150 years of
Mayo Wynne Baxter
in Lewes
As we continue further into 2017, it would be rude of us not to
acknowledge our 150 year anniversary of Mayo Wynne Baxter’s
presence in Lewes. With nine offices now across Sussex, it’s hard
to remember where it all began for one of the most successful
law firms in the region. Acquiring our namesake from Mr Wynne
Edwin Baxter himself, the firm’s roots in Lewes go all the way
back to 1867, where the Baxter family had set up home and
business in one of the most famous locations in Sussex.
A brief history of Wynne Edwin Baxter
The product of several mergers, Mayo
Wynne Baxter’s history goes back to
the eighteenth century, but one of our
earliest named ancestors investigated
some of the grisliest deaths of Victorian
England. Imagine the smoggy streets of
late nineteenth century London. A scream,
a gurgle, the echo of running footsteps
and the Whitechapel Murderer – otherwise
known as Jack the Ripper – disappears
into the night. Inquests into the victims
were carried out by Wynne Edwin Baxter,
the coroner who was also a solicitor,
botanist, geologist and antiquarian.
Born in Lewes on 1st May 1844 Wynne
Edwin Baxter was the eldest son of William
Edwin Baxter, founder of the Sussex
Agricultural Express newspaper. He
became a solicitor in 1867; then served
as Her Majesty’s Coroner from 1886 in
Sussex, Middlesex, East London and
eventually the Tower of London until his
death in 1920. He is reported to have
conducted more than 30,000 inquests
– a staggeringly high number by today’s
standards. of a wanted man for the very first time.
Percy Lefroy Mapleton was convicted and
hanged for the crime.
Curiously, none of Baxter’s official inquest
files have been found, following checks
into Government archives, family and
business papers, not even at the London
Metropolitan Archives which holds
coroners’ files. He was elected the first Mayor of Lewes
following the town’s incorporation as a
Parliamentary Borough in 1881.
Life as a well-known lawyer was not
without risks. In 1882 Samuel Ashby was
charged with threatening to murder Baxter
in connection with some legal work he was
unhappy with. Ashby was sentenced to six
months’ imprisonment, although the judge
ordered an examination into “the state of
his mind”.
Nevertheless as a London coroner for 33
years Baxter became synonymous with
investigating unexplained deaths, adopting
the telegram address: “Inquest, London”.
He scrutinised the deaths of Joseph
Merrick (known as the “Elephant Man”),
German spies, First World War bombing
fatalities, accidental deaths and murder
victims. In one year he is reported to have
held more than 2,500 inquests.
In Sussex, Baxter’s most famous case
was the Brighton Railway Murder of
27th June 1881. He investigated the
murder of Frederick Gold at a hearing in
the Railway Inn in Balcombe. The case
made newspaper history, thanks to The
Daily Telegraph which printed a likeness
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Wynne Edwin Baxter had varied
interests. Considered a leading expert
on John Milton, he also contributed to
archaeological studies and was Treasurer
of the Royal Microscopical Society.
Baxter was involved in early police work,
serving as Under-Sheriff of London and
Middlesex and High Constable of Lewes.
Wynne Baxter remains most famous for
the Jack the Ripper cases of 1888. He
carried out inquests into the murders of
three of the officially recognised victims,
together with seven which may reasonably
be added to the list of the Ripper’s victims.
Baxter’s theory that the murderer aimed to
obtain female organs for sale to doctors
or medical publishers, as evidenced by
the anatomical skill of the knife work,
was later disproved. His obituary in the
Evening News claims that Baxter privately
attributed the murders to the Fenian