30/05/26 - The Oddingley Murders Walk

Murderer, MurderedToday's walk - courtesy of the Ramblers - is a themed walk to find the locations of an 1806 double murder. Here is the story - and the characters involved.The Oddingley Murders were a notorious Worcestershire crime that began in 1806 when Rev. George Parker, the unpopular rector of Oddingley, was shot and beaten to death while crossing a field near the village. Parker had become deeply unpopular with local farmers because of disputes over church tithes.Suspicion quickly fell on Richard Heming, a local labourer and wheelwright, who disappeared immediately after the murder. For 24 years it was assumed he had escaped justice.In 1830, workmen discovered Heming's skeleton buried beside a barn wall at Netherwood Farm. The discovery revealed that the suspected murderer had himself been murdered shortly after killing Parker. Evidence suggested that a group of local farmers had hired Heming to kill Parker and then silenced him to prevent him revealing the conspiracy. Several…