From the Dover Telegraph and Cinque Ports General Advertiser, Saturday 21 February, 1835. Price 7d.

INQUEST

An inquest was held on Saturday last, before the Mayor, at the "Marlborough Head," on the South Pier, on the body of John Adams, an elderly mariner, who was found dead in the reservoir of the pier that morning. The deceased, who was one of an express boat's crew that returned from France during the preceding night, having landed, was on his way home; and is supposed to have walked over the quay in the dark. When found he was standing upright, with his fingers clenched into the wall, in which position the poor fellow appeared to have perished as the tide rose.

Verdict - Accidentally drowned.

The want of lights and other proper precautions, not only where this lamentable accident occurred, but in almost every situation where the new works have been carried on, has long been a subject of public animadversion. We understand, the engineer has now stationed a watchman with lights at the exposed parts of the works.

From the Dover Telegraph and Cinque Ports General Advertiser, Saturday 20 August, 1842. Price 5d.

CORONER'S INQUEST

An inquest was held on Saturday last, at the "Marlborough Head," before G. T. Thompson, Esq., Coroner for the Borough, upon the body of William Elliott, aged 8 years. Barrington Edgerly, jun. mariner, deposed that about 10 o'clock on Friday afternoon, seing several persons run towards the South Pier, I followed them, when I saw the head of a person partly above water, I which I threw off part of my clothes, and went in. Finding I could not reach the body I sung out for a boat, when Robert Abbott and Edward Adams put off, and brought the body on shore, which proved to be that of William Elliott, son of William Elliott, fisherman, residing at Finnis's-hill. The boy, when taken out of the water, had his shoes and stockings off, and his trousers tucked up.

A railway labourer, who was stated to have seen the boy fall into the water, and who was summoned to attend the inquest, could not be found, and, after waiting upwards of two hours, the inquest was adjourned till Tuesday, when William Smith, one of the men employed on the railway, deposed as follows - I was at the North Pier-head on Friday last, when I saw a boy on the stone-apron at the South Pier, and soon after saw him in the water. I thought at first he was swimming, but as he appeared to sink, I hallowed to the people on the pier, but, as they took no notice, I ran round, and told them where I had seen the boy. A boat was launched and the body picked up. There was no one near the boy when he fell into the water, nor did I hear him cry out.

Verdict, "Accidentally drowned."