The spring of 1911 brought one of Britain’s most disturbing domestic mysteries into the ancient walls of Lancaster Castle. Three members of the Bingham family died suddenly, each showing the same violent gastric symptoms. As whispers of arsenic poisoning spread, suspicion fell upon the last surviving daughter, Edith Agnes Bingham — a quiet woman already viewed by neighbours as “simple” and vulnerable.

In this episode, we return to the original Edwardian newspaper reports to follow the case exactly as it unfolded: the baffling medical testimony, the exhumations at dawn, and the courtroom drama that gripped the country. Was this truly a triple poisoning, or a tragic sequence of illnesses misinterpreted by early forensic science?

We also look at what became of Edith after the verdict — a fate far quieter, and far sadder, than the headlines suggested.

Plus: today’s Further Particulars brings a musical disturbance from Leamington Spa, where The Blue Danube echoed through a street in the middle of the night… despite no one owning a piano.

If you enjoy these deep dives into Britain’s historical true crime, you’re warmly invited to join us on Patreon, where you’ll find weekly exclusive episodes, early ad-free releases, and our full archive of members-only content.

Patreon → https://www.patreon.com/newsofthetimeshistoricalcrime

A quiet Sunday in the Liverpool suburbs took a shocking turn in 1882 when a young maid, Mary Cremen, was found shot in the scullery of a respectable Crosby home. Her employer, Arthur Golding, immediately presented himself at the police station, insisting the death was a tragic accident. But as investigators examined the revolver, questioned the household, and uncovered a tangle of jealousies and clandestine relationships, the tidy façade of middle-class respectability began to crumble.

Was this truly a mishap with a six-shooter? Or was someone in the Golding household hiding far more than they revealed?

In this episode, we explore the forensic puzzle that troubled Victorian investigators, the shifting testimonies, and the domestic tensions that set the stage for one of Crosby’s most perplexing inquests.

And in this week’s Further Particulars, we turn to an extraordinary 1880s insurance tale involving a widow, a policy form, and a husband who managed to exit the world before completing the paperwork.

If you enjoy these historical deep dives, you can find additional episodes, bonus stories, and early access posts over on our Patreon — a cosy corner for those who like a little extra Victorian intrigue.

Step back into Victorian Wales, where quiet lanes and morning mist concealed one of the era’s most disturbing disappearances. In 1874, Susan Gibbs — a hardworking Cardiff housekeeper — travelled to St Mellons to meet her young husband, James, a butler with ambition and secrets to protect. Three weeks later, her body was discovered beneath a tangle of briars, so hidden and decomposed that even the cause of death was uncertain.

What followed was a landmark investigation built not on forensics, but on behaviour: unanswered letters, midnight movements, missing belongings, and a chain of lies that revealed far more than any single piece of evidence.

Tonight we explore the life Susan hoped for, the double life James was living, and the extraordinary inquiry that led to one of Wales’s most chilling convictions. And in our Further Particulars, we lighten the gaslamps for a brief detour into Victorian chaos—this time involving a hotel, a missing parrot, and entirely too much commotion in Bath.

If you enjoy our work and would like access to exclusive documentary series, extended archives, and bonus Victorian oddities, you’re warmly invited to join us on Patreon — it helps us keep these stories alive.