British Network Television
‘Father Brown’: S02.E04. “The Shadow of the Scaffold”
Violet Fernsley is due to hang for killing her violent husband Ivan
This second series episode of Father Brown, The Shadow of the Scaffold, opens with the series title character (Mark Williams) preparing to perform last rites for Violet Fernsley (Emma Stansfield).
Violet, having been found guilty of murdering her abusive husband Ivan, is scheduled to be executed. She refuses to confess to Ivan’s murder and insists that she is innocent.
It is curious, with how no body was never found, how the prosecuting barrister was able to make a case for murder. Normally, even in 1950’s English jurisprudence, habeas corpus (produce the body) existed. The defending barrister clearly dropped the ball.
At the last minute, with Violet being led to the noose, she claims she is pregnant. The execution, for verification purposes, is immediately halted. The death penalty, back when there was such a thing in the British Isles, were carried out swiftly. In this case, even though an appeal was denied, the time frame we’re looking at must have been significantly less than nine months.
Charlie Denham (Stuart Laing), a prison guard at the facility where Violet is held, informs Father Brown that a pregnancy test will take approximately three days to come back with the results. How times have changed? Tests in the 1950’s, compared with the significant advancements that have been made, were much slower and far less reliable.
If the test were to come back positive, in keeping with established English laws, Violet’s sentence would be commuted. If the test result came back negative, despite the unreliability of such tests, the execution would go ahead.
Father Brown, not completely convinced Violet is telling the truth, is suspicious of the apparent pregnancy. Violet, with at least three days on her side, tells the Catholic priest to speak to a man named Peter ().
Meanwhile, at the Fernsley Farm, Ethel Fernsley(Susan Brown) and her two sons await for new of Violet’s successful execution. Instead, Mrs Fernsley, Archie Fernsley (Adam Sopp), and Wilf Fernsley (Joe Sims) are informed of what transpired at the prison.
The Fernsley family own a butcher’s shop in Kembleford. Inspector Sullivan (Tom Chambers), anticipating the Catholic priest would make an appearance at the shop, makes it clear to Father Brown he doesn’t want him involved in any form of investigation. Father Brown assures the police inspector he is merely there to buy meat for that evening’s supper.
It is revealed that Brown was on retreat during the initial investigation. Inspector Sullivan, like Father Brown doubts Violet’s pregnancy claim. There is cause for Inspector Sullivan to maintain his beliefs so aggressively. Some eight months prior to Ivan Fernsley’s apparent murder, he assaulted his wife. The assault caused Violet to suffer a miscarriage. Consequently, because of the trauma, Violet was left unable to conceive. The police inspector, with the knowledge he has, remains adamantly convinced he caught the killer.
Father Brown, knowing Inspector Sullivan will hang around the butcher’s shop, feigns his departure. Once the police inspector has gone on his way, needing answers to his questions, Father Brown takes a moment of Wilf’s time. Wilf, claiming to know several men named Peter, states none of them have a motive to have killed his brother.
The Catholic priest’s references to Wilf having inherited both the farm and the butcher’s shop from Ivan is a bridge too far for him and subsequently takes offence at Father Brown’s line of questioning. Wilf threatens Brown to keep away from his family.
Eslewhere, back at the prison, it is revealed Prison Guard Denham and Violet have been engaged in a discreet relationship. Is it possible Violet’s pregnancy can be attributed to Mr Denham? Mr Denham, even though her circumstances are somewhat precarious, wants to marry Violet.
Meanwhile, as we should have expected, Father Brown has arrived at the Fernsley Farm. When the Catholic priest arrives at the farm, noting the presence of Lady Felicia Montague’s (Nancy Carroll) car parked outside, Father Brown immediately crosses paths with Sidney “Sid” Carter (Alex Price). Lady Felicia, herself, is inside the residence comforting Mrs Fernsley.
Father Brown and Sid, as one might expect of these characters, do a little snooping around the farmhouse. They soon run into Archie. Archie, even though he possesses a gift for taxidermy, has a few developmental issues.
Father Brown discovers a few family photographs featuring both family members and a few farmhands. One of the farm hands, even though his name was Piotr, was referred to as being Peter. Archie, observing the photograph with Peter in it, informs the Catholic priest this farmhand had a thing for Violet. He apparently left the farm shortly after Ivan’s death.
The Catholic priest takes a moment of Mrs Fernsley’s time. It is here that Mrs Fernsley recounts to Father Brown she heard Violet and Ivan arguing then it suddenly went silent. Mrs Fernsley recalls how Violet claimed, when quizzed about the blood on her hands, that it came from a pig bite she had suffered. The lack of an injury suggested that was a lie.
The following morning, when Mrs Bridgette McCarthy (Sorcha Cusack) makes her presence felt at the butcher’s shop, she complains to Wilf regarding the quality of the meat Father Brown purchased the previous day. Wilf’s reaction suggests he couldn’t careless what Mrs McCarthy thought of his meat.
The butcher, when cutting up pig stomachs, makes a grim discovery in the shape of a human finger. The finger is still wearing a ring. The ring, confirmed to have belonged to Ivan, points to his body having been fed to the pigs.
Whilst Father Brown provides to Inspector Sullivan information pertaining to Piotr’s disappearance, knowing what the police inspector’s response would be, there should be no surprises what the Catholic priest says is rejected. Inspector Sullivan reminds the Catholic priest that Piotr left the farm weeks before Ivan’s death.
Father Brown goes to the prison to perform Holy Communion for Violet. When there, instead of performing Holy Communion, he asks more questions of her. The answers Violet provides the Catholic priest ultimately send him on a wild goose chase.
Violet, suggesting he might also be a victim, adamantly believes Peter had no involvement in her husband’s death. Peter, from how Violet tells it, had been sympathetic to her plight and attempted to help her escape her violent husband. Peter vanished the day she was due to run away.
When Father Brown and Sid return to the farm, something that seems odd to them, it doesn’t escape their attention Mr Denham is hanging around. Shortly thereafter, after Mr Denham leaves, they enter the farmhouse and discover the place had been rummaged as if someone had been seeking clues. They discover Wilf had took his now dead brother to court in an attempt to gain control of both the farm and the butchery business. Wilf, having lost the case, clearly has a motive for murder.
Archie, having returned home from shooting pheasants, discovers Father Brown and Sid in the farm house. During an obviously mismatched fight between Sid and Archie, one which the chauffeur could have easily won if he tried harder, a taxidermy diorama is accidentally knocked to the floor. The diorama in question features a buried pirate treasure. Father Brown finds Peter’s watch and Sid quickly realises a lot of the “buried treasure” is in fact human teeth.
Even though Father Brown presents this latest evidence to Inspector Sullivan, the Catholic priest’s efforts fall on deaf ears. The police inspector remains unconvinced of Violet’s innocence. Inspector Sullivan believes, instead of exonerating Violet, the news evidence Father Brown brought to his attention makes her look like a serial killer.
Meanwhile, back at the Fernsley Farm, we discover Wilf had overheard his brother speaking with Father Brown. After investigating the living quarters provided for the farmhands, noting the presence of a mass of fabric blocking the chimney flue, he surmises there was intent to kill the sleeping farmhands.
Wilf, regretting having provided his brother with an alibi, confronts Archie regarding his strange behaviour. Shortly afterwards, the family van is used to run over and kill Wilf. Lady Felicia discovers Wilf’s body being fed upon by the pigs.
Inspector Sullivan, after arriving at the scene, is told by Archie how he witnessed Mr Denham snooping around the farm. The police inspector receives news that Violet’s pregnancy test came back negative. Wanting to verify Archie’s comments, Inspector Sullivan approaches Mr Denham regarding his possible involvement with Violet. Could the prison guard be Violet’s accomplice?
Father Brown, after finding the blocked flue in the farmhands quarters, speaks with Mrs Fernsley again. Whilst he initially believes she’s lying about having seen Violet at the water, mainly because she’s wheelchair bound, Father Brown realises she is faking her disability. The fabric blocking the flue came from one of Mrs Fernsley’s old dresses.
It turns out, whilst Inspector Sullivan had suspected Violet of being a serial killer, he should have been pointing the finger at Mrs Fernsley. Mrs Fernsley had been killing the farmhands. When Wilf happened upon what she had been doing, Mrs Fernsley killed him.
Mrs Fernsley, after hitting Lady Felicia on the head with a rolling pin, bolts out of the door as if there were never anything wrong with her legs. With no time to waste, Father Brown and Sid give chase after Mrs Fernsley. They soon find themselves locked in a pig pen with some seemingly ravenous pigs. It seems, because Mrs Fernsley has been feeding her victims to the pigs, they have developed a taste for human meat.
Father Brown explains to Sid, noting how the Catholic priest possesses a fairly good understanding of human nature, Mrs Fernsley is suffering from a mental disorder known as Munchausen Syndrome. Munchausen Syndrome, for people not familiar with the disorder, causes individuals to fake a disability so they can garner sympathy and assistance from others.
Mrs Fernsley, having killed Peter because she saw him as a threat, effectively kept Violet as her slave. The farmhands were likely killed because they possibly witnessing her out of her wheelchair.
Father Brown and Sid manage to escape the pig pen and soon find themselves face-to-face with Inspector Sullivan. The police inspector is initially unconvinced Mrs Fernsley has any involvement in the deaths. It takes Inspector Sullivan seeing with his own eyes Mrs Fernsley race past in the van for him to recognise the truth. Archie, with him having blocked the exit with a tractor, prevents his mother from escaping. Inspector Sullivan promptly arrests Mrs Fernsley.
Later, at St Mary’s Catholic Church, Father Brown meets with Mr Denham and a recently released Violet. They are at the church to discuss with the Catholic priest their desire to marry. In the confessional, no surprise to Father Brown, Violet confesses to killing her abusive husband. Mrs Fernsley, except for Ivan’s murder, confessed to all the killings.
Fathr Brown questions whether Violet really wants to marry Mr Denham. There is an obvious hesitation in Violet’s voice which tells us the desire is all his. She doesn’t know how she can tell him the truth.
The Catholic priest, on the wedding day, presents Archie with a gift: a stuffed fox dressed as a priest. Archie, despite earlier comments made by both Lady Felicia and Mrs McCarthy, finds the gift most amusing.
When Mr Denham arrives at the church, with difficult news to deliver, Father Brown tells the prison guard there will be no marriage because Violet decided to devote herself to G-d and become a nun.
