and thirsty laureates to commemorate the " hempen doom " of many a rascally murderer, but never one whoso story more strongly excited public cariosity than James Bloomfleld Rush. Patter singers (they frequently went in couples) at Islington, Turnpike, Shorediteh High street, aud ac tho entrance to Clement's Inn, and elsewhere in the populous London thoroughfares, sold thousands of the songs announcing the fate of the Norfolk homicide and swindler. For upwards of three months the name of Jenny, Rush, Emily Sandford, his mistress, whoso evidence chiefly brought him to the gallows, and Eliza Chesnney, the servant-girl who, with rare courage and fortitude, stuck to youug Mrs Jenny while the assassin fired right and left, were the subject of talk throughout town aud country, while Stanfleld Hall, the scene of the murders, was lifted into sufficienc notoriety to be made the subject of a story in t ne " London Journal." A DEED OF DREADFUL NOTE. The old mansion, Stanfield Hall, standing near Wymondham, in Norfolk, owned by Mr Isaac Jenny, the Recorder of Norwich, wjth a long and interesting history, had been almost entirely rebuilt, but quite in its former style. It was Elizabethan, with a moat before it, crossed by bridge, and an extensive park arouna. The house possessed a porch leading to a spacious hall and corridors. That on the right opened on dining and drawingrooms, that on the lefs to the servants' rooms. Both corridors or passages went from the front to the back of the edifice. The household consisted of Mr Isaac Jenny, his son, Mr Jenny Jenny, and daughter-in-law, Mra Jenny, a butler and a footman, and female servants. On Tuesday night, November 28th, 184S, the family had been dining, and it was proposed that they should have their usual same of picquet. While the preparations for this were going on, Mr Jenny walked from the corridor into the hall, and through the porch out upon the lawn. It was one of those damp, rather misty evenings often found in our early winter, bub not sufficiently inclement for the owner of the mansion to refrain from a a walk up and down before it, a constant post-prandial practice with him. Ho must have then re-entered the porch, which proved to be the last time. A man, masked and cloaked, carrying firearms, let fly afc the lawyer, aud shot him clean in the upper part of the left breast close to the shoulder, literally blowing the old i man's hearb to pieces.- Jenny dropped and expired. The assassin rushed on, encountering the butler, a poor cravenhearted fellow, who, overcome with terror, instantly fled and shut himself in his pantry. Nob satisfied with one homicide, its perpetrator proceeded towards the rear of the mansion. Here he met; young Jenny, who, alarmed at the report of firearms, was hastening from the diningroom into the hall. His doom was sealed. Yet another report, and the young man, hit with a slug in the right breast, reeled and fell backwards a corpse. Soon Mrs Jenny flew to the. arena of nocturnal murder, and stood over the lifoless.body of her husband, transfixed with horror. Again the masked ruffian raised a weapon, and discharged ib just as the one coara geous servant in the household—a young woman named Eliza Cheatney—hastened in, and beheld the arm of her mistress shiver in the air, while her unscathed hand pressed her breast in agony. The pale and oauutl2ss girl rushed towards the murderer, but ho had ruthless resources, and Eliza Chestney dropped, slugstricken in the thigh, Shrieks from tho wounded women pierced the silence of the mansion, and amidsfc those ejaculations the mysterious assassin stole off. Tho manservant, in cowardly retreat, at last crept from concealment, got Outside the house, and swam the moat. Near the bridge were two of the Sfcanfield Hall women servants, who had been on a visit to Wyniondham, and had heard, ns well as a couple of young men in their company, the report of firearms from the mansion. An alarm soon spread along the lanes and roads and reached a firm of solicitors,'the C/inns, of Wymondharu, and patrols and the telegraph went go work, and the Norwich police, as well as the county constabulary, roused themselves to run the murderer to earth. Amidst the hubbub and panic pervading the towns and villages iv the vicinity of the sanguinary outrage, one phrase was passed from tongue to tongue, " Has Rush anything to do with it?" Well known through the length and breadth of che neighbourhood, ha had said of one of his victims, "It won't be long before I serve him with an ejectment for another world." JAMES BLOOMFIELD RUSH, who was the best-talked-about man in Eugland towards the end of the year 1848, was a broad-built, buU-necked, ainisterfaeed fellow, noticeable for a remarkable flab head and bushy hair, who, under a guise of wcll-planued reapcctability, in reality had a record illustrating the old saying that a rogue is ever a roundabout fool. James Bioomfleld Rush had been a land agent, an appriser, and auctioneer, and throughout his life, more or less, in addition, had been associated with farming. The natural son of a woman of the name of Mary Biocwueld, who gave birth to him afc the beginning of our century, he was, by the kiridties3 of a man she afterwards married, allowed to take the stepfather's name. Rush, the elder, who held a Felmingham farm under the Key. •George Preston, was a respectable yeoman, and had enough kindness ot heart to give'his wife's illegitimate, son the elements of superior education, and, on his reaching twenty-one, capital sufficient to start a farm. It was at Aylshain. The young farmer afterwarda married a Miss Soamcs, very well connected, and Rush, prospering, took, a larger farm. This, situated at Wood Dalling, was the property of William Earle Bulwer, brother of the celebrated novelist afterwards known as Lord Lytton. While, thua occupied on the land, early in hU career Rush gob into bad odour. Wheoistactot belonging to him were fired, and their owner tafcen into custody as an incendiary. Yet the bill against him was thrown out, and Rush obtained the insurance., but on quitting Balling Hall farm he was threatened with an action for breach of covenant, and he, knowing the whole case, craftily compromised. Again there was fair evidence that Rush had complicity with the labourers, who in that part of Norfolk in which his interests concentrated, broke the agricultural machines on adjacent farms. Later on, Michaelmas, 183(5, Rush took Stanfteld Hail farm on a twelve years' lease at £500 a year. It was a step old Rush never sanctioned nor forgave, knowing as he did that Rush the younger had no capital sufficiently adequate to sustain the undertaking. However, Bloomfleld Ruth was not to be turned aside by the expostulations or anger of the honest step-father, for the "chance child" he had fostered possessed a balldog-like power of obstinacy and moreover " was not only .wicked, but crafty as well." . .. The trait of wilineas Rush tamed to good account. He Ingratiated himself into the confidence of Preston, who owned the the Stanfkld estates, became hie steward and confidential adviser in all matters of business. The position greatly increased the prosperity of Rush. He made a large connection as a land agent, and in the capaoity of auctioneer a libaral number of the Michaelmas sales flowed iv. Byandby this kind of business was relinquished on the plea of failing health. It was all fudge. Rash remained a perfect Hercwles but he required a free hand to fry other fiah. PKESTON, ALIAS JERMY. The name of Preston has been mentioned several times. Ife was an ancient family, originally settled at Beeston St. Laurence, in the Hundred of Saostead, in Suffolk. Staufleid, in Norfolk, was a very ancient manor, and became associated with tlio * familto* of Preston and Jenny in the year 1731, a William Jerray bavins married a Frances Preston of that time. Forty-one years afterwards one Isaac Preston suffered a recovery of the Stanfi«ld Hall estates, and,

by will dated July 6th, 170 a. on hl B brother, tne who for the moat part manor. He was father of tiVl -l ti s* tul Norwich, the elder 2%ft'*ft who, at the paternal wish oX nr-?*'»«»a last will and testament" name of Jenny. A .nan of and probity.ever intent on doi. L?, J?»«ca according to a high standard e ?"**«Oes Jenny wan not a favourite breaking populace. H |J"„*'«* lle to* the nostrils of imk h and ladies of the order ?& , p0 hated ills very name. Qua «V A ear3h e?i known aboqt the alehouses and i* w *u Wymondham, Poll Kitcho^cCh^ c! Ribbons," from her favourite £S„ leaviug the dock said «ifiS?* «l Mister Jenny, (or three monthTT,? hard 'tin. Die when yo« will your shoes." Poll wVSe!fcSt b| prophetess after the murder. ** *

MYSTKttIOCS DEATHS, After the younger Preatnn «« Jenny, carve into the e,SMf?i«4 Rush as bailiff. Soon afteS^Su^Sf 4 theless, the landlord filed a dS-SSF* , that the lea 3 es had beca luiaUViSH 0 ! to Rush, there being no pSSwon ß *** B * entry in case of noVp*fmont of 111* Rush threw the blameof' tbe on the lawyer-a friend of hta-SffiftF* leases were drawn up, accordlogTto RlSf on "hardterm 9 " but ifcca«» o o «th3 re-lettmg was tithe-free. A fi ttle ktt an estate, The Hcthel, went upft* and Jenny commissioned hi 3 billi*?! , buy it. So Rush did, but he puiSKjJi 6 for himself. Yet with all the SSfSL? and scumllous venom that eataraU* n' pamplet (report of a lawsuit) of which Rueh deacribea hia business ,ir tion with Jenny, the fact cannot S jS* said that he lent his ex-bailiff £5o&» two sums for ten years, a mortßiraW*? StanUeld Hall farm* that SSKJSjf ■ Hβ triea his very hardest-piteoua S plaints, whurniK plausibilities, fcsS tiona, stormy abuse, and finally ta«S -to induce hia landlord to malw 2 *? tension of the mortgage foe three yLS , It was in vaiu, Jenny woald si budge a hairs-breadth from the canf*,!' Can it be wondered at? Hβ htdSSSi tired and suspicion of theid? Suspicion was ouly natural, for all gort-S mysteries connected themselves with Rush. His wife came to an InenliMM? end ; his step father was found <leS fm» gunshot wouuda—the weapon by i| e S* side, a matter exciting strange commit' as did a supposed forged codfe'l it, hi , inothcts'e will Riving him egfil M the other uxecutora in admiaUtetins th? .estate. . ■. * m When tho character of Rash tHaa w comes known, and tho fact cornea ta that the murder of Isaac Je«» 25* almost coincident with the expiration r| the mortgage, ample motive may h> ,!„■ forred for the commission of the crim** Yet it was but a single item in oac of fie most scoundrelly and thick -headed schemes ever devised by a critnisal-no* so much, as some have imagined, to glut a lust of revenge aa to repair a brakes fortune. THE MAN OF TWO UYE3. Many of the most abandoued and withal, systematic criminals hfcvo bjen perfect examples of the waited sepulchre It was so in the case 3of Cordor, ot Green' acre,, and Henry Wainwrlght, Llko that trio of callous and cold-blooded murderers Hush affected respect for the offices o! religior.. He was a regular attciuiaot la the family pew at church, would dilate cm tho graces and gifts of certain puto orators, had a curiously-carved alms-ua in his drawing-room for contributions towarde the fuuds of the Society for tho Propagation of the- Gospel amongsfc the Jews, and regularly read morning and evening prayers at what, in ovangeliesl parlance, is denominated •* tho fatnilj I altar." That was the Rush of respectability. But there was the Rush who used to continually make his joutnoys to London and have a high old time after dark. Brandy and water, Sharp's ullrs. marine comic dtties at Evans , , or the Jndga and Jury gaieties headed by the inatuork! Nicholson in robes and wig at tho Garrtck'a Head, and a bona raba in the early hmi% were the real jam for the truant tanaattf Potash Farm. Iv these surroundings could be seen the true James BloomSaM Rush, vain, extravagant, and aeusu&L Nor did he only look in at Jessop'e or tlm Piccadilly saloon to gratify hi* amoroua propensities. Highways and byways wera perambulated for the same object. Out of one of 'these evening rambles a curious adventure occurred, liuah oftea viaited Islington, aud was known at the Angel and Peacock. Sauntering along Upper-street, , the Norfolk fawner espied s petite young girl looking at the watsi exposed in the shop window of Mr Udall, a lace-man. She was tastefully dressed, had an ale of refinement aboafc her, and she listened to Rush's observations. The girl'anamewasEmilySandford. Ithasbetia stated their acquaintance began throag'i Rush advertising for a governess iot bis children, which Mise Sanford aosvfer&i This is not a fact, and our version of theis , original encounter is given ou tho tis* tlmouy of one who was well acquainted with the family of the Sanfords, a lii«lib respectable one. Emily Sandford lodged at a Mrs Acome's, fceuantiug a house., No. 2,Mylue Street,Olarernoat Square near tiie Pentonville reservoir. RuSihwasintroduceil asau uncle. Dndorapromiaeof marriage he seduced the girl and she became en«'«!f«, and wa3 taken by him subsequently to a lodging in Theatre street, Norwich. After* wards the weak victim of Ruah'« removed to Pofcaah f*arm, and bis famll.T, seeing what had come topaaa, indignanUy left tho place. Kmily Sandfoni aov? became an unconscious tool in her pawmour's hands to carry through a monstrous scheme, by which lie though!; to enrich himself after.Jenny »&<* V C S, 1 pub out of the way. The girl was skilful as a copyist, and could even assume ft quasi-legal band. A DESPERATE GAME. The year 1848 saw Rush fighting desperately for money. There had beea distraints, a lawsuit between him and Jenny, in which the latter obtained a verdict for upwards of £400, culminutinj? in the defendant publishing a report o* the litigation, and asserting that we plaintiff hud no fight whatever to theSta* Held Hall property, -Bosh, made a great point of the fact that Jermy'a title had Beea disputed. The claimant was a Thooiae Jenny, a man over sixty years of «& crandaoa of John Jerroy, of Yacmoatfi. The grandson a gardeners labourcx , , ana some time aa inmate of a Surrey unwo, helped by a cousin, John made two attempts to aeserts hia suppwea rights. Iα June, 1837, whea tho PrceWfarm was advertiised for eale/- Lame* served notices on the owner and wo auctioneer, and. strango to fY, «« forcibly ejected by Kuslj, then the esufe bailiff. Fifteen moatha affcerwardss and Wingfleld, a shady lawyer, with bw« than heventy labourers, madearaldo» i«' farina, turned out the servants, and setup barricades of timber. Rush, etlil «npfi»«o on the estate, rode off to Norwich Mβ brought up a military loree. whiea wj persed the marauders. WingOfod -oa Lamer had each three mouths sw rue leaders Iα the riot. John f Jermj» d»« was invalid, there being exw"*?: evidence that hia grandfather now reversionary rights or interests so wwj as the year 1754. Bush thought he_ bewtrump, but. like every cavd ta "; desperate hand, it wa« nothiog »«r du/ler,; Hh . house ■ built .of a»dacious lie tie paste boards, wav *»«»**♦• of tumbling. So ou the night ot Ho*«g ber 28th he began hia campaign to e«s»« road to new fortunes. IK THE DOCK. There was considerable del*? io*Jj. for the-trial of &*»*■ JfS Chestney was a coustderaole time g out of danger. She at length was brggj alo»«thoroadina palaaquin aad \*fr* in Norwich. Mra Jenny was *»;»"*, precarious state. But t&e authorid* last saw their way far^ begiimlug tho ceedinK«.. On Timrsday 2Qth, 18i9, Rush was the Shire Hall. -Baron BoKo preJJ«J while Sergeant Byi«s, Mr Prenderg and Mr Evans conduct ed the proMf*™, The prisoner, whose blßheat ineotal poje. was a low worldly-wl-e oanolng, added to a moiioumniac.il cB 0 "*? , ing everything he caw, un rter cuofe «^ w e .* defence. uT had with him a uum documents nlmort m perteotloiw 1» q» rf tity aa the mass of uipdeie Stanfleld Hall and its ne «HSKarmuged on the tables m front tl|O« J indictment was clwr and aiid ezceediiutly cajm. A P°'?"si I«» wrapt the courc when t he ,V, l t gJ e -Bueb. CUcHtney, was borne in on a """•," !ft9 d servant-Kirl. She kept to tne hy tnouy thac tho flat went hair of tho prisouer at f» o |ki S* o f identical with those pecoUar ft d man iv the !nask and cloak * l ff% y sz\t* at her mistress, and also at a» No quirks and quibbles &**££*& ft from the accused rascal_ tomo > moment get the girl to co SS«PP« n,e ' Other witnesses appeared_ and » Thoae who had seen Hush oa »c Stanfield Hall before aad after tR«

«»j ß siono! the atrocities. Others, who, ** iftVijcfore their perpetration, in the beyond Potash Farm saw So «&ner in the garb of a woman; and S! »i «as the discovery of the dress con- ; n Rush's room as well as the cloak Yet these and other tacts fSned only dust in the balance compared •fthwbat came out afterwards. Little wi Rush calculated that the one person «ho in fear aud perplexity, and without Jonac'icitv, prepared numberless docuana" participated iv more than one while wholly ignorant of ffieir ultimate object, \rould have to tell •"he whole truth to escape the exactions of iastice. That person was Emily Sandlord. TU2 LITTLE WOMAN tN BLACK, Jfever did such a narrative of rascality unfold itself as was drawn from the evidence of Rush's mistress. From fear, from despair, from humiliation, or from a motive to expiate the social law she had broken, Emily Saudiord made a clean breast of it. Rush's dastardly Questions joacerninß their amours, his insinuations pat she hungered for an unclean life, and of hi 3 own honest and even religious life, demonstrate him to tare been an utterly worthless fellow, without conscience apart from his cruelty 40 d malice. Damnatory proofs were revealed of hi* ab.-jence from Potash Farm, tallrinp in point of time with his journey to 'Stanfield Hall, the acts committed jiiere, and the return. "Why did he try wringing a promise from the woman, imploring her to state that he had not been sW ay more than ten minutes? "Why had everybody leen got out of the house for jje evening? Why had the soft paths Jeadicg to the gravel road been littered with straw ? Another curious point came out, A few months before the murders, Bush drove his mistress to Stanfield gall, and kept her waiting outside nearly half an hour. Afterwards he dictated a long statemeat concerning an interview with Jenny, in which the landlord modified or cancelled the obligations of the mortgages. Rush then made Saudford witness the document as If present at the meeting, la London also the woman drew up papers stating that on Thomas Jenny recovering the Stanfield estates Rush should have all obligations freed and receive other emoluments for his trouble. Here Rush showed his hand. . Isaac Jenny dead, there was less chance of the fraudulent documents drawn up and attested by Sacdford being challenged, jenny dead, too, there was more chance for the poor ciaimunt—a humble and Illiterate old man, and a mere pigeon for the claws of the kite. It was the strong guidance of motive for the murder that convicted Rush. A DROP SCENE. A. general feeling of execration followed Rush after the trial, for his defence was a 9 stupid a-5 the plan ha laid down to save himself from financial ruin. He could not produce a tittle of evidence to show his whereabouts aft the-time the murders took place, and he indulged in vague declamation about the real murderer being forthcoming. He protested against tbe verdict, and declared he was the victim of perjured witnesses. On Saturday morning, April 21st, 1849, - more than 20i000 persons assembled outside Norwich Castle. On the bridge over the dry moat rose the gallows, and before noon the bell of St. Peter's Mancroft boomed out the fatal knell. Soon afterwards the sheriff, Colonel Mason, and the under sheriff, Mr J. F. Blake, made their sppearance. Then Bush, in sober black, without a neckcloth, was seen with the chaplain, the Rev. Mr Brown, All the malefactor required was that he might have good length of rope. Calcraft, one of the most dexterous sons of Jack Ketch, was also one of the most humane. Rush fell with, a tremendous thud and became stone still, but a few seconds afterwards a - convulsive shudder was perceptible in his thick-set form. If conscious, the murderer might have heard the murmurs of satis faction rising from the crowd. The demonstration had its root in a sense of justice truly vindicated in the execution sf one of the most despicable wretches whose name occurs in criminal records.