Posted on October 25, 2009 - by Andrew
The evil history of Lancaster’s Palatine Hall
Palatine Hall and 2 Dalton Square are adjacent buildings; number 2 was once the home of the infamous doctor Buck Ruxton.
Ruxton was once called Bukhtyar Rustomji Ratanji Hakim. He was born in Bombay, India, on the 21st of March 1899 and was a Parsi – according to tradition therefore descended from a group of Iranian Zoroastrians who emigrated to Western India more than 1,000 years ago.
Dr Buktyar Rustomi moved to England in 1930, changed his name to Buck Ruxton and began practising as a doctor in from his home.
Life seems to be going well for Ruxton. He had three children with his wife Isabella and mingled with the elite of the society.
However, Buck was intensely jealous and possibly mad. He became sure that Isabella had taken a lover and was having an affair. In a fit of rage he committed a murder – he strangled Isabella with his bare hands. Unfortunately for Buck there was a witness, the building’s maid, one Mary Jane Rogerson.
The evil doctor killed Mary Jane to stop her speaking. Being a trained and calculating surgeon Buck Ruxton cut up the bodies of Isabella and Mary Jane Rogerson using a bath to contain the blood. A bath that would later become evidence in his trial and scattered their body parts over a wide area.
The parts of Mary Jane Rogerson were found buried in a churchyard in Overton, a small village near Morecambe, and Isabella Ruxton were found 100 miles north of Lancaster in a stream near the Scottish town of Moffat.
Buck Ruxton had made some mistakes. In his mad dash from Palatine Hall to Scotland he had nearly hit a cyclist with his car. The cyclist had name a note of his registration plates. The newspaper he used to wrap some of the parts in was a special edition; sold only in Morecambe and Lancaster and had headlines that featured the Morecambe Carnival.
He was caught and brought to trial. The trial caught the attention of the public; not just for the horrible deaths at Palatine Hall but fore the forensic techniques used to expose the doctor; early fingerprinting was used, x-ray technology was used and even forensic entomology.
Buck Ruxton was hanged in Manchester, in Strangeways prison, on the 12th of May 1936.
Palatine Hall, the house on Dalton Square, was abandoned for many years after the murders. It was refitted in 1980 and is now a commercial building.
During the trial the public adapted the song “Red Sails in the Sunset”
Red stains on the carpet,
Red stains on the knife
Oh Dr Buck Ruxton
You murdered your wife.
Then Mary she saw you
You thought she would tell
So Dr Buck Ruxton
You killed her as well.
Hauntings
No one would live in Palatine Hall or the house after the twin murders. Today no one sleeps in the building.
Some locals and paranormal experts suggest the building is haunted. Likely ghosts include Isabella and Mary Jane Rogerson who both died in Palatine Hall.
Some investigators, on Twitter, have talked about orbs being photographed in the square and of the possibility of EVP from the building.
In Pure Spirit
Have you been to Palatine Hall, number 2 or anywhere in Dalton Square? What was your experience like?
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October 25, 2009
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Er… I'm afraid you're slightly mistaken.
Dr. Ruxton did indeed practice from No.2 Dalton Square, but that address isn't Palatine Hall. In your photo, Palatine Hall is on the right, behind the tree, whereas No.2 is to the left, behind the cars.
Palatine Hall is not, and never has been, a doctors' surgery; internally, it's entirely unsuitable for that purpose. In over two centuries, it's been a catholic chapel, temperance hall, music hall and cinema, and is now occupied by council offices (I worked there in the 1990s).
What may be causing confusion is that No.2 is also used by the City Council, and the two buildings may now be linked inside. In 1930, they definitely weren't.
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October 25, 2009
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Thanks for the local insight and corrections. Both the people I've spoken to seemed to talk about number 2 and Palatine Hall being one in the same so I suspect they're now joined pr that people lazily refer to Palatine Hall but actually mean number 2, I've seen that happen before. It would be great to find someone who works inside today to confirm this
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October 25, 2009
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Dr Buxton didn’t really think his murders through very well, i have just heard the story and it is very intriguing to the fact of where jelousy drives you to the point of murder.
he probably lead a very sad life in which to live and he did in which make his murder easy to find out as such as i am only 15 i am intrigued by history and murders usch as these. but in paranormal terms this man is not to be crossed with .
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November 3, 2009
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my family lived on bulk street just around the corner from dr ruxtons and my mother once told me that ruxton had asked her out??? i really don`t know how true this was but glad she didn`t go!!!
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February 7, 2010
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Stay away from what is myth-concluded but indeed stay with what hath-substance and you can touch it, then you know it is real.
Regards,
Raymond E.O.Ella.
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February 9, 2010
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I've recently discovered that Mary Jane Rogerson is the niece of one of my ancestors, Thomas Close. Thomas was married to Mary Jane Wilson and Mary Jane Rogerson was the daughter of one of the siblings of Mary Jane Wilson. Thomas lived in Lancaster and his death was certified by Buck Ruxton. His death was recorded as heart failure but noted that there was no post mortem….makes you wonder!!
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February 22, 2010
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The person that stated number 2 is behind the cars is right.When i was little my brother and i lived close to the ruxton house and we would go round there,My brother would jump over the wall and try to get in, as it was rumoured the bloodstained bath was still in there,so being a typical boy he wanted to see.I always stayed where i was,noway was i going to jump over, i was terrified especially when id hear him screaming that buck's ghost was after him.He alway's told me that he'd got in and the bath was still there. How brother's like to scare thier sister's.i believe the bath was used as a horse trough at preston police station.