The Case of the Sinister Schoolmaster
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- Опубліковано 20 тра 2024
- The Case of the Sinister Schoolmaster
News of the Times Episode 314 | 1860
It is 1860 Eastbourne and 15 year old Reginald Chancellor / Cancellor has been sent back after Easter holidays to his very expensive boarding school. Reginald is a known slow student. Although the family can see that Reginald has been on the receiving end of corporal punishment at his school, he also seems to be improving academically so the family send him back. They never see Reginald alive again.
What unfolds is a course of action that can only be described as both sickening and sadistic.
This case was loudly followed in the papers at the time and was used as a case study for decades to come when looking into school reform.
The post script after gives a further indication of what poor Reginald endured with .the sinister schoolmaster in today’s episode of Wicked Wednesdays.
Hosted by Robin Coles.
#NewsofTheTimes #VictorianCrimeStories #HistoricalCrimeStories #VictorianMurders #Historicalcrimedocumentary #historicaltruecrime #eastbourne #students #horrorstories
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What an evil school master. Corporal punishment should never be used on children that have learning disabilities. I would think it would have made the matter worse. It would definitely shame a child and have negative results. Think of the children today who have been abused. They have a very difficult time trying to mix in with society, having behavioral problems. RIP young man.
Yes, we think so too! This one hit the team hard. But, we think there is value in remembering these stories and, hopefully, learning from them. Very sad story and quite shocking. 😔
This case of the "despicable," schoolmaster who claimed he only performed corporal punishment was one of the most heartbreaking and heinous crimes of a young student ever, period! I can't comprehend how in all good concensus that Hopley could only have received penal servitude of four years for the death of this young teenager, Reginald. Also, the fact that Hopley wife wasn't able to obtain a divorce from him was another injustice in my personal opinion. May the soul of young Reginald rest in eternal peace.🌹 Great investigation, presentation, backstory, illustrations, photos and videos, as well. Take care 🦋
Well said! He was so horrible and the 4 years is unjustifiable. His family were quite well known in important monied circles - we wonder if this had an impact on his sentencing - as well as the divorce trial. Divorce in Victorian times was a scandal and immediately would ostracise you from certain segments of society. We wonder if that is what was going on. We think the tragic case of Reginald is important to remember. Bless him - our heart goes out to their family even over 100 years later. 😔
What a sadistic and vile coward Hopley was and he all he got was a lousy four years for taking the life of a defenseless child. Outrageous. Poor young Reginald. He suffered so much. Very sad tale.
Thank you, NotT. Well done, as always.
Our first reponse did not take - possibly due to our oblique reference to pillories and Calcraft. Yes, a tremendously sad tale and a true tale of abuse of power over someone who had no power. Tremdously sad. We think the story is important to be remembered. Thank you, as always, for your support!🙏
@@newsofthetimes Yes, Reginald deserves a tender rememberance. Poor lad.
This was murder pure and simple. Thanks for sharing this Robin and team.
It was! A terrible tragic story that should be remebered. Thank you. 🙏
It's because of stories like this and personal experience, that I'm VERY against corporal punishment!! There is no excuse whatsoever to BEAT a child as a form of punishment!! There are better ways to discipline children!!
Poor Reginald must have suffered horribly!! It's a good job his clergyman brother insisted on not allowing his body to be immediately interred without a full investigation!!
Incidentally, I don't think Reginald was "stubborn"!! I think his medical condition caused him to have difficulties learning mathematics!!
Hopley sounded like a abusive brute!! I wonder how many other poor children he had abused besides Reginald!!
I'm VERY glad that corporal punishment is no longer allowed in UK schools!!
Thanks for sharing poor Reginald's story, Robin!! 💕👍💞❤🤗😭💔
Thank you! We also think it is an important story that should be remembered. Interestng your question of who else Hopley brutalised. In his divorce trial that Fanny brought against him, she claimed that he had married her as an educational "experiment" and had inflicted both verbal and physical abuse. Even more shocking and terrible - she accused him in court of hitting their infant son (who tragically was brain damaged) when the child was only a few days old because of his crying. Hopley seemed to be somehwat "protected" - at least legally. Four years for his crime is just ...criminal. He also faced no criminal charges or investigation into the abuse charges AND the judge would not grant the divorce because Fanny had accepted the abuse - which, of course, makes no sense at all. Fanny, stil legally married, had to emigrate with her children to be rid of him. Sometimes, there are points of evil who just cause pain and suffering with whatever they touch... A very sad case in all. 😔
@@newsofthetimes Hopley seemed VERY intent on LITERALLY beating his unfortunate victims into submission!! It's like a "they WILL obey me OR ELSE!!" kind of an attitude!!
His poor wife and children!! At least, they were able to escape his clutches - unlike poor Reginald!!
Reginald's poor father must've died from a broken heart, coupled with immense guilt!! He literally didn't know that Copley would end up thrashing his son to death!!
@@nadiabrook7871 Too true! We have covered many an evil person, but there is somethig particularly despicable about beating a defenceless child. What an awful man. 😔
@@newsofthetimes I also think that Hopley was a narcissist!!
@@nadiabrook7871 And possibly a sadist too...
Oh, that was one of your most saddest stories. I felt for the poor lad
Agreed - we think so too. We also think it is an important story to remember whihc it was for the next 70 years. It has been referenced many times her ein the uk when school reform discussions take place. Poor Reginald.😔
I think that the comment that the headmaster made about “conquering” poor Reginald says all we need to know about his intentions. The horrible irony is that having hydrocephalus Reginald had little control over his cognition and was probably learning impaired, so no amount of beatings would ever have changed that. A short painful life ended in pain and horror.
The headmaster’s sentence was laughable, his wife not being allowed a divorce is almost surreal in its injustice.
As usual, very well said! The tragic story of reginald, we think, is worth remembering, even as painful as it was. The case went on to be referenced here in the uk for the next 70 years any time school reform came up. Just horrible. He was, by all accounts, a really loving sweet boy. As for Hopley - the last article in the episode was an editorial from one of the papers and demonstrative of the general loud feelings regarding the case. Hopley came from an important family - we do wonder if that somehow influenced the paltry amount of time he did. As for the divorce - fanny accused hm of havng hit their infant son when he was but a few days old due to his crying. The child was described as brain damaged - but we do not know in what way. Fanny had to emigrate to get away from her husband as legally she was given no help or protection. As for Hopley - his two attempts (possibly more, we only know of two), to remain relavant were dismissed out of hand by the press. Knowing that sometimes lots of bad press will have the opposite effect, the press handled his publications review perfectly. Two sentences of disdain remarking on his own heightened sense of self importance - a killer in Victorian society. Poor poor Reginald - incredibly sad. His father, it was said, died shortly afterwards of a broken spirit and must have keenly felt the brunt of his decision to allow reginald back into an environment where he knew he was being harmed. Just terrible this one. 😔
I can relate a little as I was put in Catholic school in the early 50s. The Huns were horrific but the physical abuse was nothing like that but the emotional abuse could be far worse. A few years ago the head of the Nuns make a public apology to the world for what went on all over the world at that time. Anyway, the horrors we humans put upon each other, child or adult, can be mind numbingly horrific. Sorry for pontificating.
No need for an apology! It is horrifying to think of people who are put in authority over others and use it to abuse them. In the case of religious teachers, it breaks my heart to think of how many people run from the church because of how they were treated by people who should have helped them in their faith.
Oh my. We are so sorry to hear! We had not considered that the story would have any kind of relationship when we put this one up. So sorry. Our thught are with you.
It is a tragic case and, we think, one that should be remembered to this day. Thank you for sharing. Agreed, sometimes humans do terrible things and especially, people who have power and inflict terrible paon on those who do not. Thank you again. We all here sending you light and love. 🙏✨
@@newsofthetimes No problem. I am almost 80 and I survived as did thousands of others. I had worse treatment from my father. A long sad story! Anyway, terrible things like this need to be told so everyone can understand the awful things we are capable of doing to each other. Thank you for doing so!!
@@normanriggs848 A generous and wise response. We think so too - it is important the story is told. Bless you - thoughts are with you. 🙏
@@newsofthetimes I thank you for that. I am fine but I think this is still a big problem in the world and our humanity needs a readjustment. The political mood is not helping either. Thank you again and keep up the great work. I appreciate your hard work and what you do.
Odd how we were considered the priveleged, we weren't. Yes we went to exclusive schools but we were bullied and abusied
We very much hope that the times have changed! It is heartbreaking to think of what was endured. Dickens referenced this scenario several times in his books. Copperfield comes immediately to mind. Thank you for sharing. ✨
This one hit close to home for me. I have "water on the brain," (hydrocephalus) but I was fortunate. It affected my ability to walk but not my intellect. It is just a great shame that neither his family or society apparently had resources to help him. I can't entirely blame the schoolmaster because I think seeing people with disabilities as problems was common at the time. If he and others had more knowledge of brain damage, they might have acted differently
Then again maybe these headmasters would not have acted differently if they were of sadistic tendencies.
@@audreyricci6383 That's true too , but I think all of us have reacted out of extreme frustration at least once.
Gosh. We extend our warmth and sympathies to you. Thank you for sharing. Our thoughts are with you. 🙏
You are far more understanidng than we are - we think he should have hung under Calcraft - possibly pilloried first and he could then feel physically the brunt of public opinion. The end article in the episode was one of the many examples written regardng the odious man. And, as he atempted to remain relevant with his teaching methodologies explained n two poublications, the press were unswervingly brutal in theri assessment of hsi work - two lines of deisdain as if to give him as little press time as possible. He was a sadistic man. His divorce trial would indicate the same. We think your assessment is probably correct regarding the perception of special needs in Victorian times (whch still is prevalent in some places). We can only hope that we have all, as a human race, moved forward in our evolutionary journey. There was MUCH condemnation at the time that he had gotten off so lightly. Thank you again for sharing. We as a team send you light and love. ✨🙏
@@newsofthetimes Much appreciated. For the record, I am terrible at maths.
He got away with murder of a child. Heinous
He truly did. Just unbelievable. his family were quite imporatnt and ran in the higher echelons of society. We do wonder if that is what protected him legally, He was accused by his wife of havng hit their infant son when he was crying. The child is described as brain damaged but we do not know in what way. She emigrated to get away from him. jumping continents to be removed from a person is a commentary in itself.
I have already asked one question and got a answer Thank You. I know that in this country USA anyone who goes to prison for abusing or killing a child is not long for this world if the other prisoners can get ahold of them. Also I have read that in the 1950s it was the same in the UK in the case of John Christy not having a problem confessing to his crimes and perversions but would not confess to killing the Evans baby. I wonder if it was the same in prison back then. Thanks for all the work you put into these videos.
Another great question! Frankly, we do not nkow and would not like to haphazard a guess as to any particular crimes being given "special" treatment by other prisoner. We are GUESSING, mostly from press and public response, that killings that horrify us now, horrified back then. In truth, prisons in general were super grim back then. We did do an episode on prisons and another on prison hulks (sorry - do not have our db on hand). If you run a search of the word "prison" they should pop up. Thank you so much for your interest and great questions! Much appreciated!🙏
I remember the one on the prison hulks I will look for the other one thanks
This is a heartbreaking story 💔
It really is. There is no silver lining in any of this. A tragic terrible death. 😔
I love your videos, but this one was rough. The only thing that made the crime worse was the lack of justice.
Appreciate the excellent delivery of such terrible material
Thank you. We believe in the saying those who forget the past.... Thank you. 🙌
Thank you - that is kind! To be fair, we went back and froth on this ome, but from a societal standpoint, the case was very important in the UK and had a tremendous impact on overhauls of the school system here. We did say, when we started this channel, that we were keen to give an unadulterated view of our history, warts and all. Yes, the lack of justice is hghly upsetting! There is no real upside on this one and we are unable to positively show that he felt the brunt of his crime. He did lose tremendously both socially and financially - we hope that was important to him. Just such an awful crime. 😔
This was certainly so harrowing to listen to, to beat a child with learning difficulties to death over a Math problem is unbelievable and heartbreaking
I can’t even begin to imagine the devastation the toll of this had on his father who obviously loved him …
Yes, a truly tragic story and one that tugged on us, even as hardened researchers. We went back and forth on posting this, but it remains an important case in the uk, and "lest we forget..." Thank you. Poor little Reginald. 😔
and yet a hundred and more years later they were still subjecting primary one (about 5 yrs) children to corporal punishment.
so sorry! Our first reply did not go through. Trying again. It has taken far far far too long to eradicate the practice.😢
I kept mishearing the name of the teacher, as my own. I've had people mishear it and spell it Hopley.
Ah yes, we did double check the name! It was actually a minor famous family! The brother became an important newsppaer editor in Australia and the sister was a published botanist. We found this story rather heartbreaking - poor reginald. 😔
I think that it goes without saying that the sentence was VERY LITE but just for context what is the heaviest sentence that could be given for that crime at that time in the UK
Great question!👍We are not sure. so if spmepne has a better answer please do pitch in!
We know that the charge was only manslaughter due to his position as carer. Makes no sense to us (as there were constant case of infanticide leading ot execution). But even with manslaughter, there was the option of hard labour. We know that although the practice was dying out by 1860, transportaton was still happening in some cases and those terms could range - usually for terms of 7 to 14 years. We know that insted of transportation some convicted would serve that transporation sentence in prison in the UK. So, with that logic, we are thinking 7 years hard labour in prison. Now, from that hard line position, take away his good family position, which should not be relevant, but factually, it very much was. Also take into account that this horrific crime ocurred in agreed use of corportal punishment within a school setting - take away the hard labout and we still end up with 7 years, We do not have a comparative exact match for the crime, but we do have a case around this time of a wife bieng kicked to death in full view of others. Legally, the husband had a right to chastise his wife within reason. The grey area, similar to Hopley, was what constituted "reasonable chastisement"? It was a thorny question for the judges at the time. Our memory was that this also fell under manslaughter - 7 years prison. That case, and the Reginald case, both had papers and public up in arms! Some changes were made, but not enough and not soon enough. Really great question! ✨Thank you!🙏🙏
Thanks for your answer l think 7 years would have been right knowing that it would not bring the poor boy back Thanks for your videos l have asked a other question l hope that's alright l know some youtubers don't like that
@@brianbailey5626 We LOVE the interest! The whole channel is about sharing our passion, so thank you very much for your interest!🙏
@@brianbailey5626 Thank you for your curiosity! Great questions!🙌
He sounds like a sadist.
Agreed.😒