A murder committed inside the manorial chapel at Handsacre in 1386 sparked one of the most remarkable legal battles in the parish’s history. At the centre lay a disputed inheritance, child heiresses, kidnappings, rival marriage claims and a succession of lawsuits stretching over twenty years. This article follows the evidence to reconstruct how ambition, violence and royal influence reshaped the medieval Manor of Handsacre.
In 1849 a gang of young men from Armitage and Handsacre set out to poach pheasants on a neighbouring estate, only to become involved in a violent confrontation with police and gamekeepers. Drawing on contemporary newspaper reports and court records, this article reconstructs the events of that November night and follows the fate of the men involved, revealing the harsh realities of poverty, the Game Laws and Victorian justice.
William Conway was known throughout Handsacre as a quiet, respectable village blacksmith. Yet in 1862 he stood trial for manslaughter after a single punch led to the death of another man. Set against the contrasting fortunes of his troubled brothers, this remarkable family story explores crime, justice, reputation and how history sometimes remembers the least likely person for the most dramatic event.
