During the first week of December in 1858, the body of a six-year-old girl was recovered from the 300-foot shaft of the abandoned Wheal Eliza Mine near Simonsbath.
It brought to an end a long, painstaking search for the girl and crystalised one of Exmoor’s most tragic murder cases.
Anna Maria Burgess had been murdered by her father, William Burgess, who admitted to killing her in order to save money on her upbringing and instead spend it on alcohol.
He was convicted and sentenced on 20th December 1858 and hanged on 7th January 1859.
Anna was buried in an unmarked grave at St Luke’s Church in Simonsbath.
A few elements of the story are disputed, but below is the gist of it based on various sources.
Burgess, a labourer, lived locally with his wife and three children, Tom, Emma and Anna.
His alcoholism, and his devious attempts to fuel it, would come to dominate his life.
After spending all his money on alcohol during a secret trip to Wales, he managed to hoodwink local vicar William Thornton into believing he had legitimately fallen on hard times.
The vicar wrote a begging letter for him, which Burgess used to dupe people into giving him money so he could buy more alcohol.
His wife became exasperated by his behaviour and died in 1857 or 1858, apparently of measles.
Burgess was determined to find new homes for the three children and when one couple from near Withypool refused to take in Anna, their house mysteriously burnt down shortly afterwards.
Three people were killed, including the couple’s father.
While Tom and Emma were placed into service on local farms, Burgess found lodgings for him and Anna at the Gallon House Inn, between Simonsbath and Exford.
He was irked by having to pay 2s 6d a week for Anna’s maintenance - money he felt would be better spent on alcohol.
On 24th July, he told his landlady he was going to take Anna to stay with relatives in Porlock.
In the early hours of the following day, he woke the girl and left the house with her, but he didn’t take her to Porlock.
He returned to the house, told people he was moving to Porlock and vanished.
Later, the ashes of a fire were discovered near the house and, within them, the landlady recognised remnants of Anna’s clothing, prompting fears she had been murdered by her father.
The priest rode 40 miles to Curry Rivel to inform the chief police officer and they returned to Simonsbath to reports of the discovery of a shallow grave.
An unpleasant stench was detected, but no body was found.
Burgess, meanwhile, had fled to South Wales by boat but was tracked down working at Swansea Docks and brought home.
He was arrested but refused to speak, and police warned locals he would have to be released if no proof could be found of Anna’s death.
A witness came forward to say he thought he noticed activity near Wheal Eliza Mine around the time of Anna’s disappearance, prompting the vicar to tell magistrates in Dulverton he was sure they would find the body dumped there.
The mine had been filled with water over 200ft deep and after it took a considerable time to pump it out, a volunteer agreed to be lowered into the shaft on 2nd December.
He resurfaced holding a package bound with rope, which when cut revealed the remains of a child’s body.
There was little surprise when it was identified as Anna, although the body was too badly decomposed to prove how she had died.
A head injury was detected, but this wasn’t considered to be the cause of death.
Anna’s body had been wrapped in an old coat belonging to Burgess.
Burgess confessed to murdering Anna and digging a grave on 25th July - the day he left the Gallon House Inn in the early hours.
It’s believed he threw the body into the mine two or three days later.
He had apparently become concerned that the grave would be discovered, having overheard two men discussing evidence of a hole being dug.
As Burgess awaited trial, he attempted to commit suicide by cutting his throat with a pair of scissors at Dulverton Police Station.
At trial, he was found guilty and sentenced to death.
It’s understood he told the vicar: “I murdered my child for the purpose of saving 2s 6d per week, that I might be enabled thereby to indulge myself in more drink, and to indulge in drunkenness.
“I committed the awful deed.”
While awaiting his death, Burgess admitted setting fire to the couple’s house near Withypool as revenge for refusing to take in Anna.
He was hanged for his crimes by William Calcraft in Taunton, just after 9.00am on 7th January.
I visited Wheal Eliza Mine on a cold, frosty morning last week during an 11-mile circular walk from Simonsbath to Cow Castle and Pickedstones.
Yesterday, amid heavy rain, I visited St Luke’s Church and, briefly, the site of the Gallon House Inn.
Wheal Eliza was an unsuccessful copper and iron mine that was active between 1845 and 1857.
Located on the banks of the River Barle around a mile to the south of Simonsbath, the mine was abandoned and allowed to flood in 1858.
For many years, few people had known about Anna’s grave at the church and it could only be identified by a blank piece of slate.
After learning about the history of it, the Exmoor Society agreed to fund a more fitting headstone, which was installed in 2000 in the top left corner of the graveyard.
The Gallon House Inn has since been known as Red Deer Farm and Red Deer Nursery School.
It appears as Gallon House on OS maps and can be found next to the B3223 main road between Simonsbath and Exford.
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( Photos: Flickr / Wikipedia / Public Domain 📸 )