In the short story Greenshaw's Folly, Alfred Pollock is working as a gardener at Greenshaw's Folly. Local gossip said that Alfred's grandfather was one of Old Mr Greenshaw's byblows.
He is a member of the archery club in Boreham Lovell.
Portrayals[]
In the 2013 ITV adaptation of Greenshaw's Folly, Alfred Pollock is portrayed by Martin Compston. Here his backstory is slightly different and his position on the Greenshaw family tree is different as well.
Alfred was a alumni of St Faith's Orphanage. Just before taking on the job as the gardener of Greenshaw's Folly, he had spent some time in Barlinnie Prison. Like in the original, he also had an archery hobby.
Alfred is involved in a number of sideplots and scenes which flesh out his character. In one, he is caught apparently stealing some silver candlesticks. In actual fact, he was returning candlesticks which Father Brophy had stolen but he remained silent after being caught. Miss Marple noted that Miss Greenshaw strangely did not dismiss him but kept him on.
In another sideplot, Alfred befriends Archie Oxley, the son of Louisa Oxley. On two occasions he intervenes to save Archie from being kidnapped by Philip Oxley, Louisa's estranged husband.
Like in the original, Alfred is the prime suspect in the killing of Miss Greenshaw but Miss Marple exonerates him during the denouement. She also reveals her deduction that Alfred is actually Miss Greenshaw's illegitimate son. Miss Marple recalled an incident when Miss Greenshaw, on seeing Albert outside the window, quotes Shakespeare's Sonnet number III: "Thou art thy mother's glass and she in thee/ Calls back the lovely April of her prime." Looking at the position of number III in the book of Shakespeare's sonnets, she finds Alfred's birth certificate and what appears to be a letter Miss Greenshaw had written to him. According the the birth certificate, Alfred was born on 23 December 1925 and his father was Thomas Pollock. As Miss Greenshaw was afraid of what her strict father would do to her if he found out, she sent Albert to St Faith's Orphanage where she could keep an eye on him.
In this adaptation, Miss Greenshaw did not make a will so Alfred inherits Greenshaw's Folly at the end. There are indications that he would pair up with Louisa. He asks her to stay on at the house on the pretext that he would still need a secretary to help him manage the place.