Belmount, New Year's Day, 1880
10am: "On Thursday, the 1st January, my son Robert left home to go to Blanchland." - John Snowball giving evidence at the inquest, reported in Northern Echo, Jan 22 1880.
Blanchland village square, with the Angel Inn to the left. Postcard courtesy of George Ellison.
11.40am - 12 noon: Report from the Hexham Courant, Saturday January 10:"Robert Snowball was in Mr Davidson's public house with Mr John Brown and Mr Green...Deceased then inquired of Mr Green what kind of girl Mr Bell the grocer and draper had got and Mr Green replied that she was a very decent sort of girl as far as he knew. Mr Snowball asked her name and being told that her name was White he said: "Yes that is her name. Where does she come from - Hedley Mill?" and is told: "No, Hedley on the Hill". "What makes me ask is her father comes to see our housekeeper. He was here a fortnight ago and is coming tonight. I know that for a fact. When he was here a fortnight since he got drunk, and could not get any further than here. I do not know much about him, but Taylor of Baile Hill tells me he knows him, and that he is a shortish and darkish complexioned man. If you put in here tonight you will perhaps see him."
Thomas Green, joiner, of Blanchland, giving evidence at inquest and reported in Northern Echo, January 22:"I was in The Angel Inn, Blanchland, at about twenty minutes to twelve; the deceased came in... and remained there about a quarter of an hour or 20 minutes; he had half a glass of whisky. The he got on his horse and left; he was perfectly sober.
"In answer to me, deceased said he had got a very decent, useful girl as his housekeeper. He also made the remark that her sweetheart was coming to see her that night - that his name was White - from Hedley."
Belmount today: The milking byre with loft above was nearest in picture, while the kitchen was the window to the right of the porch.
1pm: "He said he would be home at the "height" (middle) of the day. He returned at one o'clock. I and my son and Jane Barron had dinner together. After dinner deceased said to Jane Barron, "I have got the whole affair about the lad," I think she replied, "You haven't. He mentioned a man's name - it might be "George" - and her face struck red. She muttered something, but I didn't catch what she said. I went to bed, and got up again at three o'clock. "At about four o'clock we had tea together. After tea deceased said he had a notion of going to Sandyford (the next farm)." - John Snowball giving evidence at the inquest, reported in Northern Echo, Jan 22 1880.
This is the point where John Snowball makes "corrections" to his original statement... "When it was about dusk I went out around part of the buildings, but saw nobody about to the best of my recollection. I had a dog with me, and there were other dogs on the premises... I went round the north side of the buildings towards the fell. I went "fornenst" (opposite) the door of the loft... the door was shut. When I went in again the deceased was in the kitchen, as far as I can recollect." - John Snowball.
5.15pm: Robert Snowball leaves - John Snowball's evidence.
5.30pm: "I last saw Robert Snowball alive when he went out of the house alone. He said he was going to Sandyford, Thomas Murray's, a nephew.
"I remained in the house until milking time, have past six o'clock on the same evening, and John Snowball was in the kitchen, where I was busy ironing. He was sitting by the fire, and never went out during that time." - Jane Barron giving evidence at inquest, reported in Northern Echo, Jan 24 1880.
Northern Echo Jan 27 1880: John Snowball has... "flashes of recollection alternating with periods of oblivion"... "...in his first statement he distinctly said the housekeeper did not leave the house, and he never mentioned hearing the thud."
Again, the following is a "correction" to the original statement... "At the time deceased went out Jane Barron was in the kitchen. After he went out I was sitting on a chair, and Jane Barron came and reached up on the mantelpiece, where I think the matches would be. She then went out, and as she was shutting the door, she took a good look at me... I heard a jingle in the passage, which sounded like lifting a lantern. It was eight or ten minutes before she came back. Before than I heard a loud noise which attracted my attention. I heard a fall in the loft. When she came back, to the best of my recollection she came back and sat by the end of the table with her head between her hands... I noticed her face then, and I thought it was redder than usual.
"I remember her going out at half-past six o'clock and she came back about seven." - John Snowball.
6.30pm: "At half-past six pm I went to the cowbyre and milked the three cows. Directly I went into the cowbyre I noticed blood dropping, drop by drop, quickly from the boarded floor of the loft above the cowbyre, just behind the cows, just a little bit within the door, from a part of the loft floor, not far from the closet in the loft. The drops of blood came onto my head. I had a candle-lantern with me, and I knew it was blood by putting my hand on my head and then looking at my hand by the light of the lantern..." - Jane Barron.
7pm: "I milked the cows before going into the house, when, about seven o'clock, I told John Snowball about the blood dropping... he said he thought it was only from where deceased had been butchering the sheep." - Jane Barron. "She said, "Waa's all yon blood coming down the byre?" I said it would be from the sheep that was cutten up in the loft." - John Snowball.
10pm: "John Snowball went to bed about 10pm. I sat up in the kitchen alone until about three o'clock the next morning without ever going outside the door, waiting for deceased's return, but he never came." - Jane Barron.
Northern Echo Jan 27 1880: "Would she not have avoided the blood of her victim... would she at once have informed the father of the circumstance which alone enables us to fix the hour when the deed was done? Even if she had got smeared with blood, not expecting that it would drip through the floor, her obvious policy - supposing she was guilty - was to say nothing about it, but wait till the old man went to bed, and then wash the blood stains out. She did nothing of the kind, but, making no attempt at concealment, mentioned the incident on her return to the house... She told the coroner, the police and the neighbours exactly the same story, and betrayed no sign of having a guilty conscience to suffer or a false part to play."
