REVEALED The SCANDAL that shocked a poor mining town in Cornwall - True Crime Mystery

[@rosieandjim2293]

Found this online under PerthiKov. Postscript: Benny’s sister Amy was tried for murder but acquitted, as the judge directed that her mind had been turned by the Methodist revival meetings she attended. She was sent to the Bridewell asylum in London, was eventually released and even married, but her life continued to be hard. Her husband, an army veteran, died soon after their marriage, she was convicted of theft - presumably she stole because she was penniless. She ended her days back in her birthplace, dying in the Redruth workhouse, just yards from the home where she killed her brother, at the age of 75. She is buried in St.Euny, in an unmarked grave in the newer churchyard.

[@laurencecoldrick3158]

good addition

[@bonitawyke7259]

Is it also possible that Amey was poisoned by constant exposure to the toxic dust etc. from birth through childhood into young adulthood ,which would have affected her brain literally, and thus mental state? (eg. lead poisoning etc) Her irrational delusion was caused by multiple factors, including the extreme labour from childhood on, and influence of her church. Yet she knew right from wrong, and fantasized about killing other children, but was afraid to be caught. She premeditated the murder of her younger brother, who would have no chance to escape ,defend himself or even try, because he trusted her; he couldn’t have understood what she was doing to him. There was enough tragedy all around, for everyone in the family, friends, the village. This story, while in the past, reminds us of tragedies which happen every day, and affect us deeply, and personally. Thank you, Sarah and Andrew, for always presenting these stories with empathy: to ask why, to find some kind of meaning or a better understanding of our humanity..and alas, sometimes ..the lack of it. 🫂🕊️

[@CornishWalkingTrails]

Wow! Thank you so much. We came to a raid block when we couldn’t access the national archive but this sheds new light on her story. For anyone interested: www.perthikov.org.uk/until-the-daybreak/ Many thank, Sarah

[@Cornishfoodie]

What an interesting website! I have family connections to Redruth with my gran and dad living there throughout WWII.

[@donnanesbit4963]

Interesting that they buried her in hallowed ground, being a murderer.

[@richardbird4702]

Walking towards Wheal Coates you passed a bench we call "Damian's Seat". Damian was a friend of mine and a like-minded mining historian like me. His family have a bungalow at St Agnes and he spent much time in the area. His premature death at the age of 61 in 2006 was very sad. The plaque on the bench says "his little bit of heaven". We explored many mines in the area both at surface and underground.

[@Dave.w-ev9qn1962]

I don’t think we can start to imagine how hard life was hear in cornwall in those times. My late parents would of said” she had religious mania” not un heard of in those days. Even in the 1900 life was a struggle! My great grand parents both worked in mines at st agnes. He died at 52 with silicosis of the lungs after breathing in the dust. 9 months later she died at 42 working as a bal maiden on mine. My grandmother being the eldest had to care for her 4 younger siblings. Hard times. Interesting video👍

[@esthermorrissey1454]

What a sad but wonderfully told story with iconic Cornish scenery- we really enjoyed this video - well done……..

[@heatherdepasquale9803]

Wow! Exquisite! As a Christian I appreciate the extensive history you gave about John Wesley and Methodism without deriding the person or the religion. You also didn’t blame either one-though it’s very likely there was some fault to be had. I wonder if she was deeply contemplating her life of hardship, her new belief in heaven and her young brother’s life which would be a miserable existence. Was that kindness…maybe she thought so. This video was one of your best…lots of historical back story with beautiful scenery. Very engaging…you even got some trails in there. Love this format…keep them coming as you can.

[@chrish3472]

Interesting story and set along the coast as a bonus, love that coastline around St Agnes, just the gentle blowing of the wind, hardly anyone around and totally removed from the madness of modern day life, very calming for a Friday morning viewing. Thank you Sarah and Andrew, just wish i was there as well.

[@Mounhas]

And that’s where I’ve been today with my dogs…

[@benholmes1608]

That dilapidated old building would make the perfect artist's studio for Sarah! :-)

[@juliakneebone5742]

How sad the story..but how magnificent the Cornish coast!!thank you spectacular!!The most beautiful place in the world!!

[@rebeccarendle3706]

Sad but interesting story.. especially the connection to the Methodist church/religion and its influence on the mining community. My parents were there yesterday (but I guess you filmed there a week or so ago) in blue sky and sun, enjoying long walks along the coastal path and to the mine ruins, while Bodmin and Devon etc where buried under the snow storm! Part of my "Tregidgo" family were tin miners (but at another mine), the rest were ship builders in Falmouth and into fishing/fishmongers. My dad recorded my grandfather (who was born in Gwennap) talking about the Cornish coat of arms and singing the Cornish national anthem. Sadly he is dead now, but I love watching him on you tube every so often.

[@Hedgehogsinthemist123]

The name David Mudd takes me back. I remember him. He was Conservative MP for Falmouth and Camborne from 1970 until 1992. He wrote quite a lot of books. Are you saying that following methodism caused her to commit murder? There were a lot of methodists in Cornwall. Good job they didn't all think the same. Yes, she was obviously mad. Probably due to all the heavy metals down the mine. Thank you for another interesting and informative video. Tracey x

[@Mounhas]

For a conservative David Mudd was a decent bloke, in the mould of Lord Heseltine.

[@lindaangove9010]

Wasn’t he a TV journalist in the West Country before he became an MP?

[@Hedgehogsinthemist123]

@ not that I’m aware

[@user-Juneybee53]

What a sad story and thanks to Rosie forvthectragic ending! We loved Wheal Coates and St Agnes Head and have often thronged 😍 to watch sunset or fireworks at times! Thanks for the great video !

[@juliebone4929]

Thank you for another great blog 🎉

[@pilesofparagraphs]

Such a sad story but very interesting. I think she was a desperate young woman and influence from the revivals lead her down a wrong path. My husband and I grew up in a copper mining town, so we are both familiar with dangerous work mining is. Of course, by the time I really remember it was ever so much safer but still dangerous. I know my ancestors worked in the mines in Cornwall, but I don't know which ones. Do you know anything about the dynamite works near Gwithian? I know my grandfather worked there as a very young man, 17 I think. Thank you for always bringing us the beauty of Cornwall as a backdrop for the stories.

[@PhilipInCoventry]

One of the saddest events to ever take place in Cornwall. Even the mention of the word Bedlam, chills me knowing the story, as not far from where I live in Coventry, we have a Bedlam lane, that a century ago was adjacent to a huge mental hospital, now long gone. A huge retail park occupies the area, along with Coventry City Football stadium. Thank you for your sensitive presentation of such an awful tragedy.

[@cornwallparanormalresearch2378]

Another awesome job well done like and shared out in you tube community..

[@gordonsimpson3235]

Fascinating story....who knows her true motivation. But the old fire and brimstone ministers, probably had a lot to answer for!

[@nickwebb9290]

I hadn’t heard of Amey George, however thanks to you two I do now and what a strange bit of local history that is. We live near this part of the coast (just further round the corner westward) so have visited Wheal Coates many times, it’s a picturesque and historical place to take friends when they visit. And now we have this extra tail to tell them. Thank you 🙏 Please keep these wonderful vlogs coming, they’re wonderful 😁

[@christopherdakin7094]

What a tragic story! I think the fact that she previously wanted to push people into the mine indicates mainly a mental illness, possibly schizophrenia, more than a religious desire for her brother to go to heaven, as the primary cause. A very sad episode, but beautiful scenery.

[@EllenPetersson-zs8wc]

Interesting. Tx for this video 😊

[@jameskrell4392]

I posted this a bit late on the Lands End post. I was looking for what I’m about to tell you about. "Hello, I’m the chap that recomended the JT Bight book, a week at the Lands End. I have a foldout Land’s End Panorama that I bought on Saturday 12th August 1978 for 15p. I’m not sure if they still sell it at Lands End but they did for many decades. As the name implies it is a Panorama looking out across the Lands End area from left to right, idetifying all the main things you can see from that point. The Veiw point is from behind the peel rocks and not from the Hotel, far left is the Hotel and far right is Cape Cornwall. I have no idea why they did this accept it may take in more interesting points this way. It shows where Dr Sintax’s head is, stating that its sits uncomfortably on a granite pillow. It identifies the Isles of Scilly, the rocks around the Longships light and the mines and features around Cape Cornwall. There is a description describing events as well as the places on show. There is also a things to do list and a piece about the veiw at night. At that time was one other publication in the series and they planned seven more. I don’t know if they were ever printed I have never seen the others. If you want a photo copy of it let me know and I will get one to you somehow."

[@TimWallace-j9d]

David Mudd wrote quite a few short books on Cornish topics. He contacted me in my bookshop after he'd stood down as an MP and I agreed to stock them. He brought them in himself and I found him personable. His successor as MP was the one term only Sebastian Coe, who abandoned Cornwall rather than suffer the indignity of possibly losing in 1997!

[@ravenwing8842]

Hi Andrew and Sarah. Great video, thank you. I’ve heard of cases like this in the present day, but related to domestic abuse that is often violent and sexual, whereby the victim is the older sibling, who, fearing the same fate awaits her younger sister, kills her, to save her.❤

[@wilffrith7768]

I can see her logic in trying to send her little brother to heaven before he has to endure much more of the life that she already had, but I don't see that this motive tallies so much with the boys she wanted to push to their deaths earlier.

[@NickPenlee]

Well said.

[@Cornishfoodie]

I think this might be because she had lost other younger siblings before getting involved with Methodism. Her life was so hard, she thought they would have a better life by dying. Clearly her mind was not stable. 😢

[@Alison-LoveAndUnity]

Another great video thank you both. I Love your bag Sarah. I've been admiring it from afar 😁 So enjoy your videos

[@stevenmccolm1531]

Great video, my sister and I have been to 'The Poldark Mine'. Still used for mining tin and there's tours under ground.

[@lynnoorman2144]

Don't think Poldark mine is commercially producing.

[@stevenmccolm1531]

@lynnoorman2144 It's more of a tourist destination and school trips. A bottling company wanted the rights to the spring water. They are licensed for weddings.

[@YvetteWINSTONE-bl8jr]

Totally fascinating story

[@andrewarmstrong1017]

Another fascinating vlog...Good to get more insight to our Cornish History...I'm sure you both would get on well with Barry West...local Historian...I was in the same school year as Barry at Poltair school in the 1970s....😉

[@sandrawoodall6545]

What a great story but how very sad,. I think she did it out off misplaced love and information,that she was getting by John Wesley. I can’t imagine how she was after so many years,in that horrible mental hospital. 😢

[@gabrieleortiz5041]

I think mental illness definitely factored in this story. Amey had apparently considered throwing other young boys down the shaft before, and it could be possible she felt compelled or heard voices urging her to do so. Living in challenging conditions in a tenement house, you can only imagine the constant desperation of life there. With grueling work broken only by religious fervor, it would be easy for anyone to lose perspective. Such a sad story. 😢 It would be difficult to get a window into her reasoning (or lack thereof), as this was a time when aberrant thoughts and behaviors were taboo. I can’t imagine that she was ever encouraged to speak on why she did what she did, at least not in any public way. Shame would be enough to silence her for her lifetime.

[@carotrike]

Such a sad tale!

[@ronbokje6213]

I was listening to your post and Tthe moment you taken a picture I just pressed the shutter on my camera, really funny to hear.

[@Embrabrummie]

The poor girl was obviously mentally ill. What a tragedy.

[@bookprincess612]

In my opinion she was just a poor little, young woman. 😢 Very interesting story ! THANK YOU ❣️

[@Gigi51]

So happy to find just now a very lovely channel! Very cheerful spirit you have ! Love your laughter 😆 just what I needed I’m a new subscriber 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉great story! Love you both already 🫶☕️☕️☕️🫶👍thank you 🎉🎉🎉🎉

[@richardpaine5923]

Ami may have suffered from schizophrenia

[@SusanButler-t8c]

That was my thoughts as well.

[@roger-h2g5c]

Hi Sahra and Andrew. I´m now going totaly off topic. I read in the internet that Cornwall has had some very heavy snow and loads of roads were impassable....did it affect you ?.

[@Hedgehogsinthemist123]

North Cornwall and Devon had snow. We don't get it very often down south as it's a lot warmer.

[@ladygwarth]

Nothing down south Cornwall, bit cold though.

[@tiffanyjames7150]

I think she was possessed by the devil! Very interesting story. Thanks for your wonderful videos!!

[@jessicastrideart]

I love how you bring places alive with stories from the past, even if they are as sad as this one! I was just thinking how awful it must have been for the mother of these children.😥 I wonder if Amey wanted to send all the other children to heaven down the mineshaft?!😬

[@royjacques5650]

Hi Sarah do you have a Web page showing your art work and paintings I would to see them I hear they really good best wishes roy. 😊

[@CornishWalkingTrails]

Hi, thanks for your message, yes my shop can be found on Etsy, here is a link for you cornishwalkingtrails.etsy.com thanks Sarah 😊

[@cebusapella9125]

Fascinating but tragic story. If you ask me, it's probably much more likely that it was the constant hard work and diabolical conditions which drove her to this tragic act - blaming the Methodists, I suspect, was an establishment cop-out & a warning to others not to get involved in a sect which was seen as too radical! I love St Agnes Head and Chapel Porth, such a stunning place. I love the beach there at low tide - the sea cave below Towanroath is spectacular and well worth an explore.

[@JoannaLouise200]

I'd be very wary of inviting Amey back into my home...I'd certainly lock my bedroom door at night in case she had another 'mood swing'. The whole tragic story was alleviated by that incredibly beautiful Cornish chough that came to say hello. I know it sounds fanciful, but I like to think it was sent by young Ben with love, to thank you two for remembering him.

[@biaberg3448]

The mom probably needed her daughter back home to care for her parents in their old days. And her mother could still love her.

[@SpanishEclectic]

Cornish scenery, walks, and stories! This one was very sad, but your research provides context and background. As a long time fan of Poldark (have read all the books, and watched both series more than once), it's clear to me that author Winston Graham could not have missed the importance of the Methodist movement among the miners and other non-gentry in the area. He wove it into the story very well. My parents, living in Los Angeles in the 1950s, had both been raised Lutheran, but liked the openness of the modern Methodist church and started attending. It was interesting for me to learn about the history. Guiding working class people with very hard lives away from alcohol as their only escape must have helped many to improve their circumstances. For anyone interested in 19th Century crimes committed by women, the fictional TV series, Alias Grace, delves into religion, mental illness, and crime, loosely based on two murders committed in Canada in 1843. We know you all love a good story. :)

[@amayastrata4629]

Ah, I’ve been here. I didn’t know that this tin mine was so famous. There’s a place that makes beer in St. Agnes (opposite the pub by the harbour) and they also make marmalade with beer. Very delicious.

[@TravellingTorunn]

Great video and great research! ❤ I could understand that Amy would want to save her brother from a hard life as a miner, but to murder him is not the way to go. Fanatic and charismatic movements be it religious, political, ideological or other, have done and are still doing so much damage and are brainwashing people. And I am convinced that their power over people and their inflated self-image are more important to the leaders than their ideas. Sorry for the rant (not really 😂) I would like to buy the book, but the shipping fees from the UK to Norway are often higher than the book prices themselves. So I will search in the book stores next time I am there 😊 I saw some chougs on Predannack Head in 2022 and a couple of them on top of "Wheal Leisure"/West Wheal Owles this June. It is really lovely to spot them. Thank you for your great work and knowledge. Torunn 🥰

[@cynthiastogden7000]

Odd, not a drop near Looe. Quite cold. Think Devon had a bit.

[@Mounhas]

I used to take visitors for hacks along that area, glad that a horse never bolted!

[@lynnoorman2144]

Umm I would check your insurance policy.....😂

[@at-wq9rb]

I watched a documentary about bedlam. Apparently it was officially called bethleham but with the local accents in London it sounded like they were saying bedlam and just ended up being called that over time.

[@KingsleyGallagher]

Yes it's still happening in this century, 😢,,,

[@mikeysoft7]

Well Amey would have been taught the 10 Commandments, and would be aware of 'You shall not kill'. Perhaps Amey thought more like the child in Thomas Hardy's last novel 'Jude the obscure', who heard his parents say they hadnt enough food for everyone, so he murdered all his siblings and himself. The child's mind is very impressionable and needs to be treated with great care.

[@enahoward7702]

Terribly sad story. However, you must have been really Chuffed to see that little black bird. ( Sorry. Had to say this. Thought Andrew would have done!) 😂

[@The-KimP]

Tragic events

[@bevygaines]

She was criminally insane!!!!

[@Polopony]

Without wishing to put too fine a point on it, one wonders what might have happened to poor Amey to bring about such a profound change in her character so suddenly, and in particular, to have convinced her of her 'sins' and also, perhaps, that boys were also in urgent need of moral salvation. Shades of Tess of the D'Urbervilles, perhaps...

[@at-wq9rb]

I just had a quick look on amazon and ebay and didn't see the book

[@TimWallace-j9d]

Self-published, not too many copies published and probably none sold out of area. It can occasionally be seen in a charity shop for a few pence.

[@clivemacken552]

Is she buried in the area as maybe it would give more an idea plus could you find if she got married etc

[@hubby-tubadventures01]

Meth does do terrible things to people. As an aside you could have added the Chapel Porth "Hedgehog" to the end of the video. That would have been lunch sorted 🙂

[@pollywollydo]

She was baptised 19 Jan 1806 in Redruth.I haven’t found her after this.Maybe she married.

[@obiwankenobi6952]

Very interesting, 👍👍👍and sad….I wonder were you find all this old Storys 😳, I think she had to much of this religiously“ you need to go to heaven to be free..but in these days everything might look better than a life in a mine shaft for her brother….imagine in later days she got out from this religious vail and realised what she had done🙈🙈🙈I would be really interested if Cornwall looked the same 200 or 300 years ago or if there was a lot more Woods growing up to the coastline and simply got used up for buildings and in the Industrial Revolution ?

[@fabricartUK]

So glad that these days people can be more open to religion only being stories. Brainwashing young minds into thinking these stories were actual happenings is just wrong. So glad there's more balance these days.

[@geoffgoodall3839]

Cornwall the ancient land of a Tarshish 2000 BC traders sailed here from the med to trade for the abundance of tin in the bronze age Tarshis mentioned i n the book of Jonah

[@geoffreyjerrom7771]

😎

[@biaberg3448]

Millions of people have listened to Christian preaching, but extremely few of them have committed murder afterwards. So I think there must have been something else that triggered her to commit murder. The Bible doesn’t tell people to do such horrible things, quite the opposite. It tells us to love others and says that murders go to hell.

[@kevinmanley2498]

I actually think hundreds of thousands of people and more probably millions of people been killed in the name of religion over the years. Religion actually has been used to start a fair proportion of wars unfortunately ☹️. All rather sad

[@philnewcomers9170]

nutterism cumes in diferent forms alchol,relgeon, motorcars motorcycls railwayenthusiasm eney persuit that goes OoverTheTop has got its nutters ttfn&ty