An inquest was held at Mr Horry's mill, Pennyhill, Holbeach,
on Friday morning last, before Dr. G.L.Barrit, the District
Coroner, touching on the death of Jane Norris, an old lady
of 82 years of age who had died the previous Wednesday
morning as the result of injuries sustained by falling down
a ladder used as a staircase, on the previous evening.
The jury consisted of Messrs G.Campling (foreman), Horry,
George Goss, W.White, Chas Pratt, John Thomas Carr, Andrew Pepper,
Ephraim Wood, Fred Lilley, William Clark, Joseph Parsons,
Chas Henry Kerry and Ephraim Papworth.
The Coroner, in opening the enquiry, said that the old lady
lived in one of those cottages in which there is no staircase,
its place being taken by a ladder, and while going up this
she fell. She went to bed but died early the next morning.
William Miles, labourer, Pennyhill, Holbeach, aged 84,
identified the body the jury had just viewed as that of
Jane Norris, who had lived with him for nearly sixty years
as his wife. She would be about 82 years of age. She was a
healthy woman as a rule, and had never had a doctor.
The last month or so she had complained of being dizzy at
times. On Tuesday night witness went to bed before deceased,
and soon after he heard her coming up the ladder. There was
no staircase. He heard her "lumber", and thinking she had
knocked over a small table which she had knocked over before
in her dizziness, he got out of bed to look, and found her
lying at the bottom of the ladder. He made haste down, put
her in an armchair, and told her to wait there till he got
some more clothes on. He was going up the ladder, and
looking round found she was following him, so he helped
her into the bed, and they both went to sleep. At about
four o'clock he got up to see the time, and she turned
round and looked at him. He had another little sleep and
woke again about five o'clock. He got up, and when he looked
at her he found she was dead. He informed the police.
The Coroner: When she got hurt the night before did you think
she was seriously hurt?- I did not sir.
Dr. Evans, Holbeach, said he knew deceased but he had never
attended her. He believed she was a healthy woman.
On Wednesday night the policeman had asked him to inspect
the body, and he did so. He found that there was a cut,
about two and a half inches long, on the upper part of
the head, it was a clear cut down to the bone. She also had
small bruises on the face, neck and ankle, and a larger bruise
near the cut. He saw nothing that would not be caused by her
falling down the ladder. Death was caused by the injuries received.
P.C.Collin, Holbeach Bank, also gave evidence.
The Coroner said that if the old lady, who they were told was
subject to fits of dizziness, had an attack while she was going
up the ladder she would be very liable to fall down. Neither the
doctor nor the policeman had seen anything suspicious about the
case, and he did not think they could return a verdict other
than that of accident. It was for them to decide whether they
should add a rider to the effect that a staircase would be safer
than a ladder.
A juror expressed the opinion that it would be a
rather funny place to put a staircase. Another juror agreed.
The jury returned a verdict to the effect that death was due
to injuries received by accidentally falling down a ladder.
