Fanny Adams
Encyclopedia
Fanny Adams was a young English
girl murder
ed by solicitor's clerk
Frederick Baker in Alton, Hampshire
. The expression "sweet Fanny Adams" refers to her and has come, through British naval slang, to mean "nothing at all".
In the lane they met Frederick Baker, a 29-year-old solicitor's clerk.
Baker offered Millie and Lizzie three halfpence to go and spend and offered Fanny a halfpenny to accompany him towards Shalden
, a couple of miles north of Alton. She took the coin but refused to go. He carried her into a hop
field, out of sight of the other girls.
At about 5 pm, Millie and Lizzie returned home. Neighbour Mrs Gardiner asked them where Fanny was, and they told her what had happened. Mrs Gardiner told Mrs Adams, and they went up the lane, where they came upon Baker coming back. They questioned him and he said he had given the girls money for sweets, but that was all. His respectability meant the women let him go on his way.
At about 7 pm Fanny was still missing, and neighbours went searching. They found Fanny's body in the hop field, horribly butchered. Her head and legs had been severed and her eyes put out. Her torso had been emptied and her organs scattered (it took several days for all her remains to be found). Her remains were taken to a nearby doctor's surgery, where the body was put back together. The surgery is now a pub called the "Ye Olde Leathern Bottle" and is believed to be haunted by the little girl.
Mrs Adams ran to The Butts field where her husband, bricklayer George Adams, was playing cricket
. She told him what had happened, then collapsed. Adams got his shotgun
from home and set off to find the perpetrator, but neighbours stopped him.
William Clement in the High Street. He was led through an angry mob to the police station
. There was blood
on his shirt and trousers, which he could not explain, but he protested his innocence. He was searched and found to have two small blood-stained knives on him.
Witnesses put Baker in the area, returning to his office at about 3 pm, then going out again. Baker's workmate, fellow clerk Maurice Biddle, reported that, when drinking in the Swan that evening, Baker had said he might leave town. When Biddle replied that he might have trouble getting another job, Baker said, chillingly with hindsight, "I could go as a butcher". On 26 August, the police found Baker's diary in his office. It contained a damning entry:
On Tuesday 27th, Deputy County Coroner
Robert Harfield held an inquest
. Painter William Walker had found a stone with blood, long hair and flesh; police surgeon, Dr Louis Leslie had carried out a post mortem and concluded that death was by a blow to the head and that the stone was the murder weapon. Baker said nothing, except that he was innocent. The jury returned a verdict of willful murder. On the 29th the local magistrate
s committed Baker for trial at the Winchester
County Assizes. The police had difficulty protecting him from the mob.
: Baker's father had been violent, a cousin had been in asylums
, his sister had died of a brain fever
and he himself had attempted suicide
after a love affair. The defence also argued that the diary entry was typical of the "epileptic or formal way of entry" that the defendant used and that the absence of a comma after the word killed did not render the entry a confession.
Justice Mellor invited the jury to consider a verdict of not responsible by reason of insanity, but they returned a guilty verdict after just fifteen minutes. On 24 December, Christmas Eve
, Baker was hanged
outside Winchester Gaol
. The crime had become notorious and a crowd of 5,000 attended the execution. Before his death, Baker wrote to the Adamses expressing his sorrow for what he had done "in an unguarded hour" and seeking their forgiveness. Baker's execution was the last to take place at Winchester.
Fanny was buried in Alton cemetery. Her grave is still there today. The headstone reads:
seamen. They were unimpressed by it, and decided it must be the butchered remains of Fanny Adams. The way her body had been strewn over a wide area presumably encouraged speculation that parts of her had been found at the Royal Navy
victualling yard in Deptford
, which was a large facility which included stores, a bakery
and an abattoir.
"Fanny Adams" became slang
for mutton or stew
and then for anything worthless — from which comes the current use of "sweet Fanny Adams" (or just "sweet F. A.") to mean "nothing at all". It can be seen as a euphemism
for "fuck all" – which means the same.
This is not the only example of Royal Navy slang relating to unpopular rations: even today, tins of steak and kidney pudding
are known as "baby's head". The large tins the mutton was delivered in were reused as mess tin
s. Mess tins or cooking pots are still known as Fanny
s.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
girl murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
ed by solicitor's clerk
Articled clerk
An articled clerk, also known as an articling student, is an apprentice in a professional firm in Commonwealth countries. Generally the term arises in the accountancy profession and in the legal profession. The articled clerk signs a contract, known as "articles of clerkship", committing to a...
Frederick Baker in Alton, Hampshire
Alton, Hampshire
Alton is a historic market town and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of the English county of Hampshire. It had a population of 16,584 at the 1991 census and is administered by East Hampshire district council. It is located on the source of the River Wey and is the highest town in...
. The expression "sweet Fanny Adams" refers to her and has come, through British naval slang, to mean "nothing at all".
Murder
On 24 August 1867 at about 1.30 pm, Fanny's mother, Harriet Adams, let the eight-year-old Fanny, her friend Minnie Warner (aged 7) and Fanny's sister Lizzie (aged 5) go up Tanhouse Lane towards Flood Meadow.In the lane they met Frederick Baker, a 29-year-old solicitor's clerk.
Baker offered Millie and Lizzie three halfpence to go and spend and offered Fanny a halfpenny to accompany him towards Shalden
Shalden
Shalden is a village and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is northwest of Alton, just off the A339 road.The nearest railway station is Alton, southeast of the village....
, a couple of miles north of Alton. She took the coin but refused to go. He carried her into a hop
Hop (plant)
Humulus, Hop, is a small genus of flowering plants native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The female flowers of H. lupulus are known as hops, and are used as a culinary flavoring and stabilizer, especially in the brewing of beer...
field, out of sight of the other girls.
At about 5 pm, Millie and Lizzie returned home. Neighbour Mrs Gardiner asked them where Fanny was, and they told her what had happened. Mrs Gardiner told Mrs Adams, and they went up the lane, where they came upon Baker coming back. They questioned him and he said he had given the girls money for sweets, but that was all. His respectability meant the women let him go on his way.
At about 7 pm Fanny was still missing, and neighbours went searching. They found Fanny's body in the hop field, horribly butchered. Her head and legs had been severed and her eyes put out. Her torso had been emptied and her organs scattered (it took several days for all her remains to be found). Her remains were taken to a nearby doctor's surgery, where the body was put back together. The surgery is now a pub called the "Ye Olde Leathern Bottle" and is believed to be haunted by the little girl.
Mrs Adams ran to The Butts field where her husband, bricklayer George Adams, was playing cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
. She told him what had happened, then collapsed. Adams got his shotgun
Shotgun
A shotgun is a firearm that is usually designed to be fired from the shoulder, which uses the energy of a fixed shell to fire a number of small spherical pellets called shot, or a solid projectile called a slug...
from home and set off to find the perpetrator, but neighbours stopped him.
Arrest
That evening Police Superintendent William Cheyney arrested Baker at his place of work: the offices of solicitorSolicitor
Solicitors are lawyers who traditionally deal with any legal matter including conducting proceedings in courts. In the United Kingdom, a few Australian states and the Republic of Ireland, the legal profession is split between solicitors and barristers , and a lawyer will usually only hold one title...
William Clement in the High Street. He was led through an angry mob to the police station
Police station
A police station or station house is a building which serves to accommodate police officers and other members of staff. These buildings often contain offices and accommodation for personnel and vehicles, along with locker rooms, temporary holding cells and interview/interrogation rooms.- Facilities...
. There was blood
Blood
Blood is a specialized bodily fluid in animals that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells....
on his shirt and trousers, which he could not explain, but he protested his innocence. He was searched and found to have two small blood-stained knives on him.
Witnesses put Baker in the area, returning to his office at about 3 pm, then going out again. Baker's workmate, fellow clerk Maurice Biddle, reported that, when drinking in the Swan that evening, Baker had said he might leave town. When Biddle replied that he might have trouble getting another job, Baker said, chillingly with hindsight, "I could go as a butcher". On 26 August, the police found Baker's diary in his office. It contained a damning entry:
- 24th August, Saturday — killed a young girl. It was fine and hot.
On Tuesday 27th, Deputy County Coroner
Coroner
A coroner is a government official who* Investigates human deaths* Determines cause of death* Issues death certificates* Maintains death records* Responds to deaths in mass disasters* Identifies unknown dead* Other functions depending on local laws...
Robert Harfield held an inquest
Inquest
Inquests in England and Wales are held into sudden and unexplained deaths and also into the circumstances of discovery of a certain class of valuable artefacts known as "treasure trove"...
. Painter William Walker had found a stone with blood, long hair and flesh; police surgeon, Dr Louis Leslie had carried out a post mortem and concluded that death was by a blow to the head and that the stone was the murder weapon. Baker said nothing, except that he was innocent. The jury returned a verdict of willful murder. On the 29th the local magistrate
Magistrate
A magistrate is an officer of the state; in modern usage the term usually refers to a judge or prosecutor. This was not always the case; in ancient Rome, a magistratus was one of the highest government officers and possessed both judicial and executive powers. Today, in common law systems, a...
s committed Baker for trial at the Winchester
Winchester
Winchester is a historic cathedral city and former capital city of England. It is the county town of Hampshire, in South East England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government district, and is located at the western end of the South Downs, along the course of...
County Assizes. The police had difficulty protecting him from the mob.
Trial
At his trial on 5 December, the defence contested Millie Warner's identification of Baker and claimed the knives found were too small for the crime anyway. They also argued insanityInsanity
Insanity, craziness or madness is a spectrum of behaviors characterized by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity may manifest as violations of societal norms, including becoming a danger to themselves and others, though not all such acts are considered insanity...
: Baker's father had been violent, a cousin had been in asylums
Psychiatric hospital
Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental hospitals, are hospitals specializing in the treatment of serious mental disorders. Psychiatric hospitals vary widely in their size and grading. Some hospitals may specialise only in short-term or outpatient therapy for low-risk patients...
, his sister had died of a brain fever
Brain fever
Brain fever describes a medical condition where a part of the brain becomes inflamed and causes symptoms that present as fever. The terminology is dated, and is encountered most often in Victorian literature...
and he himself had attempted suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
after a love affair. The defence also argued that the diary entry was typical of the "epileptic or formal way of entry" that the defendant used and that the absence of a comma after the word killed did not render the entry a confession.
Justice Mellor invited the jury to consider a verdict of not responsible by reason of insanity, but they returned a guilty verdict after just fifteen minutes. On 24 December, Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve refers to the evening or entire day preceding Christmas Day, a widely celebrated festival commemorating the birth of Jesus of Nazareth that takes place on December 25...
, Baker was hanged
Hanging
Hanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain...
outside Winchester Gaol
HMP Winchester
HM Prison Winchester is a Category B men's prison, located in Winchester, Hampshire, England. The prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service.-History:...
. The crime had become notorious and a crowd of 5,000 attended the execution. Before his death, Baker wrote to the Adamses expressing his sorrow for what he had done "in an unguarded hour" and seeking their forgiveness. Baker's execution was the last to take place at Winchester.
Fanny was buried in Alton cemetery. Her grave is still there today. The headstone reads:
- Sacred to the memory of Fanny Adams aged 8 years and 4 months who was cruelly murdered on Saturday August 24th 1867.
- Fear not them which kill the body but are not able to kill the soul but rather fear Him which is able to destroy both body and soul in hell. Matthew 10 v 28.
- This stone was erected by voluntary subscription.
Phrase
In 1869 new rations of tinned mutton were introduced for BritishUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
seamen. They were unimpressed by it, and decided it must be the butchered remains of Fanny Adams. The way her body had been strewn over a wide area presumably encouraged speculation that parts of her had been found at the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
victualling yard in Deptford
Deptford
Deptford is a district of south London, England, located on the south bank of the River Thames. It is named after a ford of the River Ravensbourne, and from the mid 16th century to the late 19th was home to Deptford Dockyard, the first of the Royal Navy Dockyards.Deptford and the docks are...
, which was a large facility which included stores, a bakery
Bakery
A bakery is an establishment which produces and sells flour-based food baked in an oven such as bread, cakes, pastries and pies. Some retail bakeries are also cafés, serving coffee and tea to customers who wish to consume the baked goods on the premises.-See also:*Baker*Cake...
and an abattoir.
"Fanny Adams" became slang
Slang
Slang is the use of informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speaker's language or dialect but are considered more acceptable when used socially. Slang is often to be found in areas of the lexicon that refer to things considered taboo...
for mutton or stew
Stew
A stew is a combination of solid food ingredients that have been cooked in liquid and served in the resultant gravy. Ingredients in a stew can include any combination of vegetables , meat, especially tougher meats suitable for slow-cooking, such as beef. Poultry, sausages, and seafood are also used...
and then for anything worthless — from which comes the current use of "sweet Fanny Adams" (or just "sweet F. A.") to mean "nothing at all". It can be seen as a euphemism
Euphemism
A euphemism is the substitution of a mild, inoffensive, relatively uncontroversial phrase for another more frank expression that might offend or otherwise suggest something unpleasant to the audience...
for "fuck all" – which means the same.
This is not the only example of Royal Navy slang relating to unpopular rations: even today, tins of steak and kidney pudding
Steak and kidney pudding
Steak and kidney pudding is a savoury pudding made by enclosing diced steak and beef, lamb's or pig's kidney pieces in gravy in a suet pastry....
are known as "baby's head". The large tins the mutton was delivered in were reused as mess tin
Mess tin
A mess tin is an item of mess kit, designed to be used over portable cooking apparatus. A mess tin can be thought of as a portable version of a saucepan, intended primarily for boiling but also useful for frying...
s. Mess tins or cooking pots are still known as Fanny
Fanny
Fanny is a given name, and a pet form of Frances.Notable people bearing this name include:* Fanny , an alias of breakcore artist Fraser Runciman* Fanny Adams, a 19th-century murder victim* Fanny Ardant, a French actress...
s.
Further reading
- Peter Cansfield Sweet FA: The true story of sweet Fanny Adams Publisher: Peter Cansfield Associates (2000), ISBN 0953634612 ISBN 978-0953634613
External links
- Fanny Adams's headstone at findagrave.com
- Execution of Frederick Baker, the Alton Murderer, ballad in Curiosities of Street Literature by Charles Hindley (London 1871), at the University of VirginiaUniversity of VirginiaThe University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
Library - Execution of Frederick Baker, song at the Digital Tradition Mirror
- Tanhouse Lane at streetmap.co.uk