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MON · 2 NOV · No. 024 Sign in

Monday, 2 November 2026 | Difficulty I

The Case of the Vicar's Borrowed Bible

A 17th-century Bible, on loan to a Kent village vicar for restoration, vanishes from his locked study. The antiquary lies about his evening. The verger says nothing.

Engraved key object plate for The Case of the Vicar's Borrowed Bible.
Narrated by Dr Watson — the case as it stood before us
Victorian newspaper-style illustration for The Case of the Vicar's Borrowed Bible, set at The vicarage of St Anselm's, Cudworth, Kent.

Section I

The Scene

Hand-drawn case map for The Case of the Vicar's Borrowed Bible, showing The vicarage of St Anselm's, Cudworth, Kent.
The ground in question.
Setting
The vicarage of St Anselm's, Cudworth, Kent
Time
Monday morning, third Monday of August 1893
Weather
A warm summer morning; the rose-garden in full bloom
Atmosphere
A vicar's panelled study; a small fire low in the grate; the smell of old leather and beeswax; the church-bell tolling for matins from across the lane.

Section II

The Suspects

  • Mr Tallow

    Curate, four months newly arrived

    A keen, industrious young man of twenty-five, lately of an Oxford college. He had been in the study at six on Wednesday for a half-hour's reading and had left at half past, by his own account.

  • Mrs Peake

    Housekeeper, twenty-three years' service

    A composed, motherly woman of fifty-five, whose only complaint of her place was the curate's late hours at the lamp. She had set the supper-tray on Wednesday at half past seven and had been in the kitchen until ten.

  • Mr Drewry

    Village antiquary, retired physician

    A weathered scholar of sixty, whose Wednesday evening had begun, by his account, with a walk past the vicarage at dusk. He had been seen by the verger upon the lane at eight o'clock and had said, when pressed, that he had not been on the lane that hour at all. The lie was thin and the verger was sure.

  • Mr Hardy

    Verger, fifteen years

    A heavy, slow-spoken man of fifty whose son in Maidstone had a standing debt at a sporting-house and a court-summons for the Saturday following. He had been at the vicarage on Wednesday evening to wind the church clock; he had left, on his own account, at quarter past eight.

Section III

The Evidence

  1. The locked study

    The study door had been locked from outside on the Wednesday evening at half past eight; the key hung at Mrs Peake's chatelaine through the night. The window-catches were all sound. There was no other entry.

  2. Mr Drewry's lie about the lane

    The antiquary, on first questioning, denied having been upon the village lane at eight o'clock - the very hour the verger had seen him. The lie was abrupt, badly told, and at once retracted under our gentle pressure.

  3. Mrs Drewry's married sister

    Mrs Drewry had a younger married sister, Mrs Lascombe, in the next village; the antiquary had visited her that evening at quarter past seven and stayed until eight. The sister was unhappy in her marriage; the visits were a small comfort, kept private from the parish.

  4. The verger's son's court-summons

    Mr Hardy's son had a debt of fourteen pounds at a Maidstone sporting-house and a court-summons for the Saturday following. The verger had been seen at the post-office on Tuesday morning trying to procure a postal-order to settle it; he had not the means.

  5. The verger's church-clock route

    Mr Hardy's regular Wednesday evening duty was the winding of the church clock, which carried him through the vicarage's small back-corridor from a quarter past seven to eight. The corridor passed the study door upon the left. He had Mrs Peake's master-key on a chain at his waistcoat for the church and the vestry; the study key, on inspection, was of the same maker's hand.

Section IV

Statements & Testimony

  • Mr Drewry

    Village antiquary

    “"I was upon the lane at eight on Wednesday evening, sir, as the verger says. I had not wished it spoken of; I had been at my sister-in-law's at quarter past seven. I am not proud of my visits there; her marriage is unhappy and the parish would say what the parish would say."”

  • Mrs Peake

    Housekeeper

    “"The vicar locked his study at half past eight, sir. The key was on my chatelaine through the night. Mr Hardy was about the house till eight, winding the clock and the corridor's small clock; he would have passed the study door three or four times in his round."”

Section V

Your Verdict

Three picks render a verdict. Name the culprit, choose the method, and nail the keystone clue. We score all three — partial credit if you got the culprit but missed the method, full credit only if you got Holmes’s exact reasoning.

1. Name the culprit
2. Choose the method

Which of these accounts of the deed best matches the evidence?

3. Pick the keystone clue

Of all the evidence above, which single piece nails the case?

Choose a culprit, a method, and a keystone clue to render your verdict.