Charles Peace and Yateley: Fact & Fiction

All the Charles Peace pages were wriiten by Valerie Kerslake for the Yateley Society's annual exhibition in 1999

It is a fact that Charlie Peace stayed at the White Lion while the house he had rented was being repaired, and at the pub today you can see his favourite tankard and chair. More convincing are accounts of his visit to Yateley by two Yateley men - one a boy at the time.

Another story, more of a myth, was of his frequenting the Fox Inn, Eversley, where a secret panel led to the cellar into which smugglers were said to have rolled their barrels. It is claimed that Peace used this way to reach the back of the inn, then crossed the fields to his own cottage. The cellar is now filled with concrete but the tale seems unlikely, implying a long stay in the area and the connivance of the inn-keeper. The fictitious Parson Darby is meant to have used this get-away too, casting further doubt on the whole story.

A Likely Lad

CHARLES PEACE was one of England's most notorious criminals, meriting a tableau in the Chamber of Horrors at Madame Tussaud's, while his housebreaking equipment was on show at Scotland Yard's Black Museum. After his death he became a sort of folk hero in the north of England.

Peace was born and brought up in a poor district of Sheffield, the son of a wild animal trainer turned cobbler. On leaving school he worked at a steel mill until at 14 one leg was severely injured by a rod of red hot steel, making him almost helpless for 18 months and permanently lame. While recovering he taught himself to play the violin, then joined an amateur theatrical company, performing as musician, acrobat or impressionist - his skill with disguises would be useful throughout his career.

Click the links to read of his exploits and his connection with Yateley:

Villain Rents Moulsham House

Stolen Goods in Tree Trunk

Charles Peace's Raffles Touch

Practice makes Perfect

A Thief's Progress

Murder of Irate Husband

Menage a Trois in Peckham

Ambush & Betrayal of Mistress

Peace's Dying Declaration