1900 A terrible tragedy was discovered at Manchester's Crumpsall workhouse, this morning. During the night, George Pescott, 26, an attendant in the imbecile ward, had become annoyed with the noisy behaviour of an inmate named Francis Southgate who suffered from general paralysis of the insane — a form of dementia associated with advanced stages of syphilis. In an effort to subdue him, Pescott had knelt on Southgate's chest and held his throat, while a second attendant named Hirst held the man's legs. Another inmate, James Tattersall, said that Hirst had whispered to Pescott, 'You've done enough.' The struggle later resumed and Tattersall was instructed by Pescott to hand him a towel which he then twisted around Southgate's neck. At about 3 a.m. Pescott again applied the towel when, according to Tattersall, Southgate said, 'I've had enough, Mr Pescott, you'll hear about this.' Pescott then tightened the twist in the towel with the aid of a poker. There was a gurgling sound and Pescott removed the towel and went away. Coming back to look, he exclaimed, 'Good God! The man is dead. I'll go for the doctor.' As they lifted Southgate onto his bed, he was 'drawing his last.' An inquest on Southgate was told that he had died of asphyxiation. He also had damage to his larynx and a bone in his throat, together with a total of thirty-four scars on his legs, chin and cheek. Southgate was later convicted of manslaughter and was sentenced to seven years penal servitude. It emerged at his trial that the workhouse housed 120 certified lunatics because the county asylum had no room for them. The workhouse had no padded room and violent lunatics were restrained by tying their wrists and ankles to their beds using ordinary bed-sheets.