Crime Immemorial

College Farm, situated on Regent’s Park Road in Finchley, North London, was established as a model dairy operation by the Express Dairy Company in the late 19th century. It served as a picturesque and productive site, supplying milk to London’s growing population. The farm’s serene setting belied its role as the backdrop for one of Victorian London’s unsolved homicides.

Thomas Webb, born around 1867 in Melksham, Wiltshire, England, had risen to the position of head cowman at the farm. At the time of his death, he was approximately thirty years old and married, though little is documented about his family life. Described as a diligent and unassuming worker, Webb had no known enemies, making his murder all the more baffling. Eerily, Webb had expressed a premonition of his own demise in the weeks leading up to the event. He reportedly feared he would be killed by a bullet during his routine nightly rounds, a foreboding that would tragically come to pass.

The murder occurred on a dark winter evening, Saturday, January 29th, 1898. Around eight p.m., Webb was shot in the neck while near his cottage on the farm grounds. Witnesses reported hearing two gunshots, suggesting the possibility of a deliberate attack or an errant firing. Remarkably, Webb managed to stagger back to his home, where he uttered the words, “I’m shot,” before collapsing. He was found fatally wounded outside his cottage, with the bullet lodged in his neck, indicating it was a large, slow-moving projectile—likely from a shotgun used for game hunting rather than a revolver.

The scene was gruesome: a pool of blood marked the spot in the road where Webb fell, which was quickly covered with a mat and guarded by authorities. No immediate signs of struggle or robbery were apparent, further deepening the mystery. The farm’s isolated yet accessible location via Regent’s Park Road raised questions about whether the killer was a stranger passing by or someone familiar with the area.

Scotland Yard swiftly took charge of the case, assigning Chief Inspector Henry Moore, a seasoned detective nearing retirement who had previously led the infamous Jack the Ripper investigation in 1888. Moore, along with a team of five detectives, conducted a meticulous probe. They measured distances to determine the shooter’s position, ruled out the use of a bicycle by the perpetrator, and analyzed the ballistics evidence. Footprints or other physical traces were not prominently featured in reports, but the focus on the weapon type suggested an attempt to trace its origin.

Witness statements were gathered, including testimonies from two surgeons who confirmed the death was not self-inflicted—ruling out suicide—and accounts from individuals who heard the shots. Despite these efforts, no clear motive emerged. Newspapers of the era, such as the Finchley Press, reported ongoing police frustration, noting that the murderer remained at large weeks after the incident.

The inquest, held shortly after, highlighted the case’s ambiguities. The jury declined to return a verdict of willful murder by person(s) unknown, citing insufficient evidence of intent. Instead, they left open the possibilities of accident or mistaken identity, given the nature of the weapon and the lack of premeditation indicators.

Strikingly, no primary suspects were ever named. Theories abounded in the press and among locals: Was it a poacher’s mishap, with Webb mistaken for game in the dim light? Or perhaps a personal grudge hidden from view? The absence of enemies and Webb’s premonition fueled speculation about supernatural elements or a targeted hit, but evidence supported none conclusively.

Moore’s investigation, despite his experience, yielded no arrests. The case faded from headlines as leads dried up, joining the ranks of Victorian England’s unresolved crimes.

Thomas Webb was laid to rest on February 5th, 1898, at East Finchley Cemetery. College Farm itself continued operations into the 20th century, evolving into a recreational site while preserving its historical footprint.

The mystery regained attention in 2018 with the publication of The College Farm Mystery: The True Story of the Finchley Murder of 1898 by Danny Adams, which compiles archival research to revisit the case. Today, the truth about who killed Thomas Webb and why is still unknown.