A FASCINATING century-old tale of disguise, deceit and an alleged double life is linked to Crosby, records from the Old Bailey have revealed.

In the late 1800s a series of high profile court cases followed allegations that a duke had led a double life as a London businessman and later killed off his alter-ego with a fake funeral and a lead-filled coffin.

The allegations were eventually refuted when the courts ordered the coffin to be dug up and the body of the businessman was found.

Several of the witnesses in the case then faced trials of their own for perjury, including a Margaret Jane Louise Hamilton, who had claimed to have been born in Rome but was actually from Kendal and had lived in Crosby for a time.

Details of her trial, from March 31, 1908, have now gone online on the website of the Old Bailey, London’s central criminal court, along with proceedings from nearly 200,000 cases from 1674 to 1913.

A search of the archive brings up a reference to a letter “Mrs Hamilton� – who was actually a Margaret Atkinson – had sent from 3 Liver Terrace, Great Crosby. There are also letters which show she also lived at 181 Derby Road, Bootle, for a time.

She had claimed to be the daughter of Robert Lennox Stuart, who she said was a good friend of the Duke of Portland, the man accused of living as Thomas Charles Druce, a partner in the Baker Street Bazaar.

The original allegation, in 1897, had come from Druce’s daughter-in-law, who claimed the ‘double-life’ made her son the rightful heir to the dukedom.

It was then suggested that the funeral of Thomas Druce, which had taken place in 1864, was a fake - complete with a lead-filled coffin - designed to ‘bury’ the Duke’s double-life of which he had grown tired.

Margaret Hamilton’s trial included evidence “as to a complaint affecting the Duke of Portland’s nose�, a Home Office expert’s comparison of a photograph of Thomas Druce with his exhumed body, and a description of underground passages built by the Duke of Portland.

On her conviction for perjury she was sentenced to 18 months hard labour – in lieu of seven years’ imprisonment due to her 77 years.

The Old Bailey records have already helped uncover some incredible stories for people tracing their family history and those who are simply interested in historical crimes.

Take a look at the website yourself and let us know if you find an interesting tale with a link to Crosby – www.oldbaileyonline.org

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