Crime Immemorial

Seventy-five-year-old Alexander Norval was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and trained as a currier in Edinburgh, where he met his wife, Alison, from East Lothian. The couple had eight children, with their first two born in Edinburgh, one in Ireland, and the remaining five in Carlisle, Cumbria, northern England, where Norval had established a successful business transforming tanned hides into supple leather for craftsmen.

Living in Great Corby, a village near Carlisle, Norval was known as a shrewd businessman, frequently traveling to Edinburgh to purchase hides and maintaining a strong reputation in the leather trade. By 1910, he owned considerable property in Carlisle and the surrounding area, leaving an estate valued at £100 (a significant sum at the time) upon his death.

His warehouse at 15 West Walls, a three-story building overlooking the railway lines to Scotland and near Carlisle Cathedral, was a hub of his operations. The premises, with its gabled end facing the thoroughfare, stood adjacent to dwelling houses, yet no one reported hearing anything unusual on the night of the murder—a chilling detail that deepened the mystery.

Shortly before midnight on November 5th, 1910, Police Constable William Greenwood was conducting his nightly rounds, checking buildings for signs of break-ins. At Norval’s warehouse, he found the door unlocked, an unusual occurrence that prompted him to investigate. Lighting his lamp, he inspected the ground floor and, finding nothing amiss, descended to the basement. There, at the foot of the wooden stairs, he discovered Norval’s lifeless body, his head smashed and battered, surrounded by bloodstains on the stairs, walls, and nearby barrels. Near the body lay remnants of Norval’s lunch—an empty glass bottle, half-eaten biscuits, and cheese—suggesting he may have been attacked while eating, possibly seated on the bottom step. An axe, resting on a leather apron atop a barrel, was also found, suggesting it may have been the murder weapon.

Greenwood quickly alerted Chief Constable George Hill, who arrived with other officers to secure the scene. The police noted that all windows and other doors were locked, suggesting the killer may have entered through the unlocked front door or was already inside. The brutality of the attack, coupled with the isolated nature of the crime scene, pointed to a sudden and violent assault. Norval’s head injuries were so severe that, during the post-mortem, doctors removed his head and preserved it in spirits of wine for further examination, an unusual and macabre detail that fueled public fascination.

Suspicion quickly fell on Norval’s son, Archibald Norval, aged thirty-five, who was arrested and charged with willful murder on the morning of November 6th, 1910. The police had information suggesting Archibald’s involvement, though the exact nature of this evidence was not publicly disclosed. Archibald had visited his father at the warehouse at a little after one p.m. on the day of the murder, claiming he left him in good health. Norval typically left the workshop by one fifty p.m. to catch the train to Great Corby, but he never arrived home, narrowing the window of the crime to between one ten p.m. and one fifty p.m.

Archibald’s past added to the police’s suspicions. Eighteen months prior, he had forged his father’s name on a check, an act for which Alexander forgave him, even lending him money to support his betting business. This history suggested possible financial motives, but Archibald maintained his innocence.

On November 7th, he appeared before magistrates at Carlisle Town Hall, where the police requested a week’s remand to gather evidence. Despite objections from Archibald’s defense, who argued there was no evidence connecting Archibald to the crime, the remand was granted. A second remand followed on November 14th, further frustrating the defense, who emphasized the lack of concrete evidence.

The case proceeded to the Carlisle Assizes, where Archibald was tried for his father’s murder. The trial, concluding on January 30th, 1911, drew significant attention, with crowds flocking to West Walls to visit the crime scene, which had become a local sensation. The prosecution’s case relied heavily on circumstantial evidence, including Archibald’s presence at the warehouse and his past financial misconduct. However, no direct evidence—such as witnesses or forensic proof—linked him to the murder. The defense argued that the police had rushed to judgment, and the court heard that Alexander had forgiven his son’s earlier transgression, casting doubt on a motive. Ultimately, Archibald was acquitted, leaving the case unresolved.

The murder of Alexander Norval gripped Carlisle, described as generating “a greater sensation than any other event of recent years.” The public’s fascination was fueled by the crime’s brutality, the prominence of the victim, and the lack of a clear culprit or motive. Early crime scene photography, taken by local photographer Clifford Smithson Vero, provided a haunting record of the scene, with images of the warehouse doorway and bloodstains preserved in the case files.

Despite the intense investigation, no one else was ever charged with Alexander Norval’s murder. Today, the case remains on lists of unsolved crimes, a grim reminder of a tragedy that shook Carlisle over a century ago.