Kingston Hill Murder

The magazine Punch published a cartoon entitled "An Unequal Match" that October highlighting the dangers facing unarmed police.

Patrick Boans, in 1883 before the authorities gave superintendents permission to arm their constables for night duty.

Fred Atkins was born in Walton-on-Thames in 1859, the son of a greengrocer, and joined the police in 14 May 1877;[1] 356 Division V (Wandsworth).

The usual policemen for that beat, PC Andrew Cavanagh, was absent that evening and Atkins was appointed in his place.

In that period police officers would check the security of larger residential houses by special request, especially as there had been a series of burglaries in the region; Woodlands, the residence of Miss Finch, which adjoins Mr. Powys Keck's grounds, was broken into on the Tuesday.

[5] The butler, Mr W Short, was woken at about 1:15am by the sound of crashing and with the housekeeper, Mrs H Snow, who had heard three shots, proceeded to search the house, and found it secure.

[10] They found that burglars had removed a protective iron bar from a ground floor lavatory window, beneath which in the bushes lay a bull's eye lantern in good condition and a large screwdriver made of an old blacksmith's rasp, taken out of the wooden handle, the top being bound round with a piece of blue check Oxford shirting.

[5] The Government offered a reward of £100 (equivalent to £12,742 in 2023) for any information leading to the discovery of the murderer and a free pardon to any accomplice.

About 2,000 of the metropolitan police, representing every division, attended the funeral on the 29 September, travelling on a special train from Waterloo to Walton-on-Thames.

[21] Powys-Keck died at the Knoll in 1912; it was sold in 1913, advertised as having 18 acres of grounds with two lodges, forming a miniature park containing its own dairy, kitchen garden and stabling for four horses.

[22] In 1914 it was reported that a large new residence was being built, later called Hay Green, for Mr Crowther, "one of the grandest stately homes that once graced Kingston."

Picket, and later owned by Sir Maneckji B. Dadabhoy of Nagpur, an Indian  industrialist and politician, whose initials "MBD" are on the gates by the lodge.