Centenary of 'The Green Bicycle Murder' to be marked at Harborough district church

A church in a Harborough district village where the victim of one of the county's well-known murders is buried will be open on the centenary of the crime.
St Mary and All Saints Church, in StoughtonSt Mary and All Saints Church, in Stoughton
St Mary and All Saints Church, in Stoughton

In 1919 21-year-old Bella Wright from Sloughton was cycling near Gaulby when she was hit in the face by a bullet. Her death remains an unsolved crime.

The case became known as The Green Bicycle Murder due to a person seen riding such a bike with Bella that evening.

Over the decades the unsolved death has created great interest with people visiting the area where the incident took place, and St Mary and All Saints Church, in Stoughton, where Bella is buried.

A spokesman for St Mary and All Saints Church, in Stoughton, said: "From time to time the Leicestershire media delves into and publishes the tragic account of the death of Bella Wright of Stoughton and known as The Green Bicycle Murder which took place in 1919.

"This awful event is probably the most well known and the most widely speculated death in the County of Leicestershire other than that of Richard III in 1485.

"Anthony Brown’s recent exploration of Bella’s death may be found in his immensely readable book ‘The Green Bicycle Mystery’ which has become a bestseller, certainly in Leicestershire, and as time has passed the case attracts more and more local interest.

"Friday July 5, 2019, marks the centenary of this sad yet intriguing affair and it has come to the notice of the members of St Mary and All Saints Church, Stoughton that quite a number of interested followers of this mystery will be making their way to the Church at Stoughton to visit Bella’s grave.

"The grave itself is insignificant and hard to find – indeed, being from a poor family, it was not even marked until the 1980s.

"We at St Mary’s are keen to welcome and guide interested visitors, and to this end we propose to man and to open the Church on Saturday July 6 between 10am and 4pm when drinks and cakes will be provided as well as an opportunity for interested visitors to sit and chat about this mystifying and mind-stretching event with its subsequent and controversial high profile murder trial."