Case file · Series 14, Episode 4 · Season 14, Episode 4
The Oblong Murders
Jones enters a New Age retreat under cover after a young woman disappears from Malham Manor.
The 60-second case card
Should I watch this one?
The investigation splits neatly between Jones inside the Oblong Foundation and Barnaby examining the manor's less spiritual history.
- Best for
- New Age group · Undercover inquiry · Country house
- Mood
- Eccentric
- Team
- DCI John Barnaby with DS Ben Jones
- Spoiler guidance
- Read the premise freely; open the marked sections only after watching. Check the linked provider advisory for further viewing information.
Why it matters
The investigation splits neatly between Jones inside the Oblong Foundation and Barnaby examining the manor's less spiritual history.
Lucy Oliver disappears after joining the Oblong Foundation, a New Age group operating from Malham Manor. Because she is connected to friends of pathologist George Bullard, Barnaby agrees to investigate while Jones uses his recent undercover training to enter the group as an inductee.
The manor belongs to Ruth Lambert, whose parents died in a boat explosion, and Barnaby suspects that their history is connected to the present disappearance. When a Foundation leader is killed, the retreat's language of reinvention begins to look useful to people concealing very practical crimes.
Break the seal: reveal the finding
Who was the killer in The Oblong Murders? (spoiler)
The Foundation's mysteries are entangled with the earlier boat explosion and the ownership of Malham Manor. Barnaby and Jones expose how new identities were used to bury an older murder.
Spoiler-safe viewing companion
Three questions to carry into the episode
Three spoiler-safe questions for your rewatch.
- Place
What does Midsomer Malham conceal?
- Theme
Which details could have more than one meaning?
- Teamwork
Watch DCI John Barnaby and DS Ben Jones: who notices what?
More episode detailsProduction, cast, deaths and filming information
Credits, context and checked facts
Production and cast
- TV series
- Series 14
- Episode number
- Episode 4
- Written by
- David Hoskins
- Directed by
- Renny Rye
- Listed transmission date(s)
- 25 May 2011
- Reported filming period
- October–November 2010
- Detective
- DCI John Barnaby
- Partner
- DS Ben Jones
- Pathologist
- Dr George Bullard · Barry Jackson
- Principal setting
- Midsomer Malham
- Casebook tone
- Eccentric
Sources accompany the production credits and filming links.
Fictional settings and real filming places are listed separately. Filming links include 1 mapped area; 2 exact sites.
Credits and archive connections
- Writer credits9 episodes credited to David Hoskins
- Director credits23 episodes directed by Renny Rye
- Release positionCase 85 of 144
- Story characterEccentric · New Age group · Undercover inquiry
- Location evidence2 exact screen-use matches
Ben Jones spends much of the case inside the Oblong Foundation under an assumed identity.
Barry Jackson makes his final regular appearance as pathologist Dr George Bullard.
Sources for the production file
Published episode chronology and credits ↗Official ITV programme page ↗Filming-location reference index ↗Credits follow the linked chronology. Dates can differ between territories. Consult original credits for story, teleplay and adaptation wording. External synopses may contain spoilers.
Selected episode credits
The Oblong Murders cast
These selected cast entries link to their published profiles. They do not include every name shown in the end credits.
Fiona Dolman
Charity Wakefield
Christine Bottomley
Holly Aird
Barbara Flynn
Kevin Doyle
Paul Hilton
Sophie Stanton
Francesca Hunt
Heather Tobias
Oliver Ryan
Simon Day
John Woodvine
Will Knightley
Christina Greatrex
Elizabeth Crarer
Richard Albrecht
Tom Fisher
Jack Crutch
Josephine Butler
Greg Sheffield
The performers behind this case
Core cast
Follow the cast links for full actor and character guides.
Neil Dudgeon
John Barnaby · Detective Chief Inspector- Messiah
- Life of Riley
- The Mrs Bradley Mysteries
Jason Hughes
Ben Jones · Police Constable · Detective Sergeant · Inspector- This Life
- Marcella
- The Pact
Barry Jackson
Dr George Bullard · Police pathologist- Cathy Come Home
- Doctor Who
- Barry Lyndon
Image credits identify the licence used. No programme publicity stills are reproduced.
Forensic team
Dr George Bullard
- Credit
- Resident pathologist
- Played by
- Barry Jackson
Spoiler-controlled deaths
Deaths recorded in this case
4 people die in this case, according to the linked death record.
Break the seal: reveal the list of deaths
- Jeremy & Carolyn Lambert×2
Murder · Explosion
Performer check- Jeremy Lambert: not listed in the current published cast recordNo Jeremy Lambert performer appears in the current published cast record.
- Carolyn Lambert: Christina Greatrex
- Max Fuller
Murder · Stabbing or impalement
Performer check- Max Fuller: Will Knightley
- Freddie Raft
Murder · Stabbing or impalement
Performer check- Freddie Raft: Josephine Butler
Break a second seal: reveal the verified killer
Who was the killer in The Oblong Murders? (spoiler)
Claire PowellClaire disconnected the Lamberts' boat gas and phoned Carolyn to trigger the explosion after their secret loan was called in. She then killed witness Max Fuller and Freddie Raft when the promissory note resurfaced; her attempt to kill Barnaby, Jones and Paddy in a second gas explosion failed because the bottle was empty.
Verified motive
Claire killed the Lamberts rather than repay the secret £85,000 loan that had financed the pub and sustained the life she and Paddy presented. She killed Max because he was the contract's surviving witness and Freddie after Freddie used the rediscovered promissory note to demand help, trying to destroy every route to the debt and the original murders.
Verified important clue
Archive case 85 · checked 16 September 2026The promissory note recovered from the Lamberts' laptopThe digital document records the concealed loan that funded the pub and names Max Fuller as its witness; Max's murder on the night of the boat explosion and the resurfacing note connect Claire to the Lamberts' deaths, Freddie's discovery and the later gas trap without treating Lucy's infiltration as part of the killings.
Verified decisive clue
Archive case 85 · checked 17 September 2026The promissory note recovered from the Lamberts' laptopThe digital document records the concealed loan that funded the pub and names Max Fuller as witness. Its recovery connects Claire to the Lamberts' gas explosion, Max's murder and Freddie's death while preserving Lucy's infiltration and the failed second gas trap as separate acts.
Verified death and discovery order
Archive case 85 · checked 16 September 2026- discoveryThe Lamberts call in their secret loan
The £85,000 that financed the pub becomes due, threatening the life Claire and Paddy have built.
- deathJeremy and Carolyn Lambert die in the boat explosion
Claire disconnects the gas and phones Carolyn to trigger the blast, killing both lenders rather than repaying the debt.
- deathMax Fuller is killed
Claire kills the surviving witness to the loan agreement as the manor's older history comes under scrutiny.
- discoveryThe promissory note resurfaces
The rediscovered document restores proof of the debt and gives Freddie Raft leverage over Claire.
- deathFreddie Raft is killed
Claire kills Freddie after he uses the note to demand her help, trying to close the last route back to the debt and boat murders.
- discoveryThe second gas explosion fails
Claire tries to kill Barnaby, Jones and Paddy, but the empty bottle prevents another blast and exposes the repeated method.
Real place → fictional identity
Where was The Oblong Murders filmed?
The Eight Bells
Used as: The real building supplied the village-pub exterior in fictional Midsomer Malham.
Representative photograph of the real filming location; the exact camera angle or building may differ.Chenies Manor
Used as: The Tudor manor becomes Malham Manor, headquarters of the Oblong Foundation.
Sources accompany the identified filming places.
Wider filming areas