Did she or didn't she do it?
Today's blog is centered on a woman, seen as notorious
in her youth, portrayed in wax by Madame Tussaud, who changed her name and sailed to Australia, nursed lepers, was a Matron of Parramatta Girls Institutional
school, lived to the age of 100, was revered by many in Australia but in
essence was a convicted murderess.
CONSTANCE KENT
Constance was born in Devon England on the 6th of
February 1844, the fifth daughter and ninth child of Samuel Saville Kent an
inspector of factories for the Home Office and his first wife Mary Ann
(Windus), daughter of a prosperous coach maker and Portland Vase expert.
Constance's mother died in 1852 when she was 8 years
of age and this loss seems to have had a profound effect upon her.
Her father had an affair with the nanny, Mary Drew
Pratt, whilst his first wife was dying and subsequently married her. The second
marriage brought three more children. One night in late June 1860, when the
second Mrs. Kent was heavily pregnant with her fourth child, the family was
shocked when their almost 4-year-old son Francis, Constance's half-brother was
abducted from the house and killed in an outdoor lavatory. He had sustained a
number of stab wounds, but his throat was severely cut almost to
decapitation.
The case was too involved for the local Police who
had social ties to William Kent and soon Scotland Yard was involved. William
was seen as a suspect, but it was Francis's nursemaid, Elizabeth Gough who was
initially arrested but released when the suspicions of Detective Inspector Jack
Whicher moved to the boy's half-sister, Constance and her younger brother
William with the perceived belief of jealousy in the family. The children of
the first marriage felt usurped by those of the second marriage. Constance was
arrested on the 16th of July but released without trial due to lack of
evidence, although the absence of her nightdress was a sticking point for
Whicher.
After the collapse of the case, the Kent family moved
to Wrexham and sent Constance to a finishing school in France.
In 1865, Constance confessed to the crime. She stated
that she had waited until all in the house were asleep, had gone down to the
drawing room and opened the shutters and window and taken the child from his
room in a blanket, left the house and killed him in the privy with a razor
stolen from her father. I’m sure Jack Whicher would have felt vindicated upon
hearing of this confession. He was yet again correct in his findings.
Many did not believe Constance's confession and
believe she may have been in collusion with her brother. Nevertheless, the
trial went ahead, and Constance Kent was sentenced to death but later commuted
to life in prison owing to her youth at the time as well as her confession. Her
stepmother died a month after the trial, and it was at this time that a wax
model of Constance was made by Madame Tussaud. She served 20 years in at least different gaols and was released in 1885 after a number of appeals, at the age of 41.
Upon her release, she followed her younger brother William, now a marine biologist, who had earlier emigrated to Australia to escape the family scandals and set up a career in anonymity. She also sought anonymity by calling herself Ruth Emilie Kaye.
Whilst Ruth was living in Melbourne in 1890 an appeal
was made for volunteers to nurse victims of the typhoid epidemic. Ruth
volunteered and was soon nursing patients in tents in the grounds of Prince
Alfred Hospital. This work inspired her, and she trained to be a nurse. Ruth
than moved to Sydney where she worked as sister-in-charge of lepers at the
Hospital at Little Bay. She then spent 11 years as a Matron of the Parramatta Girls’ Industrial School. Ruth was appointed in 1898 after a riot there and
replacement of the Matron at the time – she did have to reduce her age a few
years to secure the job.
In 1910 she opened
an electric treatment clinic in Mittagong but within a year had settled in Maitland
where she ran an aged care home for retired nurses. Ruth was the Matron of the Pierce
Memorial Nurses’ Home in Maitland from 1911 to 1932 retiring there aged 88.
Ruth celebrated her 100th birthday at the
Loreto Convalescent Home in Strathfield, died on the 10th of April and was cremated at Rookwood Crematorium.
On many occasions during her time in Australia, the
story of Road Hill House was mentioned in newspaper articles but almost every one
of them conceded that she had emigrated and died when in fact she was hiding in
plain sight. Just before she passed away, she mentioned to a family member, a direct
descendent of her younger half-sister, that she was Constance Kent.
She did not elaborate on the fact or talk about the
murder so the secret of what actually happened at Road Hill House on that fateful
night went with her when she died.
For today’s blog I have utilised ancestry.com, Wikipedia,
Australian Dictionary of Biography by A J Harrison dated 2005; Strathfield
Council’s cultural page article named as The Curious Case of Constance Kent
published 2022, website pages about Road Hill House and Jack Whicher as well as
the book “The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher” by Kate Summerscale published 2008. There are many references to the mystery of Road Hill House in publication.
Did Constance carry out this crime alone motivated by jealousy or some other personal grievance? Was she protecting another household member, her brother, her father? We shall never know. I’m curious, what do you think? Did she or didn’t she do it?
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Until next week
Wow what a woman, she certainly turned her life around for the better, another great “Rookwood Blog”.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting story - agreed
DeleteWhat an interesting story! To have lived such an interesting life after leaving England
ReplyDeleteYes she certainly achieved some wonderful things in Australia
Delete