Cases of assault appear regularly in the Quarter sessions, but we were curious to see if he was still with his wife at the time of the next census. A little investigation saw that the couple had only been married approaching 4 years at the time of the attack. It’s likely his wife knew the type of man she was marrying, as Alfred had been convicted (mostly of drunkenness) over 20 times before they married. He was only 27. He was even in trouble on the night of the 1871 census, being listed as a prisoner at Woburn police station.
We did find Sarah in the 1891, living with her mother in Ridgmont and she appears to have continued to have children in these years. By 1901 she was still with her mother in Ridgmont with her mother, but this time she was described as a widow. Obviously this meant we wanted to see what had become of Alfred.
A quick bit of Googling brought up the excellent MK Heritage site. They have a section dedicated to the Fir Tree inn at Woburn Sands, where it appears Alfred Hirdle had become a frequent visitor. The site talks of another case involving Alfred which was reported in local paper. Once again it revolved around drunken behaviour. The article adds an interesting footnote which solves the mystery of what became of Alfred:
“Alfred Hirdle eventually passed away, whilst serving a sentence in Bedford Prison in 1900, aged 49. The doctors said cause of death was 'Profound Disturbance of the Brain and Apoplexy'. Hirdle was infamous in the area, as his total of 59 convictions, mostly for being 'Drunk and Disorderly' bear testimony. Every landlord for miles around must have breathed a quiet sigh of relief!”
QSR1883/2/5/1
(with thanks to www.mkheritage.co.uk)
