Some history on Floodgate Street at Digbeth in Birmingham in the County of Warwickshire
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"Yesterday evening an inquest was held at the Grand Turk Inn, Ludgate Hill, before Dr. Birt Davies and a respectable Jury, on the body
of a youth named John Tillotson, a machinist, who formerly lived with his father in a court in Clement' Buildings, Floodgate Street, and who died at the
General Hospital on Wednesday morning from injuries he had received from the blow of a stone thrown by a youth named Henry Saint, alias Bellamy, on the evening of
the 4th inst. Mr. John Powell, solicitor, appeared to watch the proceedings on behalf of Saint, who was present, in the custody of Police-Constable Beckley;
and Mr. J. W. Cutler on behalf of the friends of the deceased. The first witness called, Samuel Tillotson, said: The deceased, John Tillotson, was my son. He was
sixteen years old in last January, was occupied as a machinist. This happened on the 4th inst., and up to half-past six o'clock I
saw him in our yard all right, and at a quarter before seven o'clock he was brought into the house, led between two of his companions named George Hunt
and John Brown, and smothered with blood, which was flowing profusely from a wound on the left temple. He was immediately taken to Dr. Archer's, a distance
of about 200 yards. While he was being taken to the doctor I ran to fetch a policeman, and deceased returned at about a quarter past seven from the doctor's, and
went to the Bradford Street Police Station, where he gave some information, and was then brought home and laid on the sofa. He had not been there more than one or two
minutes when he fell back his full length, and was taken with fits. In accordance with the advice of Dr. Archer he was then conveyed to the General Hospital, where
I saw him daily. I think he knew me on the Thursday night after it happened, and that was the only time that he did not know me. On that occasions he did not speak
fluently so as to hold a conversation. By Mr. Powell: "As my son was being led home one of Henry Saint's companions threatened me in my own house, and said he
would knock my skull in." Martha Smallwood, a girl 12 years of age, said: "My father's name is William Smallwood. He lives in a court in Clements'
Buildings, near Floodgate Street, and is an engineer. On Monday fortnight, at very near seven o'clock in the evening, I was going with a girl to fetch some beer along
Floodgate Street. There was a man with Bellamy [that is Bellamy who is sitting next to the policeman], and the man told me to go back again, if I did not, he said,
he would box my ears. I did not go back, but went straight on and got the beer. I went back and took the beer into the house of one of the neighbours, and then went into
the street again. There I saw the deceased, John Tillotson, and Bellamy, and some boys around them. They were on the footpath, by Tillotson's entry. There were four
boys around them, of whom John Brown and George Hunt were two; I did not know the others. I heard the deceased say that he was going to fetch a policeman, upon which
Bellamy struck him on the chin with his fist, and knocked him to the ground, and Bellamy tumbled on him. They both then got up quickly, and deceased said, "I will show
you something just now,", and ran into his father's shop, as though to fetch something to strike him with. That was what I understood by what he said. In a few
moments he came out again, but he had not got anything in his hand. Deceased then walked to the gutter, where he stood a moment, and then Bellamy threw a stone at him.
The stone his deceased on his left temple, and the result was that he fell down, and after lying down without speaking or moving for two or three minutes he began to hoot
"Police." I then ran and told his mother, and as I came out of the house I met the deceased, who was being led by the two boys, Hunt and Brown. When Bellamy threw
the stone he said: "Take that, you bastard." I cannot say how big the stone was; I saw it in George Hunt's hand after deceased had gone into the house.
After throwing the stone, Bellamy went away, walking sharply. The man who came with Bellamy was not present in the house before. I am sure it was Bellamy who threw the
stone; the others boys were on the same of the street as deceased. Deceased did not strike Bellamy, nor throw a piece of brick or stone at him, nor bring any weapon
out of the shop. By Mr. Powell: "Bellamy is a servant at Keating's, a public-house near. The four boys were all playing with deceased. I saw some baskets
in Bellamy's hand which he had brought down Tlllotson's entry, and he took them to his master's. That was when I was going for the beer. When I came back
Tillotson and the other boys appeared to be quarrelling about the baskets; I hears the baskets mentioned. Bellamy was about six yards off when the threw the stone."
George Hunt, 63 Primrose Hill, boatman, said: "On the night of Monday, the 4th of November, I was in Sharp's yard jobbing about. About seven o'clock I
was at the bottom of the entry to Tillotson's house, and a lot of us together went and fetched the baskets that Billy Keating had given us the Sunday before, out of
Keating's yard. We took them up to Tillotson's yard, and the prisoner, the man who goes by the name of Bellamy, came to fetch them back. Bellamy fetched five
baskets down, one of which did not belong to Keating; it belonged to Tillotson. Having taken away the five baskets Bellamy came back again presently to fetch some
more, and when he went up the yard the father of the deceased asked him what he wanted. He said he wanted some old baskets, and Mr. Tillotson told him to go down the
yard. He said he would not, and stood against Tillotson's back door, and Mr. Tillotson then shoved him down the yard. Bellamy began "mincing" him, upon
which Mr. Tillotson gave him a slight tap on the side of the face. On that Bellamy went to Keating's and fetched John Hobson, and they came back, and John Hobson
went into Tillotson's, and Bellamy stopped outside. John Tillotson, the deceased, then came to the bottom of the entry, from his father's house, and said,
"George, I am going to go for a policeman.' When he got to the bottom of the entry Bellamy struck him with his fist. Deceased ran into the house to fetch
something to defend himself with, and then came outside and went towards Bellamy, and then Bellamy threw a stone at him. This stone struck him on the forehead, and
knocked him down. I went to him and helped John Brown to pick him up, and I then went and picked the stone up and gave it tow Mrs. Tillotson. The stone produced
[half a pebble, of an oval form, and weighing fifteen ounces] is the stone. When I picked it up it had blood upon it. When Bellamy threw the stone he said
something, but I could not hear what. I did not see deceased do anything whatever to Bellamy, and I was there the whole time. I did not see that deceased had anything
in his hand when he came out of the shop, though he walked boldly up towards Bellamy. As he had just come out of the house where he had been to fetch something to
defend himself, and walked towards Bellamy, the latter might naturally suppose that he had some weapon. Deceased with within about two yards from Bellamy when the
latter threw the stone. He was walking towards Bellamy as though he was about to do something to him. John Brown, Barn Street, an engraver, a youth about 15, gave
corroborative evidence, and stated also that as Bellamy was going up the yard the second time for baskets the deceased called his father, who came outside and stopped
Bellamy. He also said that when Bellamy struck deceased on the chin it knocked him down, and Bellamy kicked him while he was down, and then fell on him. When deceased
got up he ran into the house to get something to assist himself with, but came out again without anything, and went up to Bellamy and kicked him on the left thigh. On
this Bellamy lifted up the stone which he had in his hand, and threw it at deceased, striking him on the forehead. Deceased had no weapon in his hand when he came out
of the house. Police-Constable Beckley said: "I produce a stone which I took off the table of the father of the deceased, about twenty minutes after seven
o'clock on the evening of November 4th. The mother of deceased drew my attention to it as being the stone that had been thrown at her son. When I took possession
of it there was blood upon it." Mr. Goodall, house surgeon at the General Hospital, said: 'The deceased was admitted to the Hospital at about 7.30pm on the
night of November 4th. He was partially insensible, and had a contused wound about an inch and a half long over the left eyebrow leading to a depressed fracture of the
frontal bone, About an hour after admission a loose portion of bone was removed and the depressed portion raised. Deceased went on well for about three days, when
symptoms of inflammation of the brain set in, and he gradually became more insensible, and had frequent convulsions. He lingered on in a state of insensibility until
the 20th instant, when he died at three a.m. from the effects of the injury, which caused inflammation of the membranes of the brain, and damage to the left side of
the brain, near to the site of injury. I should mention that when admitted he had a slight abrasion on the right hand." Mr. Powell said the prisoner would say
nothing now, as he would have to appear before another tribunal. The Coroner then delivered a brief charge, and the Jury, after a few minutes' deliberation,
returned a verdict of "Manslaughter" against Henry Saint, alias Bellamy. The prisoner was committed to the Assizes for trial under the Coroner's warrant."
"Fatal Affray in Floodgate Street"
Birmingham Journal : November 23rd 1861 Page 8
