In 1856, a tragic case of domestic violence unfolded in rural Dorset when 45-year-old Martha Brown fatally struck her 26-year-old husband John with an axe after enduring years of abuse. The couple, who had married in 1852, lived in the hamlet of Birdsmoorgate. Martha, a widow who had inherited £50 (over £6,000 today) from her first husband, met John while both worked as servants at Blackmanston Farm. Rumours suggested John married her for her inheritance.
The marriage was troubled from the start, culminating in Martha discovering John in bed with another woman, Mary Davis. Hours later, John returned home drunk and without his hat, leading Martha to believe he had been with Mary again. When she confronted him, he struck her with a whip and kicked her, causing her to fall from her chair. The argument continued until 3am, when John hit Martha on the side of the head, leaving her confused.
Martha later recounted in a statement: 'He reached down from the mantle piece a heavy horse whip with a plain end and struck me across the shoulders with it three times. Each time I screamed out. I said, "If you strike me again I will cry murder." He retorted, "If you do, I will knock your brains through the window." He also added, "I hope I shall find you dead in the morning."' After he kicked her again, Martha seized a hatchet used for breaking coal and struck him several times on the head. She said, 'He fell at the first blow... He never spoke or moved afterwards. As soon as I had done it, I wished I had not.'
Initially, Martha claimed her husband had been kicked by a horse, but she later confessed to the killing while in custody, revealing the relentless domestic violence she had suffered. Despite widespread sympathy and appeals to the Home Secretary to spare her life, Martha was tried by a jury of ten local men and convicted of 'wilful murder'. She was sentenced to death by hanging and executed at Dorchester Prison.
