Tenbury.
“Manifestations” Extraordinary.
The inhabitants of Rochford have for the last few days been in great alarm. On Wednesday night, the 15th inst., while Mr. Joseph Smith, of the New House Farm, was away from home, his waggoner and a boy were in the stable attending to their horses, when a quantity of stones were thrown on the roof of the stable, some of which went through the slates into the manger where the horses were eating. This stone-throwing continued till about 11 p.m., when Mr. Smith and his wife returned.
On the following morning it was discovered that a cow had been untied in a shed and a weight had been taken from a chaff-cutting machine, which was afterwards discovered put in some cog-wheels which connected the engine with the horse-gear. Shortly after the inhabitants of the house got up on Thursday morning stones were again thrown at the house and buildings, and it seemed that wherever the lad went the stones would come. This state of things continued at intervals till about six p.m., and no one could be seen.
At six p.m. the stones were thrown with great rapidity. They broke the kitchen window (about six panes, large size), also two panes over a passage door, and the household were in great alarm. P.C. Needle was sent for, and there were soon some twelve or more neighbours on the spot, and a search was made in the buildings, rickyard, and adjoining fields, but no one could be found throwing stones or even could there be any one seen; yet the throwing continued all night.
At last Mr. Smith loaded his gun and fired several shots, thinking to alarm the persons throwing the stones; but this was of no avail, as the throwing still continued during the night. Coal, peas, &c., besides stones were thrown. Several of the people went upstairs to the attic windows, from which they could see all round the house and over the adjoining fields, but no one could be seen; still the stones, &c., came. On Thursday morning Mr. Smith reported the affair to P.S. Long, Tenbury, who sent P.C.’s Rowley and Needle to keep a “sharp” look-out about the premises next night. All day, however, stones, &c., were thrown at intervals.
On Friday night only one stone was thrown, and that came down the kitchen chimney and dropped close by the feet of the boy whose name is Rowberry, and who is a native of Whitbourne. This lad had been knocked down by the missiles and also struck several times on various parts of the body, but not hurt seriously. This had been done in the daytime, when he had been in sight of the various persons who had come to witness the “goings on.”
On Saturday morning Mr. James Pearson (Lower Rochford), Mr. Aldridge, Mr. Powell (Chimney Park), Mr. Pound, and many others, hearing of the “manifestations,” went to the farm to satisfy themselves that the reports were true, and of course at once saw what was going on by seeing the stones bouncing about the yard and other places. The lad had again been struck, and he was very frightened, and was afraid to go about by himself. He is about 15 years of age, and seems a very quiet boy; he is rather deaf, which of course makes him appear stupid.
During the time the above-named people were there, Mr. Smith sent the boy into the granary to fetch some corn for the horses, and before the lad was scarcely in the room a stone went through the window from the outside, close against the boy’s head, and a very loud noise was heard as though something had struck the wall with considerable force. Mr. Pearson, who was the most courageous, took the boy up to the barn and sent him in, at the same time closely watching him, while the others watched outside. The boy, who was very timid, went about four yards from Mr. Pearson, when another noise was made on the boards of the barn, which made them shake with great force.
After this Mr. Smith and Mr. Pearson went into the stable and sent the boy up to the manger to see if the horses had anything to eat, and as he was going the partition dividing the two horses was struck in a similar manner as the boards of the barn. As they were leaving the stable the boy was told to shut the door, and he took hold of the handle to do so, when it sprang out of his hand, struck the wall, and rebounded and shut itself. They then went into the house, and Mr Pearson advised Mr. Smith to send the boy home, and he was told to go upstairs and pack up his clothes; but he began to cry and said he was afraid to go. So Mr. Smith went up with him, and when he had found his clothes Mr. Smith asked him if he had anything to tie them up in, and he said “No.” Mr. Smith then went to the top of the stairs to call to his wife to bring a handkerchief up for him when the room door made as loud a noise as the other places had done, and before Mr. Smith could turn round it was repeated.
They then came down stairs into the kitchen, and when Mr. Smith called him into another room to pay him his money, as the lad passed through the kitchen door the noise was still heard on that door. Mr. Smith sent a man home with the boy, and the man has informed P.C. Needle that he could hardly get him home, as the boy could scarcely get along, he was so frightened. Some people thought this lad was the cause of all the mischief; but he could not have done it without being seen, as he was being watched by several people. Nothing has occurred since the lad left. The affair has caused such a sensation in the neighbourhood that it is the talk of the place, and on Sunday the farm was visited by nearly 200 people.
Worcestershire Chronicle, 25th January 1879.
The Farmer’s Boy Who Played The Ghost.
The little village of Rochford, near Tenbury Wells, has during the past week been the scene of intense excitement, through some extraordinary ‘manifestations’ that have displayed themselves at the house of Mr. Joseph Smith, of New-house Farm. Weights have been removed, cows have been mysteriously untied in their sheds, and for several days and nights showers of stones fell upon the farmhouse, breaking the various windows to atoms, and dreadfully alarming the inmates. Stones descended the kitchen chimney, doors were rattled and slammed night and day, until the inhabitants came to the conclusion that the house was bewitched. Two police officers were stationed on the premises, and numerous farmers went in a body to satisfy themselves of the truth of the ‘manifestations’. They found stones bounding and rebounding in all direction, and the doors and boards of the barn shaking violently. A boy (named Rowberry) employed upon the farm was several times knocked down with the stones. This youth was sent upstairs, when a terrible disturbance was heard overhead, doors slamming, windows breaking, and a number of unearthly noises. This youth was at once removed from the premises, and the inhabitants of New-house Farm have since been free from “spiritual manifestations.”
Wiltshire Times and Trowbridge Advertiser, 8th February 1879.