I am a Dead Man

My dad was a lover of films and in particular Westerns. If, when he was channel hopping on TV, a Western was found it was being watched. It didn’t really matter if he’d seen it countless times before, a Western, as far as my dad was concerned, was always worth watching again.

Consequently, as I grew up, I’d seen more than my fair share of characters taking part in a pistol duel and as a youngster it was something I very much associated with cowboys.

As I grew older and learned more, I of course learned that this duelling was a form of trial by combat that had taken place all over the world for centuries with not just guns – but often swords as well.

That being said, until I first came across the following story, I would never in a million years have associated pistol duelling with a small village in the Derbyshire Dales in 1821.

The grave of William Cuddie.

Duelling had become common amongst the upper class in the 17th century, as a way of settling disputes and it was a lot more common that you may probably think. Though exact figures are hard to come by, it is thought that between 1785 and 1845 there were around 1,000 attested duels in the UK – though thankfully due to the inaccuracy of weapons at the time - the mortality rate for these duels was around 15%. Four men to hold the post of Prime Minister took part in duels and two of them - William Pitt the Younger and the Duke of Wellington – did so while actually in the post of the highest political office in the land.

Many of the duels were, as you might expect, down to a perceived slight towards another’s personal or family honour and this was very much the case when William Brittlebank challenged William Cuddie to a duel in Winster.

Brittlebank was the son of the wealthy Brittlebank family of Oddo House in Winster whilst Cuddie was the local doctor. Cuddie was also courting William’s sister Mary. It seems that for whatever reason – though perhaps because Cuddie was a ‘lowly village doctor’ - that this relationship did not meet Brittlebank’s approval.

After a quarrel when Brittlebank confronted the couple as they were taking a stroll on May 21, 1821, the doctor, later that evening, received a note which read:

“Sir, I expect satisfaction for the insult you dared to offer me at a time when you knew that my situation with a helpless woman prevented my chastising you. Name your time and place, the bearer will wait for an answer. Yours William Brittlebank, Junior. I shall be attended by a friend and prepared with pistols, and if you don’t meet I shall post you as a coward.”

Cuddie made the mature decision to not reply to the note, but despite this, on the following day three Brittlebank brothers, William, Andrew and Francis, along with a friend named John Spencer, went to the doctor's house.

Though accounts vary as to exactly what happened next, a common thread amongst all of them is that William Cuddle did not want to fight. He was also unwilling to apologise for seeing William Brittlebank’s sister, and with a gun virtually pressed into his hand, a duel took place.

The men separated to a distance of fifteen yards in the doctor’s garden and on a signal they both fired. Though they both fired at the same time it was Cuddie who was fatally wounded, stating immediately after he was hit that “I am a dead man”. He died the next day.

Shortly before he died, he made a declaration to a local Justice of the Peace outlining what had happened. Notably once he’d been shot, he was tended to by three of the four men. William – the ringleader – was the one that offered no help.

Duelling was, at this point, illegal and had been for a while. There had been a stage where the law had not always been enforced in the case of duelling, but although this wasn’t to be so this time, William Brittlebank received a lucky break.

Although a warrant was granted to take him into custody, on the charge of having mortally wounded Dr. Cuddie, the constable holding it was prevented from executing it by a clerk of the Derby Magistrate Mr Thornhill. His basis for the refusal was that he had taken a recognisance from Brittlebank’s father for £5,000 – essentially a pledge to pay that sum in return for a guarantee that his son would attend court. On this basis William Brittlebank left the area before ultimately absconding and money was never paid. Andrew Brittlebank, Francis Brittlebank and Edward Spencer were all taken into custody and held in the Derby Gaol.

At their trial, a number of respected members of the community spoke on behalf of the three men who also spoke on their own behalf. With all the evidence pointing to the fact that the entire event had been at the behest of William Brittlebank, and with their remorse appearing genuine, the jury found all three men not guilty.

Though a £100 reward – around £9,000 in today’s money – was offered, William Brittlebank was never seen again. Though some believe he fled to Australia, there has never been any definitive proof and we will perhaps never truly know what became of him.