William Ludgrove

In the novel At Bertram's Hotel, Sir William Ludgrove also known as Mr Justice Ludgrove is a well known judge. At the scene of a robbery of the Carmolly Street branch London and Metropolitan Bank, a witness, a probation officer, had reported that he had seen a black Morris Oxford CMG 265 being driven by Justice Ludgrove. He had a distinctive appearance, with a bulbous nose and a wart.

Justice Ludgrove had a distinctive appearance and he did drive a black Morris Oxford. However, Chief Inspector Day dismissed the idea because Ludgrove had been in court the exact time and had stayed at Bertram's Hotel during the night. Moreover his car number was not CMG 265 but CMG 256. Nonetheless Davy thought it was an uncanny coincidence that cars where of the same make and colour and had numbers which were so similar. Later, Davy also noticed that so many person mentioned in relation to the spate of organised crimes he was investigating seemed to be linked to Bertram's Hotel.

Portrayals
In the BBC 1987 adaptation of the novel, Ludgrove is actually still at the hotel. There is a scene of him entering the lounge hall for tea. Selina Hazy sees him and tells Miss Marple the story of how he was implicated in the Carmolly Street robbery (same facts as mentioned by Davy at the Scotland Yard conference). Selina calls him "Old Dicky Bird". The actor who portrayed him is not credited.