The Notorious William Hatch

William Hatch was baptised in Great Marlow in 1795 to William Hatch and Sarah who ran a bakery in the High Street. 

When the father William senior died he left all his surviving children who reached the age of 21 £150 each invested in stocks. William junior would have been one of them. The will is available on the blog here. Extraordinarily, one later report which accused William junior of acting out of pure malice as a police informer, also said that his real father had been a failed highwayman.

Whatever the truth of that William junior grew up to follow the respectable trade of baker. Initially he assisted his mother Sarah as a baker and corn dealer, then he traded briefly in Slough and Reading, both in Berkshire, before returning to once more help his mother. In 1831 he, but not his mother, who had not made him a partner in the business, was declared bankrupt. The bankruptcy notice also calls him a farmer.

This bankruptcy William survived and he continued baking. But he was not much liked and some kind of rumour or suspicion tended to be always around him. In 1828 John Boswell took out an ad in the Windsor and Eton Express apologising for circulating a false report as to William's character saying he was "extremely sorry" for his actions. The ad says he is taking it out as if he does it is agreed that William will not take legal action against him. Perhaps not the best wording if you want to suggest sincerity of apology but it worked. There is no hint as to what had been said about William.

Just a few weeks later however William won £5 damages from George Creswell of Marlow for calling him "Buffer the Hatch" when they were both in the Horns, Chapel Street. William claimed that "buffer" meant homosexual and that chalk scribblings using the same terms had been found on walls all around town. There was no suggestion George had been responsible for any of those. It is clear from the lawyers' arguments and witness statements that if buffer did signify homosexual to some it was not generally known to do so. The tone of George's voice and the fact the words featured on street graffiti meant they were presumed to be disrespectful words but without specific meaning. One of the lawyers said "buffer" had once long ago been used for lowly employees in law firms who had to do the unpleasant tasks like delivering eviction notices. I myself found evidence of the word being used as a term for someone who is willing to do other people's dirty work. Given that William when insulted was in a meeting with one of the Overseers of the poor, Thomas Broadway, then it may well be that outdated meaning was meant. It may also refer to Hatches electioneering work for the Williams family who held Marlow as a pocket borough.  George didn't explain his choice of words. The judge said it didn't really matter, an insult of some kind had been intended so damages were due to William. He however warned the offence did not warrant anything substantial. William had by the way formerly been an Overseer of the poor in Marlow himself.

In 1830 school master Mr Francis of the Bluecoats school (now known as Borlase), was convicted of assaulting William, when in drink. There was some amusement expressed at the senior, slight and short teacher taking on the 6ft tall and sturdy Hatch, and it seems Francis came off the worst.  Two witnesses on each side contradicted themselves altogether, but Francis was found guilty and had to spend a week in the house of correction. He also had to pay a £5 fine and find sureties for his future good behaviour. William said that Francis had called him a "sodom-ite" and he had retaliated with his fists. At this point the local magistrate presiding intervened to say he was aware of chalked graffiti in Marlow making a similar point but to the best of his knowledge there was no truth to the remark! However, the incident was widely regarded as politically motivated, as the two supported opposite candidates and feeling was still running high after a recent election. Hatch had been accused of brandishing a knife at an opposition voter at the previous election (which he denied doing), along with allegations that he had been banned from several public houses for violent conduct. It is true that certain establishments were strongly associated with one political candidate or another, and William may not have been too welcome in some simply for taking the other side publicly. He did say he did not regard his involvement in electioneering as very extensive. However the magistrates on summing up were no doubt politics stood behind it all. They expressed the wish that the school teacher would not let the electioneering spirit move him to breach the peace in future. 

William had plenty more court appearances. In 1829 he was fined 12 shillings for pulling up a crop of potatoes in a poor man's garden, a Mr Harding. This man may have been a tenant of his as the next year William had to pay the court costs when he failed in his attempt to prosecute his tenant Hannah Frith and her husband for picking fruit in the garden of the cottage they rented from him. The judge told William he didn't own the fruit, they did. In the same session the judge threw out William's suit against one John Simpson for allegedly throwing a stone at his window.

In 1829 William was also summoned for failing to support his illegitimate child with Ann Beaver and ordered to start paying up.

Three years later he was fined a shilling for trying to purposefully run down a servant of Mr J Clayton with his bakery cart. The judge condemned his reckless violence.

The next year William prosecuted Christopher Wildego for an alleged theft of a loaf from out of that cart.

In 1834 he stabbed a young boy who had formerly worked for him and stole the boy's knife. He was allowed to escape further penalty if he paid the boy 6 shillings compensation and give him back his knife!

The same year George Creswell was once again pitted against William. The Windsor and Eton Express said William was an "Ill looking man generally known as the appellation of the Buffer upwards of six foot high" who appeared in court with a cut face, two black eyes and 4 teeth knocked out. William said George had committed this assault on him. The paper said his usual "appalling" face was rendered more disgusting than usual as a result! Once more the setting for George and William's confrontation was a public house. William had used provoking language to the other man until he lost his temper. George was able to produce witnesses to prove that he was a respectable and "truly peaceable and steady man when unmolested" while William was the reverse so William's request that the defendant be bound over to keep the peace towards him was refused. George was however fined for the assault. The Creswells were renowned for being tall, strong and well built men. 

In 1835 William reached his lowest point being arrested for a "brutal attack upon his wife with intent to murder her". He had then run off for a few days but was arrested upon his return. He was unable to pay his bail, nor find anyone who wished to help him in this way ("no person having the remotest claim to respectability would become his security" said the paper) so was sent to Aylesbury Gaol to await trial. After three months in such custody he managed to prevail upon his wife to withdraw the charges on the grounds he would behave better in future.

He is referred to in reports at the time as the "notorious Will Hatch" and "Buffer the Hatch".

He had married a "Miss Spicer" in Henley, Oxfordshire in 1832. I have seen a marriage notice not a parish register so I am afraid I do not at the time of writing know the bride's first name. 

I find no further mention of William Hatch in Marlow records or any wife of his. They may have moved away to escape their recent scandals. William was still alive when his mother Sarah wrote her will in 1838. She had by then moved to Eton and left him besides money a bible. Making a point Sarah?

Sarah died in 1844. She was the owner of the row of houses in Dean Street called Hatches Row, which were sold off after her death.

For all mentions of a person on this blog see the Person Index. Over 2,300 people are listed as of December 2021. You will find more on Sarah Hatch for instance there.

Some Sources:

Wills of William Hatch and Sarah Hatch. Transcribed by me from wills held at the National Archives Kew.

Great Marlow Parish Registers, transcribed by me from the originals.

Windsor and Eton Express 8th May 1828, 12th Jan 1833, 25th Jan 1834, 29th August 1835, 19th Dec 1835.

Paper copies held at the British Library and accessed by me via their partnership with the BNA.

The London Gazette (compiled) Volume 2 by Thomas Neumann 1831. University of Iowa Archives, digitized by Google.

GRO Death Registration Index, online from the GRO.