A Mysterious Affair at Clapham.
An extraordinary occurrence (a correspondent says) is causing much excitement in the neighbourhood of Hafer-road, Clapham common, where the windows and conservatory of the house of Mr Piddock, a gentleman of private means, have been wrecked in a most mysterious fashion.
The house is situated in Hafer-road, and bounded on the back and side by Limburg-road and Battersea-rise respectively. The attack on the premises began about eight o’clock on Monday evening, when a stone was hurled from some undiscoverable quarter, through the conservatory into the dining room, which it adjoins. The stone, which weighed over a pound, was followed by four others in rapid succession.
Mr Piddock and his servants endeavoured to discover whence the missiles were hurled, but in vain. Inquiries were made at all the houses which overlook the premises, but to no purpose. In about an hour afterwards the stone-throwing was renewed still more vigorously, the continual crashing causing great excitement in the vicinity.
The police, who had been communicated with, could not detect whence the stones came. This state of affairs was continued with short intervals up to 1.30 on Tuesday morning. Mr Piddock and his family were in great distress, as Miss Piddock was all this time lying in a dying state in a bed-room on an upper floor.
All day on Tuesday the police had the matter in hand, but failed to trace the perpetrators of the outrage. About three o’clock in the afternoon the stone-throwing recommenced, and by six o’clock the conservatory was completely wrecked, and many of the windows were broken. Again every effort was made to discover the miscreants, but without result. The stones kept coming in, sometimes five or six in succession, and then single stones at intervals of from half an hour to an hour and a half.
St James’s Gazette, 17th July 1890.
Mysterious Missiles.
On Tuesday afternoon last a conservatory on the premises of Mr Piddock, at Clapham, was wrecked by an unknown and unseen enemy, who, at intervals, hurled stones at the structure with telling effect. The fact that the stone-throwing had commenced on the previous day had caused a number of detectives and others to watch for the culprit, but their efforts were unavailing, the missiles appearing from an unknown quarter in a mysterious manner. Mr Piddock and his family were in great anxiety at the time, as Miss Piddock was lying in a dying state in a bedroom on an upper floor.
Sheffield Daily Telegraph, 18th July 1890.