In 1901 governance of the Charterhouse was handed over to a group of 9 trustees. The scheme which set out the rules specified that 5 of these should be nominated by the City Council, one nominated by the Church and 3 co-opted. One of these co-optees, insisted the scheme, must be Rev Joseph Malet Lambert. No reason is given.
Lambert (the double barrelled name was an affectation - his mother's maiden name was Malet) was certainly one of the great and good of the city. Vicar of St John's, Newland, Rural Dean and a Canon of York, he enjoyed authority in the Church. And he involved himself in various civic works; he was on the Hull Sanitary Association and the Hull School Board. He was probably a trustee of other charitable organisations. He and his wife Rose had a holiday home in Barmouth in west Wales, and it was there that scandal broke out in 1908.
The couple had taken into their home a 10-year-old girl called Mary Elizabeth Inman. She was from a family in Lambert's own parish in Hull; her father, John Inman, was an engine fitter. Mary was supposedly in training as a servant. But in Wales the other servants became concerned at her treatment, and made a visiting doctor aware of it. According to Wikipedia "the child was ascertained to be malnourished by a doctor, weighing 48 lb (22 kg) aged 11. In addition to the malnutrition of the child she was said to have been keep secret from visitors by Mrs. Lambert, beaten with a stick and poker by Mrs. Lambert, who had instructed her cook to do the same." The NSPCC decided to press charges under relatively new child cruelty legislation, and the Lamberts found themselves in court early in 1909.
The press had a field day. The Flintshire Observer and others reported that "Counsel stated that the girl was made to sleep on a mattress in the attic where the servants slept; that she was called up at 5.30 m the morning; that she was sent to the basement to take her meals, which consisted of the scrapings from the family table for breakfast, and of the previous day's leavings for dinner. In August the child fell ill, and the nurse refused to accept any responsibility for her if she was not seen by a doctor. Eventually Mrs. Lambert asked Dr. Dingle to see her, and he gave a warning that, in the event of her death, he would refuse to grant a certificate. The defence was a general denial to all the accusations, and it was submitted, on behalf of the defendants, that the cook and nurse, the principal witnesses, had spoken with a considerable amount of animus and vindictiveness. Mrs. Lambert said the child was always told to bring up her mug and dish, and was always given wholesome and adequate food. Mrs. Lambert was committed for trial to the assizes, and the charges against Canon Lambert were adjourned for a month." Canon Lambert had given evidence that he was often away from the house and the blame fell on his wife. The Marlborough Express reported the case in detail in two articles here and here.
But despite the evidence perhaps the verdict was never really in doubt. The Lamberts were pillars of the establishment, and the jury took only 12 minutes to acquit them. What happened to Mary is unclear. It is said that she was taken into the "care" of a workhouse, and there were offers to adopt her. There is no record of the death of either parent so it is not known why she could not just return home. The 1911 census suggests that she was adopted by a lady in Chandlers Ford, Hampshire, but this is not certain.Back in Hull there was a rush to reassure Canon Lambert that his reputation was intact. His parishioners in Newland presented him with an illuminated address of welcome and "assured the Canon of their loyalty, and expressed the opinion that his character had been entirely vindicated". [Cambrian News]. At a special meeting of the Education Committee he was re-appointed as Chairman; "Alderman Jarman, in proposing re-election as a mark of confidence, referred to the great services Canon Lambert had rendered the cause of education". [Llandudno Advertiser] In 1917 he became Archdeacon of the East Riding and, in 1927, the first chairman of the council of the newly established University College, Hull. He died in 1931.
But perhaps the taint of the court case did linger. Today Joseph Malet Lambert is remembered only through the school which bears his name. When I was a pupil there in the early 60s the man himself was never mentioned, and the school's current website ignores the origin of its name.
(Thanks to Carol Osgerby for help with the research for this.)
