Prisoner X16663 - Arthur William Everett , Cellar man Cause of Insanity – Drink . Transferred from St Albans Prison .
Prisoner X16663 - Arthur William Everett , Cellar man Cause of Insanity – Drink . Transferred from St Albans Prison .
Arthur William Everett was born on the 9th January 1857 in St Ives Huntingdonshire to Arthur William and Mary Ann Everett , he was baptized at St Mary the Great in Cambridge aged 4 on the 21 April 1861 the year after the death of his father .
Arthur lived with his mother , sister and step siblings in Falcon Yard Cambridge , this was one of the yards off Petty Cury which is where the Lion Yard is today . Falcon Yard would have housed up to 300 people and in 1903 , on the order of the Medical Officer of Health , it was declared as one of the worst slums in Cambridge and was demolished .
In the 1871 census aged just 14 Arthur was listed as working as an errand boy and in 1881 he was working as a Grocers Warehouseman .
We do not know what Arthur was doing between 1881 and 1887 but he must have been doing alright for himself as he now owns a property , 17 Albert Street . It was reported in the Cambridge Independent Press on the 9th April 1887 that on the 25th March his lodger Robert Grant had stolen a pipe , a cigar holder , case and a wood pipe to the value of 5 shillings from Arthur . The articles were recovered and Robert was sentenced to 14 days ’ imprisonment with hard labour .
Over the next few months Arthur must have been getting ill as on the 24th September the Cambridge Independent Press reported that Arthur had been charged with assaulting his then Lodger Painter Robert Forgmant . After coming home drunk one night Robert was asked to leave , after he refused Arthur threatened to murder him , Arthur then abused him and threw and blundered him about . When the police arrived , it was found both parties were drunk and Arthur was fined 20 shillings and costs . It was less than two weeks later that he was back in court .
The Cambridge Chronicle and Journal reported that on the 17th September 1887 Arthur was charged with causing a nuisance at the back of Brandon Place , for this he was remanded in custody until the following Tuesday . Less than two weeks later he was in court again this time for stealing Whisky , while in custody he smashed up his cell breaking several panes of glass and pulling down the iron work from the window frame , he scratched paint off the walls and pulled up the wooden frame used as a pillow rest . It was for this offence he was convicted and ordered to pay 10 shillings damages , a 10 shilling fine and 4 shillings 1 pennie costs . He was sentenced to one month ’ s imprisonment with hard labour . On the 17th October , a jury found him to be insane and he was transferred to the Three Counties Asylum on the 28th October 1887 .
His medical condition was described as Mania caused through drink , he was excitable , talkative and used extravagant language , he had inconsistent and very exalted ideas of himself . He had a general tremor of the muscles of expression and hesitation in his speech . He did not sleep well but had a voracious appetite and would become violent , his habits were filthy and his language lewd . It was noted that upon admission he was shaky in his movements and there were small bruises to his chest . Heart sounds were ok but the patient was restless and talkative he says he is the King of England and possesses two million of money . The next day it was written that he is sleepless , noisy and dangerous , he said he had killed two people that day , dirty in his habits , speech is very thick and hesitating .
On the 3rd November , he is described as destructive and noisy and in a state of nudity at night . Nothing much changes in his behaviour except that he is becoming a little shakier until the 10th December when its reported that he is now pulling off his clothes , tearing up his bedding and being generally violent with extravagant delusions .
The first entry for 1888 the 12th of January reads that he has started writing irrational letters ordering his wife to send him thousands of cakes .
By the 20th February he has started to strip himself naked and is still noisy and indecent .
There was no change until the 18th May when the doctor reported that he was becoming better behaved and that he worked a little bit in the ward but was still getting delusions of an extravagant kind and his build was getting stout .
For the rest of the year little changed , he was still dangerous , threatening and striking others saying he is King of the World . By August 1889 he is now suffering from epileptic convulsions leaving him feeble .
The last note in the case book reads , he has left Hemiplegia and is in a semi-conscious state , urine is now having to be drawn off two or three times a day and Arthur is frequently violently convulsed . He is rapidly sinking and cannot have many days .
On the 5th September 1889 Arthur William Everett died of General Paralysis ( Syphilis ).
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