Midsomer Murders
A Midsomer Murders Tour through the history of England and Midsomer. Nostalgia plays a big part in our beloved English crime series – and so does history.
Hi, I’m Petra, your Midsomer historian and a Midsomer Murders fan like you. Come with me on a historical tour of Midsomer County and all the nostalgic elements of our beloved cosy detective show – the idyll, the countryside, the hamlets…
„History in Midsomer Murders is woven into the very warp and woof of England’s history.“
Honoria Lyddiard did not say it quite like that in “Written in Blood”, but she would certainly have done so – and she would have been thoroughly right.
But how is this interwovenness of English history in Midsomer Murders?
On this blog:
1. Article on the history of Midsomer County, specially the chronicle of Midsomer County – sorted by year or by episode
2. Chapters on various references to English history mentioned in Midsomer Murders – landscape painter Henry Hogson and his paintings, Ellis Bell and “The House of Satan”, and so on. See here for an overview, or click in the menu on “History in MM” to go to the relevant era or season – depending on whether you are looking for an event or watching an episode in which English history is mentioned.
The Sitemap gives you a clear overview of all the pages and posts that have been published.
In my newsletter:
Nostalgia & Midsomer Murders – On the benefits and difficulties of nostalgia, using Midsomer Murders as a case study, as the show is steeped in nostalgic Englishness – especially in the earlier seasons.
The newsletter will be published on the last Monday of the month from July onwards. It’s free, so please subscribe here. Alternatively, you can view the previous one by clicking on the link.
And I can think of more…
There are many different things to discover about history in Midsomer Murders.
(I would like to point out that this is an unofficial fan site and I am not connected to Bentley Productions, ITV or the actors.)
🆒 Any suggestions for improvement? Are you missing something? Then send me an email. Of course, I’m also happy to receive praise, as feedback from other fans is my favourite reward.
You can hear me in the superfan quiz on the official MM podcast “Midsomer Murders Mayhem” in episode 6: “Murder on St Malley’s Day”, episode 13: “The Ballad of Midsomer County”, and episode 15: “The Dark Rider”.
🏞️ The Chronology of Midsomer County
Before 43 AD: Prehistoric History in Midsomer Murders
About 800 BC (Iron Age)
In Midsomer Barrow, a local ruler, the Fisher King, is murdered with a spear in his leg and a role model for the Fisher King from the later Arthurian legend and the so called “dolorous stroke”/„dolorous blow“. Midsomer’s Fisher King is buried in the land that later becomes part of the Heldman’s estate. (07×03: The Fisher King)
Deep Dive: The Fisher King in Midsomer County
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Before 43 BC
The Celts have a shrine at Midsomer Sanctae where St Frideswide Abbey is later built. (12×04: The Glitch)
Deep Dive: St Frideswide
43-425: Roman History in Midsomer Murders
Sometime between 43 BC and the 5th century (Romans)
In Midsomer Vinae the Romans grow wine. (17×04: A Vintage Murder)
Deep Dive: Roman Vineyards
425-1066: Anglo-Saxon History in Midsomer Murders
Sometime between the 5th and the 7th century (Anglo-Saxons)
There was a Saxon burial ground where is now the village green of Midsomer Mallow. (03×03: Judgement Day)
Deep Dive: The Fisher King in Midsomer County
A battle between Norsemen (Vikings) and Saxons takes place at Gorse Meadow in Midsomer Mow – the Battle of Hallows Beck. The Saxons were victorious. (14×05: The Sleeper Under the Hill)
Deep Dive: Treasures & Raiders in Midsomer County
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669
The Pope condemns the Beltane cult, in which men fight each other with stags on their heads, and declares in an edict: “Whoever at the Calends of January [that’s January 1st] goes about in the form of a stag, that is changing himself into the form of an animal, dressing in the skin of a horned beast and putting on the head of a beast, who in such wise transform themselves into the appearances of a wild animal, penance for three years, because it’s devilish!“ (14×06: The Night of the Stag)
Deep Dive: (briefly related in) The Dantean Anomaly
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About 1000
The Smythe-Websters are given their estate in Upper Warden. (06×04 A Tale of Two Hamlets)
1066-1485: Medieval History in Midsomer Murders
1066
Sir Richard Guillaume of Normandy is in the retinue of William, Duke of Normandy and takes part in the Battle of Hastings. He kills many of the Saxons. (Lady Matilda William, wife of his direct descendant, later recounts: “His Sword of Guillaume, as his weapon became known, took many Anglo Saxon lives and came to symbolise everything that the English hated about the French.”) After the Battle of Hastings, which was victorious for him, King William I entrusted his faithful Sir Richard with “the land now known as Brighton and Hove”. In 1069, Sir Richard found St. Peter‘s in Brighton, dedicated to the Seaman and Fisherman. Later he moved to Midsomer Parva and was buried there in the church with his sword. (13×01: The Sword of Guillaume)
Deep Dive: The Sword of Guillaume
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1086/87
Chainey’s Field in Midsomer Mallow is mentioned as common land in Domesday Book. (07×02: Bad Tidings)
Deep Dive: Domesday in Midsomer Murders
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12th century
Founding of Midsomer; evidence of an earlier settlement through road layouts and foundations. (21×02: The Miniature Murders)
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End of the 12th century or later
On a wall in the crypt of the church in Midsomer St Claire, an unusual Domesday painting is created, which does not show the crossroads between salvation and damnation as usual, but only medieval methods of torture. (16×02: Let Us Prey)
Deep Dive: Doom Paintings
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About 1300
Start of Frideswide pilgrimages in Midsomer County: Very many pilgrim groups use Pilgrims’ Ride at Midsomer Sanctae to make a pilgrimage to the Abbey of St Frideswide to ask the saint for blessings and help. (12×04: The Glitch)
Deep Dive: St Frideswide
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Around 1319
First mention of Midsomer in texts; daily markets held with trading of industrial materials such as timber, bricks, and iron, as well as crops like corn, wheat, and fresh vegetables. (21×02: The Miniature Murders)
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1370
In Midsomer Abbas, there are long frosts in the spring that stunt the year’s harvest and brought starvation to many residents. They get help from the neighbouring village “over the valley”, Midsomer Herne, who bring part of their apple harvest. (14×06: The Night of the Stag)
Deep Dive: The Dantean Anomaly
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15th century (probably second half)
In Midsomer County, a devout woman, Cicely Milson, is interrogated and tortured for three weeks by her tormentors. Her family flees to France to escape the torture. The family treasure, however, remained with Cicely. Cicely dies during the torture and is buried with her family hoard. She is later venerated as a martyr. (18×05: Sinners and Saints)
Deep Dive: Treasures & Raiders in Midsomer County
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1459
[No Spoiler] Lord Michael Shirewell, Sheriff of Midsomer, was born (24×01: The Devil’s Work)
1485-1603: Tudor History in Midsomer Murders
1491
[No Spoiler] Stourwick Estate mit Stourwick Hall – an Elizabethan manor house on the banks of the Causton River, famously associated with M. Y. Blunder – was sold to Lord Michaels Shirewell, Sheriff of Midsomer (24×01: The Devil’s Work)•
c. 1500
The Chetwoods have been living in Chetwood Estate for some time, now the roof is leaking (and still is 500 years later). (05×01: Market for Murder)
The Bartletts become farmers in Midsomer Worthy. (05×02: Worm in a Bud)
The Catholic Hartley family come into possession of Bantling Hall. (08×04: Bantling Boy)
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16th century
Midsomer has about 70 houses, indicating a population of roughly 300; growing brickmaking industry; proximity to Oxford brings in students and street events. (21×02: The Miniature Murders)
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1508
[No Spoiler] Lord Michael Shirewell, Sheriff of Midsomer, died (24×01: The Devil’s Work)•
Sometime between 1509 and 1547 (Reign of Henry VIII)
There is a public footpath in Fletcher’s Cross. It leads (later?) through the Cavendish estate. (02×03: Dead Man’s Eleven)
Deep Dive: Public Footpaths
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1526
A monk working for the Inquisition writes a letter telling that he owns part of the Tyndale Bible (11×05: The Magician’s Nephew) (Note: it is not explicitly stated that this monk lived in Midsomer County, but his letter is found in a library there.)
Deep Dive: William Tyndale in Midsomer Murders
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Sometime between 1536 and 1541 (Dissolution of the Monasteries)
Deep Dive: The Dissolution of the Monasteries in Midsomer Murders
The Inkpens obtain a formerly clerical property in Midsomer Deverell, becomes “Inkpen Manor”. (04×01: Garden of Death)
Abbey Farm in Midsomer Worthy was a part of Midsomer Abbey until the Dissolution of the Monasteries. (05×02: A Worm in the Bud)
When monasteries were dissolved, Parva Manor got the land and in this way also a chapel which stands near the manor, says the Clifford family. Unfortunately there are no more records from that time, so it is without evidence. (07×06: The Straw Woman)
Monks Barton Abbey is dissolved – by force, because the monks probably refused to give it up. However, they are driven into flight by the royal soldiers and literally hunted down and slaughtered in the adjacent Monks Barton Wood. (11×07: Talking to the Dead)
The Abbey of St Frideswide in Midsomer Sanctae is dissolved. It is no longer used and falls into ruin. (12×04: The Glitch)
Deep Dive: St Frideswide
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1539
Brother Jozef is executed (boiled to death in beer) for poisoning Causton Abbey’s beer. (20×01: The Ghost of Causton Abbey)
1603-1714: Stuart History in Midsomer Murders
1605
Cecil Hartley, 3rd Baron Bantling was famous Catholic and was involved in the Gunpowder Plot. (08×04: Bantling Boy)
Deep Dive: “Involved in the Gunpowder Plot.”
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1633
An illustration shows that brass rubbing is practised in Midsomer Wellow, i.e. the tracing of an uneven surface, for example a metal plate. (05×03: Ring Out Your Dead)
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Sometime between 1642 and 1651 (Civil War)
The Fitzroy family owning Bledlow Village is a Catholic family with, among other things, priest holes in the building to celebrate Catholic Mass in secret. (11×02: Blood Wedding)
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1643
From 14 March, the neighbouring villages of Upper Warden in the valley and Lower Warden on the hill start killing each other, on the occasion of the Civil War. (06×04: A Tale of Two Hamlets)
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1644
On 2 July, George, 4th Baron Bantling, is part of the King’s army at the Battle of Marston Moor. But he betrays his side and the King at the battle, which is ultimately lost. It is the first major victory for the Parliamentary Army and the decisive turning point in the Civil War. (08×04: Bantling Boy)
On 1 August, the Battle of Aspern Tallow took place during the Civil War. It ended at 3:30 pm with a Royalist defeat. Among them fought Royalist Jonathan Lowrie (1591-1644), a philanthropist, classical scholar and owner of the manor Aspern Hall. Parliamentarians pursue and chase him home after the battle, shooting him in his house. He is buried on the site, as was his wish. The family legend arises that he is not at peace and lives on as a ghost. (03×04: Beyond the Grave)
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1645
Geoffrey DeQuetteville (1605-1645) is a loyalist in the Civil War and dies at the Battle of Naseby by charging cannons. The Battle of Naseby is lost for the Royalists. (15×01: The Dark Rider)
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1652
In Midsomer Worthy, a woman, Mary Bloxham, is burnt as a witch. She is accused of trying to kill her neighbour with the “devil’s weed” – is valerian, which grows in abundance in neighbouring Setwall Wood. (05×02: A Worm in a Bud)
Deep Dive: Witch-Hunting in Midsomer County
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17th century
There was an outbreak of swine fever in Midsomer Parva. The villagers tried to contain the epidemic with prayers, but were unsuccessful. Some women are able to nurse pigs back to health by using herbal remedies, but the women are tried for witchcraft and hanged from the old oak tree. The first of them is named Katherine Malpas. (07×06: The Straw Woman)
Deep Dive: Witch-Hunting in Midsomer County
Also in Midsomer Parva, Deacon Henry of Causton probably writes the Midsomer Chronicle (“in 16 summat”) (12×03: Secrets and Spies)
1714-1837: Georgian History in Midsomer Murders
18th century
Midsomer remains a market town; described as “pleasant, populous, and rich”; other villagers, such as Solomon Gorge, settle in the surrounding area. (21×02: The Miniature Murders)
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1742
The landscape painter Henry Hogson is born. (12×02: The Black Book)
Read more about him in Henry Hogson & other local historic celebrities in Midsomer Murders
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Sometime between 1775 and 1783 (War of Independence)
Thomas, 4th Baron of Bantling, was born in England and enlisted in the English army. During the War of Independence, however, he either switching side, or was a collaborator – in any case he fought on the side of the English colonies in America. (08×04: Bantling Boy)
Deep Dive: A traitor from Midsomer in the American Independence War?
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1792
Maybe Henry Hogson depicts a painting of Bishop John Fletcher fly-fishing in Bishop’s Drift, despite his arthritis. (12×02: The Black Book) (Note: It is not entirely clear whether it exists in the original and additionally exists as a forgery or whether the original was never painted.)
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1795
Just a rumour? Margaret Peat from Midsomer Newton hanged herself from a beam in the kitchen. (09×01: The House in the Woods)
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1795/1796
Sebastian Lyddiard from Midsomer Worthy and great-grandson of Herbert Lyddiard, served under Sir John Jervis, 1. Earl of St. Vincent, admiral of the Royal Navy, against Napoleon. (01×01 Written In Blood)
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1796
Construction of the first main road in Midsomer, linking towns within the borough and increasing traffic from Oxford; paving and oil lamp street lighting begin in Causton. (21×02: The Miniature Murders)
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End of the 18th century
End of the 18th century: The ceiling collapses during canal construction work at Midsomer Worthy and buried eight workers. In order not to run out of time and go bankrupt, 38-year-old engineer John Haslett decides, in the interests of his investors, to leave the eight dead in situ and merely had a retaining wall put in. This allowed the excavation work to continue on the very next day. This was all forgotten by the time he received his knighthood.
The newspaper “Midsomer Journal” accused John Haslett of putting his own interests before human lives and reported: „Local Canal in Tunnel Collapse. Eight men still missing. Yesterday afternoon at approximately 3.30 pm a collapsed in the Midsomer canal happened, devastating locals and fellow workers. It is believed workers are still missing and friends and family fear the worst. The engineer Sir John Haslett has called the search off believing the workers would all be dead due the size of the cane in. Angered locals are up in arms over the decision and have called for further searches. A service for the bereaved has hastily arranged in respect in respect conducted by the local vicar, angering friends and family further. [… That’s all you can read in the scene]“ (07×01: The Green Man)
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19th century
Expansion of Midsomer to include areas such as Midsomer Mallen, Cronley Valley, and Heyd Hill; continued improvements in street lighting and infrastructure. (21×02: The Miniature Murders)
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1801
On 2 May 1801 it is recorded in the minutes of the Midsomer Canal Company that £ 12 11 shilling 9 pence are paid to blacksmith Thomas Edwards „in discharge of his bill for iron work to the wheelbarrows, for the use of in the said navigation“. This entry is presumably related to the collapsed part of the Midsomer Canal at Midsomer Worthy. End of the 18th Century. (07×01: The Green Man)
Jane Austen travels through Whitcombe Grange. (19×05: Death by Persuasion)
Deep Dive: Jane Austen & Baroness Orczy in Midsomer County
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1802
Sir Hugo Melmoth is murdered on 23rd June by residents of Midsomer Oaks. Just as Sir Hugo had some disagreeable people murdered under the guise of a pagan ceremony. (17×02: Murder by Magic)
Read more about him in Henry Hogson & other local historic celebrities in Midsomer Murders
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1810
The landscape painter Henry Hogson dies. (12×02: The Black Book)
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1821
[No Spoiler] The mill in Lower Blissingham was bought by the Larkton family (23×03: A Grain of Truth).
1837-1901: Victorian History in Midsomer Murders
Sometime between 1837 and 1901 (Victorian Age)
One of the railways in Midsomer County ran close to the Keys’ cottage at Fletcher’s Cross, just beyond some trees. (08×01: Things That Go Bump in the Night)
Deep Dive: Midsomer’s Old Railways
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1846
Not far from Fennacombe Bay, the Harlequin ran aground on Fuller’s Sweep reef and sank with the gold artefacts from France on board. (09×04: Down Among Dead Men)
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1851
Albert Plummer returns from India to Little Upton, not with the fortune he had planned, but with a recipe for an excellent relish. He had eaten it in India and managed to recreate it. This became – with some changes – Plummer’s Relish. Why he was in India is not mentioned. I suspect, given the time, that he probably took part in the Second Anglo-Sikh War 1848-1849. (08×07: Sauce for the Goose)
Deep Dive: Albert Plummer in India
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1860
In Midsomer Wellow, the well at the church is shut down after the body of vicar Jonathan Ebbrell is found in it. He was murdered by local bell ringers because he forced them to attend church services and had their beer barrel removed from their room. The bell ringers were not convicted, however, because the people of Midsomer Wellow formed a wall of silence. (05×03: Ring Out Your Dead)
Deep Dive: The Bell Ringers from Midsomer Wellow
The famous duel between the British boxer Sayers and the US boxer Heenan takes place on the grounds of Morchard Manor in Midsomer Morchard. It ends in a hullabaloo. (13×06: The Noble Art)
Deep Dive: Sports History in Midsomer Murders, pt. 1: Boxing
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1867
Ellis Bell (“The House of Satan”) is born out of wedlock in Lower Warden. His mother worked in the big house in Upper Warden and was seduced by the son of the house. The Smythe-Websters denied paternity but helped young Ellis Bell get a job as a teacher.(06×04: A Tale of Two Hamlets)
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1875
On 25 June, twenty-year-old Carolina Maria Roberts, suffering from tuberculosis, commits suicide by throwing herself from the staircase at St. Fidelis Hospital in March Magna. “NOT DEAD BUT SLEEPTH” is written on her gravestone. (13×04: The Silent Land)
Deep Dive: Not Dead But Sleepth
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1880s
The dangerous Horn Dance (actually a fight between men wearing deer antlers) in Midsomer Abbas develops into an amusing, bloodless dance. (14×06: The Night of the Stag)
Deep Dive: (briefly related in) The Dantean Anomaly
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1893
Reverend Stannington from Bishopwood becomes World Chess Champion 1893/1894 (15×05: The Sicilian Defence)
Deep Dive: Sports History in Midsomer Murders, pt. 2: Other Sports
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1894
Reverend Stannington from Bishopwood dies as reigning World Chess Champion. (15×05: The Sicilian Defense)
Deep Dive: Sports History in Midsomer Murders, pt. 2: Other Sports
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1897
Ellis Bell’s „The House of Satan“is published for the first time. It is an “old-fashioned socialist novel”. The title, The House of Satan, refers to the Smythe-Webster family. (06×04: A Tale of Two Hamlets)
1901-1914: Edwardian History in Midsomer Murders
1905
Just a rumour: The author Baroness Emma Orczy is a guest of Lord Fitzgibbon at Midsomer Magna Manor when she is writing her stage play (and later novel) “The Scarlet Pimpernel”. Lord Fitzgibbon was supposedly the model for her main character and hero, Sir Percy Blakeney. (10×07: They Seek Him Here)
Deep Dive: Jane Austen & Baroness Orczy in Midsomer County
1914-1945: Modern 1 History in Midsomer Murders
1914/1918
Frank Bingham sold cheap, inferior food to the Ministry of Defence during WW1 and did very well for himself. He set up a huge trust fund for his new fortune. A trust fund that will run out as soon as William and Mary Bingham die. (14×02 Dark Secrets)
1916
In the month-long Battle of the Somme, numerous people from Midsomer County take part, 15 privates from Midsomer Parva alone. Among them is Thomas “Tommy” Hicks, who left the battlefield wounded on the disastrously devastating first day of battle (July 1st). He is found guilty in the Courts Martial trial as a deserter and sentenced to die. He is shot by his friend Douglas “Dougie” Hammond (after the firing squad failed to hit him).
The other war dead from Midsomer Parva are: Burton Black, Arthur Brown, Harold Brown, Charles Gordon, Shirley Gordon, Chancey Jenkins, Harry Knight, Claud Lockhart, Layton Long, Donald Miller, Arthur Miller, Robert Moore, Vaughn Park and Claud Parsons. (11×01 Shot at Dawn)
Deep Dive: Midsomer and the Battle of the Somme
In Broughton raises Montague Marwood, a big local landowner, an entire company from the village in this year, during World War 1. Numerous families lose their head of household and now have not enough to survive. (No battle is mentioned, but it is not unlikely that they also fought in the Battle of the Somme.) Some women form the Skimmington Society as a self-help group to work together, educate and raise money. (09×05: Four Funerals and a Wedding)
Deep Dive: Deeds Not Words
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1918
[No Spoiler] Founding of the auction house “MSM – Melling, Sonder and Mueller” in Midsomer County. (23y02: Debt of Lies)•
1923
Sir Huntley Empson found the amateur theatre company Midsomer Mummers and had the mill in Brattlington converted into a stage for his productions. (22×05: For Death Prepare)
Gilbert & Sullivan: Pirates of Penzance and Midsomer
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Before 1930
Foundation of Midsomer Priory in Midsomer Vertue. In 1930 Mother Jerome’s great aunt was prioress. (14×07: A Sacred Trust)
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1930
Lower Warden’s Ellis Bell, author of “The House of Satan” dies in poverty in Causton. (06×04: A Tale of Two Hamlets)
The Annual Exhibition of the Luxton Deeping Photographic Society takes place for the first time. It was previously founded by Casper Madrigal. (10×06: Picture of Innocence)
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1930s
Manufacturing industries grow, with car and pressed steel production becoming major sectors. (21×02: The Miniature Murders)
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1936
Tom Stanton, a local landowner and keen amateur astronomer, has the Astrodome built in Midsomer Stanton. (15×03: Written in the Stars)
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1939-1945
Reggie Barton from Midsomer Wellow is a pilot in the Second World War and flies Lancaster aeroplanes. (05×03: Ring Out Your Dead)
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1942
ATA pilot Ellie Wingate from Finchmere commits suicide out of lovesickness and flies off despite a storm warning. She never returns. (16×04: The Flying Club)
Deep Dive: ATA – Anything To Anywhere
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1944
Ralph Wood was a bomber fighter pilot at Cooper’s Cross and never returns from a mission in this year. (10×01: Dance with the Dead)
The village of Little Auburn becomes an army base for World War 2. The inhabitants found Great Auburn in the neighbourhood. (19×01: The Village That Rose from the Dead)
Deep Dive: Ghost Villages in World War 2
History in Midsomer Murders since 1945: Modern 2
Post-war era / Second half of the 20th century
Midsomer Parva’s public boys’ school, Devington Hall, has been hoarding numerous artefacts of immeasurable value from all over the world for decades. Members of the school’s elevated Pudding Club often became diplomats and were thus able to steal the exhibits and bring them to the school. This happened, for example, during the Vietnam War (1955-1975) or the war in Afghanistan (1979-1989). (05×04 Murder on St Malley’s Day)
Deep Dive: Treasures & Raiders in Midsomer County
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1950s
Isobel Hewitt from Midsomer Malham is a racing driver and wins a prize at Silverstone (06×01: A Talent for Life)
Deep Dive: Sports History in Midsomer Murders, pt. 2: Other Sports
In July in the 1950s, Duncan Palmer from Midsomer County wins the British Grand Prix in Silverstone. (14×01: Death in the Slow Lane) (Note: It is also possible that it was a previous Formula 1 race, but not after. Palmer died in 1962 and neither 1961 nor 1962 was the British Grand Prix held at Silverstone. Alternative years would be 1958, 1956 or between 1951 and 1954, as these were the years when both the races were held at Silverstone and Stirling Moss was active).
Deep Dive: Sports History in Midsomer Murders, pt. 2: Other Sports
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1960
On August 15, a fire breaks out at Marwood Manor in Broughton. Almost all the inhabitants of the house die: Richard Henry Marwood, Elizabeth Ann Marwood, Montagu Henry Marwood, Catherine Elizabeth Marwood, Henry Edward Marwood, Elizabeth Marwood, Frederick Hastings, Dorothy Sairfield, Harold Sairfield and the two children George Richard Marwood and Henry Marwood. (09×05: Four Funerals and a Wedding)
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1960s
Bertie Morell founds an artist community in Midsomer Parva. Shortly afterwards he dies (“drank himself to death”). (14×02: Dark Secrets)
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1962
A group of locals entered Little Auburn to protest against the army’s continued occupation of the village. They stayed for a few days before being arrested, fined and shackled. Among them were Fred Messenger and Sylvia Lennard. (19×01: The Village That Rose from the Dead)
Deep Dive: Ghost Villages in World War 2
Formula 1 racing driver Duncan Palmer from Midsomer County is murdered in a barn near Midsomer-in-the-marsh. (14×01: Death in the Slow Lane)
Deep Dive: Sports History in Midsomer Murders, pt. 2: Other Sports
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1963
At the beginning of November, two weeks before Lee Harvey Oswald assassinated John F. Kennedy, he was in Midsomer Parva. Dudley Carew had documentary proof of this. (05×04: Murder on St Malley’s Day)
Arnold Simms founds the School of Art. (12×02: The Black Book)
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1967-1970
Stella Harris is a star actress in well-known horror films and from Midsomer Langley. She made her debut in 1967 with “A Thirst for Blood”. She almost made it to Hollywood after “Death and the Divas”, but in the end her sister Diana Davenport took the role because director Cy Davenport fell in love with her (later married) and Stella Harris was written off. Around this time Diana became pregnant unintentionally and unmarried. Stella and Diana’s mother was very concerned about family reputation and decided that Stella, who was already married, should register Emma, born in April 1970, as her child. As a result, Stella Harris’ career as an actress was over, but Diana Davenport’s was just beginning. (15×04: Death and the Divas)
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Late 1960s
Elizabeth „Lizzy“/„Beth“ Thornfield from Midsomer Wyvern is a popular British model and Glamour Girl. (16×03: Wild Harvest)
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Late 1960s and/or 1970s
Germaine Troughton from Lower Pampling is captain of the England Ladies Cricket Team. (19×03: Last Man Out)
Deep Dive: Sports History in Midsomer Murders, pt. 2: Other Sports
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1969
Felix Bryce of Badger’s Drift died while playing with other children: He is standing on a chair with a rope around his neck and tied to a branch. He loses his balance, the chair tips over – Felix hangs himself. His mother, Jennifer, died of depression nine months later. (02×01: Death‘s Shadow)
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1970
On Roger Heldman’s estate, local archaeologist Paul Heartley-Reade and archaeologist Dr James Lavery from the Ashmolean Museum find a Celtic grave – the grave of Midsomer’s Fisher King. Landowner and multiple rapist Roger Heldman is murdered here. The Celtic artefacts are recovered and recorded in the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford with the location Suffolk. Shortly afterwards, Paul Heartley-Reade fakes his own death. (07×03: The Fisher King)
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1982
Malcolm Frazer, Nicky Frazer, Jenny Frazer (birth name not known) and Jimmy Wells from the British secret service help refugees to get from East Berlin to West Berlin. Jimmy Wells, however, is betrayed by Nicky Frazer and arrested by the Stasi. Nicky Frazer marries Jenny, who was actually a couple with Jimmy. Later, Jenny Frazer and Jimmy Wells learn of the betrayal, noted in the Wolfman file. (12×03: Secrets and Spies)
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1985
The famous singer Joan Alder (“Midsomer Rhapsody”) from Badger’s Drift dies in a car accident, presumably from an overdose of antidepressants and too much alcohol. (08×08: Midsomer Rhapsody)
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1990
Folk musician Johnny Carver from Lower Crosby is shot while recording his song “The Ballad of Midsomer County”. (17×03: The Ballad of Midsomer County)
Eva Hoffmann, Joan Chaplin and Judith Albiston are stripped, raped and strangled with a necktie in Strangler’s Wood in Midsomer Worthy. (02×02: Strangler’s Wood)
Also in 1990, but in an accident in Fletcher’s Cross, Matthew Draper is killed in an accidental explosion at a quarry owned by Robert Cavendish (02×03: Dead Man’s Eleven)
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1993
[No Spoiler] In August 1993: Goldman Forbes Heist. Almost 5 million pounds were stolen from a Goldman-Forbes bank (in Causton?) and deposited near Badger’s Drift. (23×02: Debt of Lies)•
2016
72 years after the residents were forced to leave Little Auburn and it was used as an army base, the village is now being returned to the family of the then landowner, Roderick Craven. (19×01: The Village That Rose from the Dead)
Deep Dive: Ghost Villages in World War 2
Midsomer Murders & History: Still running
Midsomer Murders is still running, thank God, and will be for a long time to come. But new episodes have not yet been broadcast in all countries – especially not in the UK. I don’t want to give away any spoilers, so you won’t find any dates from season 23 onwards.
Also, I may have missed a mention in Midsomer Murders. If this is the case, don’t hesitate to contact me! I’m not omniscient, and as you know, every time I re-watch Midsomer Murders, something new comes to my attention… it’s the same with history, although it happens to me very, very rarely. But nobody’s perfect.