Ball's Yard

From Historical Hastings

Now the West Hill Arcade and the Albion Mews prior to that. The yard is also referred to as Bull's Yard, but this is believed to be a mis-spelling from a period in time when names were often spelled phonetically. The proprietor of the yard was a wheelwright by trade, however upon his wife's death in 1838, 'Old Wheeler' as he was known became responsible for the care of their eleven children and was declared bankrupt in 1842[1].

A murder victim - that being Mud Jack's wife was discovered in the yard on the 20th of April 1832, 'Mud Jack' being revealed in a newspaper report to be correctly known as 'Mad Jack' - his real name being John Aldridge and his wife being Martha. The historian Helena Wojtczack surmises that although no murderer was found, John Aldridge would seem to be the most likely suspect[1].

References & Notes

  1. a b Strange Exits from Hastings Vol 2 pp 15-23 (Helena Wojtczack 2021)