Profit, Silence and Infant Death: The Case of Margaret Waters

In this episode, we head back to Victorian Brixton and into one of the most disturbing cases we’ve ever covered on Sinister South.

Before we get there though, we do what we do best and chat absolute nonsense. There’s an unexpected fifth cat, a house that smells like a crime scene for all the wrong reasons, the slow realisation that our bodies are ageing at an alarming rate, and a surprisingly serious discussion about V pillows, podcasts, and why no one should ever attempt a Scottish accent out loud.

Then we bring things sharply back down to earth.

This episode focuses on Margaret Waters, a woman who ran a baby farming operation in 19th century South London. What began as paid childcare arrangements became something far darker. Infants taken for lump sums, drugged into silence, starved, and left to die once they were no longer profitable.

We look at how Waters was able to operate for years in plain sight, why Brixton’s rapid expansion made the perfect cover, and how poverty, anonymity and a complete lack of regulation allowed unimaginable cruelty to flourish. This is not a story of desperation gone wrong. It is a story about someone who learned exactly how much suffering she could get away with.

Listener discretion is strongly advised. This episode contains discussion of infant death, deliberate neglect and infanticide.

Sources include:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Waters
https://www.londonmuseum.org.uk/collections/v/object-718109/confession-execution-of-m-waters-the-baby-farmer-at-horsemonger-lane-gaol-on-tuesday-october-11th/
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/63114230
https://kar.kent.ac.uk/62866/27/Baby%20Farmers.pdf
https://www.brixtonbuzz.com/2013/06/the-tale-of-margaret-waters-brixtons-notorious-1870-baby-farmer-as-retold-through-the-spectators-archives/
https://archive.spectator.co.uk/article/1st-october-1870/11/the-trade-of-murder
https://vocal.media/fyi/london-s-vile-victorian-baby-farmers
https://livingwithdying.leeds.ac.uk/2022/11/01/unloved-and-undisciplined-nineteenth-century-baby-farming-and-the-demonisation-of-working-class-mothers-across-the-ages/
https://southshieldslocalhistorygroup.co.uk/index.php/history/19th-century/a-19th-century-epidemic-of-infanticide/
https://www.nytimes.com/1870/10/15/archives/the-trade-of-murder-review-of-the-case-of-margaret-waters-the.html
https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetary-policy/inflation/inflation-calculator
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godfrey%27s_Cordial

Support the show

Thanks for tuning in! If you loved diving into the dark corners of South London with us, don't forget to hit that subscribe button to never miss an episode of "Sinister South."

Also, follow us on Instagram @SinisterSouthPodcast for sneak peeks, behind-the-scenes content, and more cheeky banter, or www.sinistersouthpod.co.uk. Remember, every crime tells a story... and South is the best side of the river...

Produced and hosted by Hannah Williams & Rachel Baines
Mixed & edited by Purple Waves Sound (A.K.A Will)