On Wednesday the 24th of September 1851, while her parents were at market, 14-year-old Sarah Watts was brutally murdered out at West Woodlands.
One of the three men to stand trial was Robert Hurd, also known as ‘Frome Bob’. Hurd was a former soldier of fortune – having fought in the First Carlist War in Spain – a prize fighter, hence his ‘Frome’ moniker, and a full-time villain. When asked to recount his movements on the morning of the murder, ‘Frome Bob’ began to reel off a list of public houses he had visited. After having left his house around nine in the morning, he made his way towards the original Lamb, located in Christchurch Street East.
According to ‘The Historic Inns of Frome’ (by Mick Davis & Valerie Pitt) the building was demolished in the 1880s but stood opposite the end of Gentle Street. After a pint of beer, Hurd made his way up to The Unicorn in Keyford Street, also now demolished but once standing behind the current Fire Station. Here, he fortified himself with some cider and rum before moving along Keyford towards The Crown, which still serves today, and had more rum and cider. By now it was approaching eleven and he made his way into town, but not before being spotted outside The Woolpack, on Culver Hill, with the other two accused. Not long after midday he was at the Victoria Inn, again in Christchurch Street East, which today caters for a different kind of clientele as ‘Frome ‘N’ Groom’ pet parlour.
Towards late afternoon, on what had already been an exhausting day – pub-wise – Hurd was back at The Crown, along with his two co-defendants at the trial. While there, he saw John Watts outside the pub, the murder victim’s father having just reported the crime to Constable Grist who lived next door.Hurd went with Watts to The Woolpack, now a private house at the end of Lower Keyford, where he bought the bereaved father a consoling pint. Although Hurd was ultimately acquitted of the murder, this was not the end of the matter, as he returned to Frome ‘burning with malice’. This resulted in a year in prison for attacks on The Crown and Woolpack landlords, Joseph Singer and Benjamin Cornish respectively, for giving evidence against him. A further term of imprisonment seemed likely after a further attack on Cornish, on Hurd’s release, but incredibly the latter brokered a deal with the magistrates.
If the charges were dropped, Hurd announced, he would leave Frome for good. The magistrates incredibly agreed, as did landlord Benjamin Cornish, and Robert ‘Frome Bob’ Hurd was as good as his word . . . well almost.
The full account of this gruesome but compelling murder and dramatic aftermath is recounted in our book, ‘The Awful Killing of Sarah Watts’.
Mick Davis & David Lassman.