In the crowded galleries of criminal history, few figures stand out with such grim fascination as Charles Frederick Peace (1832–1879). This Victorian villain was a man of shocking contrasts. To some, he seemed a harmless, even charming, family man. Yet, beneath this veneer lurked a ruthless criminal, a sort of real-life Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Join us as we delve into ten astonishing aspects of his life that cement his reputation as one of Victorian England’s most intriguing and terrifying rogues.
10. Family Traits and Early Scars
It seems resilience, or perhaps a grim dance with fate, ran in the Peace family. Charles’s father, John, a coal miner, lost his lower left leg in a work accident but remarkably reinvented himself as a wild animal tamer. Charles himself was not to escape unscathed. He lost parts of several fingers on his left hand, yet this didn’t stop him from becoming a skilled violin player. His own brush with severe injury came at age fourteen. While working in a Sheffield rolling mill, a red-hot steel rod pierced his leg just below the knee. After eighteen long months in the hospital, he was left with a permanent limp. Despite this, Peace developed into an incredibly agile cat-burglar, his unusual gait belying his stealth and speed.
9. A Man of Many (Unexpected) Talents
Had Charles Peace chosen a different path, he might have lived a comfortable, respectable life. He possessed a surprising array of talents. His skill with a single-stringed violin was so remarkable that he was often in demand at social gatherings, even billed as ‘The Modern Paganini’. Beyond music, he had a keen eye for antiques and art, worked as a picture-framer, and could expertly mend clocks. Peace also ventured into inventing. Using the alias John Thompson, he and a partner even secured a patent for an invention designed for “raising sunken vessels by the displacement of water within the vessels by air and gases,” an idea they presented to a Member of Parliament.
8. Complex Entanglements: The Women in His Life
Three women played significant roles in Charles Peace’s chaotic life. First was Hannah Ward, a widow he reportedly married in 1851, who had a young son, Willie. Later, Peace met Susan Bailey (née Gray) and began an affair, the two posing as Mr. and Mrs. Thompson. Their deception was nearly uncovered when police raided their lodgings, but the ever-slippery Peace managed to escape. With a bounty on his head, he fled to London, bringing both Hannah and Willie along. It was in London that his criminal activities escalated. However, Susan Bailey eventually betrayed him, informing police of his true identity in hopes of claiming a £100 reward (which she was denied). Hannah Ward, on the other hand, was acquitted of receiving stolen goods, as her marriage to Peace couldn’t be disproved, implying she acted under his coercion. The third woman, Mrs. Katherine Dyson, would become a central figure in one of his most heinous crimes.
7. Getting Away With Murder: The Case of PC Cock
In August 1876, Peace’s criminal activities took a deadly turn. Interrupted during a burglary in Manchester, he was confronted by Police Constable Nicholas Cock. To secure his escape, Peace fired his revolver, fatally wounding the officer. In a shocking display of audacity, two local brothers, John and William Habron, were arrested for the crime. Peace even attended their trial, where William was found guilty and sentenced to death, though this was later commuted to life in prison. Only after his final arrest for other crimes did Peace confess to murdering PC Cock, providing details only the killer could know. William Habron was subsequently granted a free pardon and £800 in compensation for his wrongful conviction.
6. Obsession and a Second Fatal Shot
By 1877, while living in a suburb of Sheffield, Peace developed an unsettling fixation on Katherine Dyson, the wife of civil engineer Arthur Dyson. Peace made advances towards Mrs. Dyson, and while the full extent of her reciprocation is unclear, she admitted to accompanying him to public houses. Mr. Dyson, understandably concerned, warned Peace to stay away. The Dysons moved miles away to escape him, but Peace tracked them down, ominously telling Arthur, “You see, I am here to annoy you, and I’ll annoy you wherever you go.” One fateful night, Peace lay in wait outside their new home. When Katherine emerged from an outbuilding, he confronted her with a revolver. Arthur rushed to her aid, and Peace shot him through the temple, killing him instantly. Katherine later described Peace as a demon “beyond the power of even a Shakespeare to paint.”
5. The Master of Disguise
Peace’s ability to evade capture for so long was partly due to his skill as a master of disguise. His facial features were described as almost ‘rubber-like,’ allowing him to alter his appearance significantly. He employed various aids like spectacles, hair dye, and walnut juice to darken his skin. To hide his tell-tale missing fingers, he often wore a prosthetic arm fitted with a hook. Even his tools of the trade were cleverly concealed, often transported in a violin case, and his clothing was ingeniously designed with hidden pockets for tools and stolen goods. A wanted poster unflatteringly described him as thin, slightly built, with nearly white hair, walking with legs wide apart, and speaking “as though his tongue were too large for his mouth.”
4. Another Policeman in the Line of Fire
The law eventually began to close in. In the early hours of October 10, 1878, Constable Robinson was patrolling Blackheath, an area plagued by recent burglaries. Spotting a light in a house, he called for backup. As his colleagues approached the front, Robinson watched a man—Peace—climb out of a window. Robinson gave chase, but Peace turned, revolver in hand, warning, “Keep back! Or by God, I’ll shoot you!” The burglar fired four shots, all missing. As Robinson lunged, Peace fired a fifth, this time hitting the officer in the arm. Despite his serious wound, Constable Robinson managed to overpower Peace, wrestling the gun from him and striking him down, finally bringing the notorious criminal to justice.
3. A Desperate Leap for Freedom (or Oblivion)
Even in custody, Charles Peace remained a difficult and dangerous prisoner. While being transported by train to Sheffield to stand trial for Arthur Dyson’s murder, he saw an opportunity. After being allowed to open the carriage window to dispose of a makeshift toilet bag, Peace suddenly dived headfirst through the opening. One of his guards reacted quickly, grabbing Peace’s left boot. For a terrifying moment, Peace dangled upside-down, clinging to the footboard and kicking furiously at the officer. Eventually, his boot slipped off, and he tumbled onto the tracks below. The guards stopped the train and, after running nearly a mile back, found Peace unconscious and bleeding heavily from a head wound. He later claimed this dramatic leap was not an escape attempt but a bid to cheat the hangman through suicide.
2. ‘Bloody Rotten Bacon’ and the Final Curtain
Charles Peace’s trial for the murder of Arthur Dyson began on February 4, 1879, at Leeds Assizes. The jury needed only ten minutes to return a guilty verdict, and he was sentenced to death. In the condemned cell at Armley Prison, Peace finally confessed to a priest that he was, indeed, the man who had killed PC Cock years earlier. For his last meal, he had bacon and eggs, famously remarking, “This is bloody rotten bacon.” He even prepared a homemade funeral card for his wife, inscribed: “In Memory of Charles Peace Who was executed in Armley Prison Tuesday February 25, 1879 Aged 47 For that I don (sic) but never Intended.” True to his troublesome nature to the very end, he even asked for a drink of water on the scaffold. His request was denied, the lever was pulled, and the remarkable, terrible life of Charles Peace came to an end.
1. The Enduring Infamy of Charles Peace
It’s somewhat surprising that such a vividly colorful real-life villain hasn’t been more frequently portrayed on the big screen. A short silent film, The Life of Charles Peace, was released in 1905, though it’s light on facts. A more accurate, albeit dated, film, The Case of Charles Peace, appeared in 1949. Peace even earned a mention in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes story, “The Adventure of the Illustrious Client,” where Holmes remarks, “My old friend Charlie Peace was a violin virtuoso.” For many years, a wax figure of Peace, alongside his executioner William Marwood, was a chillingly popular attraction at Madame Tussaud’s Chamber of Horrors. A children’s comic in 1964 even ran a strip titled “The Astounding Adventures of Charlie Peace,” billing him as a “lovable rogue.” While undeniably a fascinating character, labeling a violent murderer who wouldn’t hesitate to shoot his way out of trouble as “lovable” is perhaps a stretch too far, highlighting the complex and often contradictory legacy of Charles Peace.
Charles Peace’s life was a whirlwind of crime, talent, and terror. His story continues to captivate those interested in the darker side of Victorian history, a testament to his infamous and unforgettable character.
What do you find most fascinating or chilling about Charles Peace? Leave your comment below!
