The Murder of William Terriss

The man enquiring after him was Richard Arthur Prince, aka Archer, a failed actor and former superintendent of the Adelphi where his wife still worked as a dresser. Consequently, he was well known on the premises where his erratic and unpredictable behaviour had earned him the nickname of "Mad Archer". On this occasion he was so obnoxious that Harry Nichols, one of the principal performers at the theatre, was obliged to intervene, remonstrating with Archer and ordering him to leave the premises. Archer muttered "not yet" but subsequently did in fact leave the building as instructed.

A little time later a cab pulled up outside the Adelphi stage door on Maiden Lane, which was reserved for principal members of the cast. It's passengers being William Terriss and his friend, Mr. J. B. Graves, who was a surveyor. Mr. Terriss then alighted from the cab and made his way to the entrance where he was met and joined in conversation by Gilbert Tate, the theatrical manager. As he was taking the key from his pocket to gain entrance to the building, another figure darted out of the shadows of a neighbouring shop doorway. It was 'Mad' Archer, and without warning he plunged a knife twice into Mr. Terriss' back. As Mr. Terriss dropped his glove and turned to face his assailant, Archer plunged the knife into his chest, almost bearing him to the ground with the force of the blow. The bystanders, who had taken the first two blows as nothing more than hearty slaps on the back as a friend might give, then realised what was occurring and rushed forward to restrain Archer before he could strike again.

The wounded man was carried inside the theater and doctors were sent for from nearby Charing Cross hospital. Mr. Terriss was laid on the landing of the stairway just inside the theatre, where Miss Jessie Millward, his leading lady in the current production, rushed to assist, taking his head in her lap and attempting to comfort him. Once or twice he shouted out "Get away; get away" as he lay there groaning, whereupon Miss Millward gently asked him if he knew her, but he made no sign of recognition. Others present tried to staunch the copious flow of blood in any way they could.

Dr. Hayward, a physician from Charing Cross Hospital answering the summons, arrived on the scene within fifteen minutes of the incident but it was already too late to save him. Giving evidence at the subsequent Coroners hearing Dr. Hayward said: "I found Mr. Terriss just inside the door, where he was lying with Miss Millward supporting his head. His vest and undergarments were opened, and there was a large piece of ice on the wound directly over the heart. He was breathing heavily. After I examined the wound I saw there was no hope and that death must ensue almost immediately from the extensive internal hemorrhage. He was not quite conscious and writhed once of twice." Mr. Terriss succumbed to his wounds moments later, Miss Millward cradling his head to the last.

A large audience which had by then assembled inside the theatre for the evening performance knew nothing of the incident until the manager came to the footlights and announced that, as Mr. Terris had met with an 'accident', no performance would be given that evening.

Constable Bragg from the Bow Street police station had meanwhile arrived and taken Archer into custody; apparently Archer had made no attempt to escape but sat quietly until the police arrived after the onlookers to the incident had restrained him. A carriage was called and the prisoner was taken to Bow Street station, followed by an angry crowd, where he was arraigned for the crime. Mr. Graves, who had witnessed the stabbing, accompanied the officer and assailant to the station. Both he and Constable Bragg later gave evidence that, on the way to the station, Archer had said to them that he did it from revenge, believing that Mr. Terriss had prevented him from gaining employment for some years past.

Archer was received into custody at Bow Street station by Inspector Wood, whereupon, still possessing the knife concealed under his cape, he produced the weapon and stated, in a very calm and rational manner: "That's what I stabbed him with; he had due warning". When charged with the murder he simply nodded his head.

Mr. Tom Terriss, the actor's son who was called upon to formally identify the body, later produced into evidence a letter which he had found inside the theatre, addressed to his mother, and making threats against his father. The letter was anonymous, but in light of the events that followed it seems certain that the author was Archer, and perhaps the letter represented the warning that Archer spoke of. If so, Mr. Terriss was unaware of it at the time of his murder.

A post-mortem examination of the body revealed that in addition to the two wounds in his back, and a single wound to the chest, there was also a laceration to the right wrist, probably caused as Mr. Terriss attempted to fend off the final blow. The two wounds to the back would not have been fatal, but the chest wound, which was on the left side between the fourth and fifth ribs had penetrated the heart causing the victim to bleed to death. It had apparently been struck with great force since one of the ribs was broken.

At the time of his arrest, Archer led the police to believe that he was unmarried and requested only that his sister be informed of his condition. But when a telegraph was then sent to the sister she replied washing her hands of him, wherupon Archer proclaimed that she was "in league with the Terrisses," adding that she had refused him aid earlier that night and it was on her account that this had happened.

A coroners enquiry on December 20th, 1897, returned a verdict of "wilfull murder" and Archer was subsequently tried for the crime. Even before the trial there could have been no doubt that Archer was responsible for the crime, but in the course of the proceedings a little more was brought out about the motives behind it. It transpired that Archer had been insanely jealous of Mr. Terriss' success whilst his own acting career had been a failure. Working as a lowly stage hand he was often heard to make sarcastic comments as to Mrs. Terris acting such as "Fools often succeed in life where men of genius fail."

He blamed Mr. Terriss for preventing him gaining work as an actor and for causing him to lose his job backstage at the Adelphi, his only means of support. As a member of the committee of the Actors Benefit Fund, he also blamed Mr. Terriss for preventing him gaining relief from that source also, despite his many requests for financial assistance. In fact in that respect Mr. Terriss had done all he could to help Archer, only a month before his murder having written a letter to the secretary of the fund recommending Archer as a worthy case and pleading on his behalf. On January 14th, 1898, the jury returned a verdict of guilty against Richard Arthur Prince in the murder of William Terriss, but spared him from hanging by finding him irresponsible for his actions by reason of insanity. He was committed to Broadmoor Prison for the Criminally Insane, where he would remain until his death, some thirty-nine years later.

William Terriss was buried at Brompton Cemetary on December 21st, where an immense crowd, estimated by the police to be in excess of 50,000, was gathered to pay their last respects to the much loved entertainer. All the leading theatrical personalities were present; the Bancrofts, Sir Henry Irving, Mr. Seymour Hicks (the deceased son-in-law), Mary Anderson and Lily Langtry to name but a few. Miss Millward, who had been with him at the end, also attended the funeral and had delivered a cushion of white chrysanthemums and lilies with the inscription "My dear comrade" picked out in violets. The funeral procession, which started from Bedford Park, consisted of over 100 carriages. In spite of the funeral taking place in mid-winter, the floral tributes were as numerous as they were splendid, the Prince of Wales himself sent a magnificent wreath of white lillies and orchids accompanied by a card of condolence. The tributes in fact were so numerous that it seemed all London must have been stripped of flowers, and with only a few able to be carried with the coffin two additional hearses were required to carry the remainder to the grave site.

William Terriss left a personal fortune of 20,000 pounds to be divided equally amongst his children, his wife being already independently wealthy.

A Strange Aside to The Story

The day before the murder of William Terriss his understudy, Frederick Lane, had come to the theatre in an agitated state and related to all who would listen the details of a vivid and distressing dream he had had the night before. He recounted that he had dreamed that William Terriss, surrounded by actors and stage hands, was lying unconscious on the stairs leading to the theater's dressing rooms. His chest was bare and blood was streaming from a gaping wound. An exact portent of what would occur the following night. Three witnesses later signed affidavits that Lane had related his story to them before the murder occured.