John Atcheler (1792 – 7 March 1867) was the operator of a

slaughterhouse A slaughterhouse, also called abattoir (), is a facility where animals are slaughtered to provide food. Slaughterhouses supply meat, which then becomes the responsibility of a packaging facility. Slaughterhouses that produce meat that is no ...

in the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...

and claimed to be “Horse Slaughterer to Her Majesty

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

”. While horse slaughterers were highly valued at the time, Atcheler still made a significant fortune in his line of work, no doubt in due of his self proclaimed aforementioned title. To this day it is disputed as to whether or not John Atcheler had any form of official title as "Her Majesty's Horse Slaughterer" at all. John Atcheler was married three times and had many children between two of them. Atcheler's grave can be found in Highgate Cemetery in the Camden district of London.

Early life

Atcheler was born in

Hockliffe Hockliffe is a village and civil parish in Bedfordshire on the crossroads of the A5 road which lies upon the course of the Roman road known as Watling Street and the A4012 and B5704 roads. It is about four miles east of Leighton Buzzard. Near ...

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council wa ...

, in 1792, 1851 United Kingdom census
5, Sharps Alley, St Sepulchre, Middlesex
ancestry.co.uk, accessed 31 January 2021 the son of another John Atcheler, ''Marriages Solemnized at the Parish Church of St Mary Magdalene, Bermondsey''
"No. 61, John Atcheler, of this Parish, Bachelor, and Mary Ann Hewson of the same Parish, Spinster, 28th October 1811"
''Marriages Solemnized at Holy Trinity Church, Islington'',
"No. 223, January 28, 1851, John Atcheler, Widower, Horse Slaughterer, son of John Atcheler, Deceased, and Sarah Mansfield, Widow, daughter of James Heather, Deceased"
both at ancestry.co.uk, accessed 4 February 2021 and in his younger days was a

prize fighter Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...

. On 2 September 1815, in a 97-minute fight for ten

guineas The guinea (; commonly abbreviated gn., or gns. in plural) was a coin, minted in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Great Britain between 1663 and 1814, that contained approximately one-quarter of an ounce of gold. The name came from t ...

near

Walworth Walworth () is a district of south London, England, within the London Borough of Southwark. It adjoins Camberwell to the south and Elephant and Castle to the north, and is south-east of Charing Cross. Major streets in Walworth include the Old ...

, he beat Jack Curtis.

Career

Atcheler first practised his trade at Sharp’s Alley, in

Cowcross Street Cowcross Street is a street in London. It runs east–west, from St John Street in the east, to Farringdon Road in the west. Farringdon Station is on the corner of Cowcross Street and Turnmill Street. The Castle is a public house opposite F ...

, Smithfield,Stuart Orr, "Horse slaughterer to Queen Victoria?" i
Highgate Cemetery Newsletter, December 2018
pp. 8–9 and his slaughterhouse soon became the largest in London. By 1853 Atcheler’s name became as familiar as a household word, though this was not necessarily positive, for whilst his occupation was accepted as necessary but repellent, knackers in general had a poor reputation. He moved his business to the Kings Cross area, to be close to the new

Metropolitan Cattle Market The Metropolitan Cattle Market (later Caledonian Market), just off the Caledonian Road in the parish of Islington (now the London Borough of Islington) was built by the City of London Corporation and was opened in June 1855 by Prince Albert. ...

, opened in 1855. His office was at 186 York Road North, Belle-Isle,

Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ar ...

with his slaughterhouse behind the adjacent ''Fortune of War''

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

. When Atcheler died, the yard was taken over by John Harrison who merged his business with that of William Barber, creating ''Harrison Barber'', a company with an effective

monopoly A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situati ...

on the horse slaughter business in London.William John Gordon, ''The Horse-World of London'' (1893), quoted i
"The Darker Side of London History"
at numberonelondon.net, accessed 31 January 2021 There was considerable value in a dead horse. The hide was turned into

leather Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffalo, pigs and hogs, ...

, the hair from the tail and mane hair was used to pad soft furnishings and fill

mattresses A mattress is a large, usually rectangular pad for supporting a lying person. It is designed to be used as a bed, or on a bed frame as part of a bed. Mattresses may consist of a quilted or similarly fastened case, usually of heavy cloth, contain ...

, the

flesh Flesh is any aggregation of soft tissues of an organism. Various multicellular organisms have soft tissues that may be called "flesh". In mammals, including humans, ''flesh'' encompasses muscle Skeletal muscles (commonly referred to as mu ...

became food for dogs and cats, the bones were boiled to extract their oil which was used on

harnesses A harness is a looped restraint or support. Specifically, it may refer to one of the following harness types: * Bondage harness * Child harness * Climbing harness * Dog harness * Pet harness * Five-point harness * Horse harness * Parrot harne ...

and for

soap Soap is a salt of a fatty acid used in a variety of cleansing and lubricating products. In a domestic setting, soaps are surfactants usually used for washing, bathing, and other types of housekeeping. In industrial settings, soaps are use ...

and

glue Adhesive, also known as glue, cement, mucilage, or paste, is any non-metallic substance applied to one or both surfaces of two separate items that binds them together and resists their separation. The use of adhesives offers certain advant ...

manufacture and then ground up with the

hooves The hoof (plural: hooves) is the tip of a toe of an ungulate mammal, which is covered and strengthened with a thick and horny keratin covering. Artiodactyls are even-toed ungulates, species whose feet have an even number of digits, yet the rumi ...

for

manure Manure is organic matter that is used as organic fertilizer in agriculture. Most manure consists of animal feces; other sources include compost and green manure. Manures contribute to the fertility of soil by adding organic matter and nutri ...

fertiliser A fertilizer (American English) or fertiliser (British English; see spelling differences) is any material of natural or synthetic origin that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply plant nutrients. Fertilizers may be distinct from ...

, while the

horseshoes Horseshoe is a shoe for horses and by analogy is applied to many things with a similar shape. Horseshoes (game), a tossing game played with a horseshoe Horseshoe(s) or Horse Shoe(s) may also refer to: Places * Horseshoe Valley (disambiguation) ...

were recycled by

farriers A farrier is a specialist in equine hoof care, including the trimming and balancing of horses' hooves and the placing of shoes on their hooves, if necessary. A farrier combines some blacksmith's skills (fabricating, adapting, and adjus ...

. Atcheler was a friend of the famous prizefighter

Tom Sayers Tom Sayers (15 or 25 May 18268 November 1865) was an English Bare-knuckle boxing, bare-knuckle prize fighter. There were no formal weight divisions at the time, and although Sayers was only five feet eight inches tall and never weighed much mo ...

(1826–1865) and was his

patron Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

. Sayers was a regular visitor to Atcheler's slaughter yard, helping when required. It is said that whenever they parted company Atcheler would say, "Look after the cat's meat". Though Atcheler had a large sign outside his

premises Premises are land and buildings together considered as a property. This usage arose from property owners finding the word in their title deeds, where it originally correctly meant "the aforementioned; what this document is about", from Latin ''pra ...

in York Road proclaiming ''John Atcheler, Horse Slaughterer to Her Majesty'' and was extremely public in making this claim, it seems unlikely that he held a Royal Warrant as such. False claims to Royal Warrants were such a problem that in 1883 an international convention made it illegal, but by that time Atcheler was dead. However, in 1867 the

Court of Probate In the history of the courts of England and Wales, the Court of Probate was created by the Court of Probate Act 1857, which transferred the jurisdiction of the ecclesiastical courts in testamentary matters to the new court so created. The Judg ...

accepted the description of "Horse Slaughterer to Her Majesty" in recording its grant of

probate Probate is the judicial process whereby a will is "proved" in a court of law and accepted as a valid public document that is the true last testament of the deceased, or whereby the estate is settled according to the laws of intestacy in the sta ...

on his will.

Henry Mayhew Henry Mayhew (25 November 1812 – 25 July 1887) was an English journalist, playwright, and advocate of reform. He was one of the co-founders of the satirical magazine ''Punch'' in 1841, and was the magazine's joint editor, with Mark Lemon, in ...

in ''

London Labour and the London Poor ''London Labour and the London Poor'' is a work of Victorian journalism by Henry Mayhew. In the 1840s, he observed, documented and described the state of working people in London for a series of articles in a newspaper, the ''Morning Chronicle'' ...

'' stated that "slaughtermen are said to reap large fortunes very rapidly", and Atcheler was no exception. By his death in 1867, he was worth about £35,000,"ATCHELER John... late of Selina Villa Finchley and of Maiden-lane Kings Cross... Horse Slaughterer to Her Majesty deceased who died 7 March 1867 at Selina Villa aforesaid" in "England and Wales, National Index of Wills and Administrations, 1858–1957," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QPJ9-JHG8 : 30 August 2018), John Atcheler, 28 March 1867; citing Probate, England, United Kingdom, Her Majesty's Stationery Office, Great Britain.; FHL microfilm .

Personal life

Atcheler was married three times, firstly on 28 October 1811 at the Church of St Mary Magdalene,

Bermondsey Bermondsey () is a district in southeast London, part of the London Borough of Southwark, England, southeast of Charing Cross. To the west of Bermondsey lies Southwark, to the east Rotherhithe and Deptford, to the south Walworth and Peckham, a ...

, while living in that parish. He married Mary Ann Hewson; he signed his name in the register firmly, while she made a mark. His second marriage was on 28 January 1851, at Holy Trinity Church,

, to Sarah Mansfield, a widow. In March 1851, they were living in St Sepulchre with his son John, aged 20, hers named Henry Mansfield, 23, and a five-year-old granddaughter, Selina Jones. In 1859, when Atcheler was 68 years old, he married his third wife, Victoria Chancellor. She was the 21-year-old daughter of funeral carriage maker John Chancellor, who supplied horses for

hearses A hearse is a large vehicle, originally a horse carriage but later with the introduction of motor vehicles, a car, used to carry the body of a deceased person in a coffin at a funeral, wake, or memorial service. They range from deliberately a ...

; when Atcheler died she became a wealthy widow. Grave of John Atcheler

Atcheler spent his final years at Selina Villas, a large house in rural

Finchley Finchley () is a large district of north London, England, in the London Borough of Barnet. Finchley is on high ground, north of Charing Cross. Nearby districts include: Golders Green, Muswell Hill, Friern Barnet, Whetstone, Mill Hill and H ...

, where he died on 7 March 1867. He and his second wife are buried at

Highgate Cemetery Highgate Cemetery is a place of burial in north London, England. There are approximately 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves across the West and East Cemeteries. Highgate Cemetery is notable both for some of the people buried there as ...

in separate

graves A grave is a location where a dead body (typically that of a human, although sometimes that of an animal) is buried or interred after a funeral. Graves are usually located in special areas set aside for the purpose of burial, such as gravey ...

. The grave of Sarah Mansfield, who died in 1859, and Atcheler's son and his stepson, lies opposite the grave of

and is marked with a statue of a

Suffolk Punch The Suffolk Horse, also historically known as the Suffolk Punch or Suffolk Sorrel,Dohner, ''Encyclopedia of Historic and Endangered Livestock and Poultry Breeds'' pp. 349–352 is an English breed of draught horse. The first part of the nam ...

horse with a drooping head on a

plinth A pedestal (from French ''piédestal'', Italian ''piedistallo'' 'foot of a stall') or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In c ...

. The statue is a

Grade II Listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

historic structure. In September 1867, at St Pancras, Atcheler’s widow married George Bury, a surgeon and widower, of

Friern Barnet Friern Barnet is a suburban area within the London Borough of Barnet, north of Charing Cross. Its centre is formed by the busy intersection of Colney Hatch Lane (running north and south), Woodhouse Road (taking westbound traffic towards North Fi ...

; they had several children. In 1881, Mrs Bury was staying with Willington Shelton, gentleman, at

Datchet Datchet is a village and civil parish in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England, located on the north bank of the River Thames. Historically part of Buckinghamshire, and the Stoke Hundred, the village was eventually tr ...

. In 1886, her husband died, aged 77. Within a few weeks she married Captain Willington Augustus David Shelton. Victoria Shelton died in

Harley Street Harley Street is a street in Marylebone, Central London, which has, since the 19th century housed a large number of private specialists in medicine and surgery. It was named after Edward Harley, 2nd Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer.< ...

on 1 January 1889, aged fifty. At the time of her death she was living at 49,

Dover Street Dover Street is a street in Mayfair, London. The street is notable for its Georgian architecture as well as the location of historic London clubs and hotels, which have been frequented by world leaders and historic figures in the arts. It also ...

Piccadilly Piccadilly () is a road in the City of Westminster, London, to the south of Mayfair, between Hyde Park Corner in the west and Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is part of the A4 road that connects central London to Hammersmith, Earl's Court, ...

, and her estate was valued for probate at £26,695.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Atcheler, John 1792 births 1867 deaths People from Central Bedfordshire District Burials at Highgate Cemetery