The speaker was President Barrie talking about the murder in Grassington

TOM LEE The Grassington Murderer

The story of the murder in 1766 of Dr. Richard Petty by Tom Lee, at Grassington near Skipton, in the Yorkshire Dales national park formed the basis of a book by Geoffrey Rowley. With line drawings and maps by our very own Barrie Birch.

On Easter Tuesday, 1st April 1766, Dr. Petty, Tom Lee; the landlord of the Blue Anchor Inn at Grassington and others attended the cockfights at Kettlewell. It is thought that the Doctor had been lucky and had won a large amount of money. Petty and Lee left the cockfight together to make their way back to Grassington.

Their journey continued as far as Grassington Woods and it is here that the doctor allegedly met his end. Tom Lee was the prime suspect and was initially acquitted at York Assizes due to lack of evidence. Two years later, a former servant came forward with sufficient evidence for Lee to be re-arrested. Tried again at York in July 1768, this time Lee was found guilty of the crime, and later hanged.

Post Script

In June 2020 the following email was received from Lynn Van Dyke: -

This story of Dr Petty is incorrect. He was my paternal great great grandfather and the true story has been passed down. Dr Petty a surgeon removed a bullet from Tom Lee’s leg after he was robbing a coach. Much later Tom Lee was causing trouble in the pub, Dr Petty warned him to leave or he’d expose him. Consequently he was murdered by Tom Lee! There are a few different stories, this is the true one.