A revolver was fired during a riotous lecture at Shanklin Institute – now Shanklin Theatre – on 3rd March 1901.
At the turn of the last century, Shanklin was a genteel seaside resort of boarding houses, promenades and polite company. On that March evening, it was anything but.
Around 500 people crowded into the Shanklin Institute for a lecture by Victor Michael Ruthven, an ex-Catholic priest known for his controversial addresses. His subject – Rome, the ruin of nations – ensured tension before he had spoken more than a few sentences.
The mood was openly hostile. Interruptions turned into shouting. Then objects began to fly. Books were hurled. Turnips followed. Some accounts even described dead rats thrown towards the platform. Cries of “lynch him,” “rush the platform” and “turn him out” rang around the hall.
At one point, Ruthven produced a revolver from his pocket and warned that if attacked he would defend himself. He put it away again – but the temperature in the room only rose.
The cry of “rush the platform” returned. Chairs were thrown. Men surged forward.
Ruthven attempted to escape down the stairs from the platform, but four men reached the top steps. As one tried to seize him, Ruthven drew the revolver and fired upwards.
The bullet struck William Woodham in the jaw before exiting through his ear.
Woodham was carried away bleeding heavily. For a time, it was feared he would succumb to his injuries. He survived.
Ruthven fled into the building’s Art room and was later described as weeping “like a child.” Police Sergeant Hawkins arrested him on a charge of unlawful wounding. He was detained at Sandown Police Station before being taken to Portsmouth.
At Winchester Assizes, Ruthven claimed he had fired into the air in self-defence, in extreme terror as the crowd closed in. The court heard of the disorder and missiles thrown. He was convicted of unlawful wounding under severe provocation and sentenced to 9 months’ imprisonment.
For a normally sedate resort town, the events of 3rd March 1901 were extraordinary. The building that now welcomes applause and curtain calls echoed with shouts, crashing chairs and the crack of a gunshot.
Great story