• Born: Abt 1813, Portsmouth, Hampshire, England
• Married: 1 Jul 1844, St. John the Baptist, Devizes, Wiltshire, England ¹
• Died: 8 Apr 1885, Knight's Court, Northgate St., Devizes, Wiltshire, England ²

  Research Notes:

William Henry Maton died aged 73 years. ²

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DEVIZES.

BURNT TO DEATH.

On Wednesday evening an old man, aged 73 years, named William Maton, living in Knight's Court, Northgate Street, met with a dreadful death. Maton lived alone. He had generally been a painter, but had not done any work since the death of his wife about four years ago, she having left him a considerable sum of money. He had for some time given way to drink and on Wednesday night stayed in the Black Swan till 11 o'clock when he was accompanied home by Mr H. Romain and Mr Barnard. They stayed in the house two or three minutes, and when they left him he was sitting by a good fire that was burning in the grate. About two o'clock P.C. Robinson who was on night duty went up the court to see that all was right when he noticed a rather bright light in Maton's cottage. He knocked at the window twice with his stick but as he got no reply, he tried the door and pushed it open, when he was met with a dense volume of smoke and a most dreadful smell. He then aroused the neighbours and requested them to try and put the fire out, while he went and called the firemen and Inspector Tyler. This some of the neighbours did, and in doing so found the body of Maton lying on the floor in front of the fire-place, with a rush-bottomed chair he had been sitting on burnt and underneath him. By great exertions the fire was extinguished, and it was then discovered that the old man had been burnt to death. An inquest was held at the Black Swan on Thursday evening....

Wiltshire Times and Trowbridge Advertiser, 11 April 1885, p. 8