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Public Execution

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Wendy

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This is an excerpt from R.K.Dents book Old and New Birmingham published 1880.

A Public Hanging
This is an account of the first and only public execution within the boudaries of the town. A watchman pacing Snow Hill during the night of July 18th, 1806, questioned a suspicious character who shot him by pistol and mortally wounded him. A man called Phillip Matsell was accused of the crime, arrested and found guilty. He was condemed to be hanged at the spot where the deed was committed. On August 22nd, a strange and grim sight was witnessed in the busy streets of Birmingham, such as had never been seen in the town before. A gibbet was errected near the bottom of Snow Hill, at the junction with Great Charles Street, with a scaffold. Large crowds of the idle, dissolute and curious turned out to see the sight. A crowd met the coach containing the criminal at Camp Hill and greeted Matsell with shouts and hisses. He was bought out in the middle of the crowd, pinioned by the executioner with cords, in sight of everyone, placed in an open cart covered with black, and with his coffin before him, the hangman on one side and a clegyman on the other, the procession passed through Deritend to Snow Hill. There was a dence crowd of nearly 50,000 people some jeering and cursing and some sobbing and hysterical, the only calm person was said to be the condemed. He spurred all spiritual consolation and practical assistance, and leaped in the air with a "here goes" as he was suspended on a gibbet 20ft high.
 
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This time of year ones thoughts may turn to Guy Fawkes and the other conspirators of the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. Many of them were based in the Midlands between Stratford & Stafford and the plot was the prelude to a popular revolt in the Midlands during which King James I's nine-year-old daughter, Princess Elizabeth, was to be installed as the Catholic head of state.

I came across this contemporary account of their public executions which, for high treason, was to be hanged, drawn and quartered (pictured). If there had been women this would have been burning at the stake (the punishment also for heresy and witchcraft).

Neither a pleasant option, sickening in fact, and why they made every attempt to die in the first part of the gruesome process. What I found even more surprising is that this was not repealed until 1870 (when it was replaced by "just" hanging)!!

What I wondered is - were any such executions performed in Birmingham or its environs?

P.S. The last public hanging in Britain took place at Snow Hill, Birmingham in 1806 - I'd also be interested in the story of this too....
 
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Aiden, that might have been the last public hanging in Birmingham, but not in Britain. My 3 x gt grandfather was hanged for his part in a murder at Stratford upon Avon in 1821 (murder was not the original idea though, I have to say) - at Warwick. That was public, I have a copy of the newspaper report, which was made into a book in the 1850's as a 'deterrent'.

Shortie
 
I think theres a plaque somewhere, Gt Charles St possibly, which marks the spot of the last public execution in Brum. Think the victims name was Mansell.
 
Yes, it is near or on the railway arch near Gt Charles Street and Livery Street if I remember rightly.

Aidan - I realised when I had gone downstairs you were talking about the whole kaboodle, not just public hanging which is still execution. I apologise!

Shortie
 
The last public execution in Britain was as late as 1868 - Michael Barratt at Newgate. He was a Fenian bomber.

Interestingly, most US states require executions to be 'public', hence the large number of witnesses who are invited to watch. After 1868 all British executions were totally private, with no witnesses at all other than (usually) the Sheriff or his representative.

The Gunpowder Plot is hugely interesting, because it now seems very likely that the whole thing was a Government set-up, and that Guy Fawkes & Co were fall-guys (pardon the pun). Not that they didn't load gunpowder under the Houses of Parliament, but how convenient that they were caught just before they lit the fuse...

Big Gee
 
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There is also some doubt as to whether Michael Barrett was guilty,he was probably in Scotland at the time of the bombing of the Clerkenwell prison...for which he was hung.
As an aside, the first person to be hung in Australia was Thomas Barrett...he was guilty...of being a bit of a petty thief ???.
 
Big Gee said:
T...
The Gunpowder Plot is hugely interesting, because it now seems very likely that the whole thing was a Government set-up, and that Guy Fawkes & Co were fall-guys (pardon the pun). Not that they didn't load gunpowder under the Houses of Parliament, but how convenient that they were caught just before they lit the fuse...

Big Gee
Click to expand...

The last page of that account tells of the letter - but who sent it??? The controversy rages...
 
[Two short accounts of Philip Matsell's demise: one contemporary, the other ... colourful. Cherchez la femme! ;)]

The Newcastle Courant (23 August 1806):
At Warwick assizes, Philip Matsell, otherwise Drake, for shooting at, and dreadfully wounding Robert Twyford a watchman in Birmingham, and William Robathan and Isaac Caddick, for coining, received sentence of death, and were left for execution. Matsell is to be hanged at Birmingham, near the place where he committed the crime.​
Thomas Harman. Showell's Dictionary of Birmingham (Birmingham: Cornish Brothers, [1885]):
Executions.

... The last public execution here under the old laws was that of Philip Matsell, who was sentenced to be hanged for shooting a watchman named Twyford, on the night of July 22, 1806. An alibi was set up in defence, and though it was unsuccessful, circumstances afterwards came to light tending to prove that though Matsell was a desperado of the worst kind, who had long kept clear of the punishments he had deserved, in this instance he suffered for another. There was a disreputable gang with one of whom, Kate Pedley, Matsell had formed an intimate connection, who had a grudge against Twyford on account of his interfering [in] and preventing several robberies they had planned, and it is said that it was his paramour, Kit Pedley, who really shot Twyford, having dressed herself in Matsell's clothes while he was in a state of drunkenness. However, he was convicted and brought here (August 22), from Warwick, sitting on his coffin in an open cart, to be executed at the bottom of Great Charles Street. The scaffold was a rough platform about ten feet high, the gallows rising from the centre thereof, Matsell having to stand upon some steps while the rope was adjusted round his neck. During this operation he managed to kick his shoes off among the crowd, having sworn that he would never die with his shoes on, as he had been many a time told would be his fate. ...​
 
I remember a story as a young kid of "the Tow Path Murder" where three young men were hanged, I believe, 1 in brum 1 in Manchester 1 in Cardiff, I am sure they were midlanders proberly around late 50's early 60's I remember because the newspaper reports of the time were read by our dad to me, the young men were youths really and the murder was a tragic accident as they knew the victim?? any idea's
paul stacey
 
Not sure about the Tow Path Murders but they would have been executed in private inside the Prison (probably Winson Green).

Thanks for the info on Philip Matsell/Kate(Kit) Pedley and his execution at the bottom of Great Charles Street. Promising he would never die with his shoes on seems a strange expression - anyone know what it means please?

What I would like to see is some info about the public executions especially those involving the "full works" (Hung/draw/quartered or Burned) in Birmingham or surrounds. If any did occur (and I am sure they must of) where did it happen and where where the heads displayed?
 
Aiden,
There is also a Kate Pedley...in my family tree.:rolleyes:.

Oh,don't die with your boots on....have a peaceful death in your bed....
 
Hanging, Drawing & Quartering was specifically for the crime of High Treason, and despite popular imagery wasn't that often inflicted. Guy Fawkes and William Wallace were two of the more famous names that copped it via this horrible way to go. I'd have thought trials for High Treason were pretty rare outside London, but I could be wrong.

Big Gee
 
Just expanding a little on your remarks, Big Gee:

As the Wikipedia article explains in considerable and graphic detail, the barbaric practice of hanging, drawing and quartering (HD&Q) has a long and ignominious history in England. The earliest victim was apparently one William Maurice who was so punished for piracy in 1241. But it is during the reigns of Kings Edward I (1272-1307) and Edward II (1307-1327) that the punishment became an instrument of state policy, and emasculation (ouch!) was added as a cruel refinement. Dafydd ap Grufydd, Prince of Wales and the last independent ruler of that country, suffered HD&Q at Shrewsbury on 3 October 1283. The Scottish freedom fighter William Wallace was obliged to endure the grisly punishment (at London) on 23 August 1305. Hugh Despenser the Younger was HD&Qed at Hereford on 24 November 1326. So the Midlands was certainly the stage on which the tragic drama was occasionally played out in mediaeval times.

It is perhaps poetic justice that King Edward II is believed to have been murdered at Berkeley Castle (Gloucestershire) on the night of 11 October 1327 in a particularly horrifying manner (again ouch!).

Whatever the truth about the Gunpowder Plot, Guy Fawkes himself was brutally tortured over a period of four days (by order of King James I). Though a broken man, he was able to escape the final torture of HD&Q by leaping from the gallows steps and thus breaking his neck. [The contemporary account of the executions linked to by Aidan in post #1 is a great find.]

The last person to suffer HD&Q "in full" was apparently David Tyrie, who was dealt with at Portsmouth on 24 August 1782 before a large and badly behaved crowd. Irish priest James O'Coigley was sentenced (almost certainly unjustly) to HD&Q in connection with the Irish Rebellion of 1798, but was apparently given the mercy of a simple hanging at Maidstone on 7 July of that year.

In the 19th century public execution was losing its attraction as a popular spectacle. The ringleaders of the 1820 Cato Street Conspiracy (John Brunt, William Davidson, James Ings, Arthur Thistlewood and Richard Tidd) were sentenced to HD&Q, which was "commuted" to hanging and beheading. Those convicted of leading the Newport Rising on 4 November 1839 (John Frost, William Jones and Zephaniah Williams) were the last men in Britain to be sentenced to HD&Q, but they ended up being transported to Australia for life early in 1840. All three were pardoned unconditionally in 1856. Frost eventually returned to England, while Jones and Williams chose to remain in Australia.

As has been previously mentioned, the punishment was finally removed from the books in 1870.
 
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I think one of the Gunpowder Plotters was apprehended at Hagley Hall.

Thylacine - your reference to the Newport Rising - may I recommend the novel 'The Rape of the Fair Country' by Alexander Cordell. It's about a family living and working in the South Wales iron industry leading up to the Newport Rising, and, for those of us who have ancestors who worked in the Midlands iron industry, it describes the truly awful working and living conditions they endured. (sorry, off topic a bit!)
 
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hi guys
i was totaly surprized that you found the plaque under the bridge of the excution
regarding the hanging all prisoners whom was and have been hung in the past have all been in side the prison grounds and have been burried within the prison grounds
and there bodys was never released to there familys so there fore they would have been burried in the ld lodge rd mental instute or should i say the former
allsaints hospital grounds which was many years agho was a mental hospital and a prison and then they built broadmore
i remember a guy whom was a notorious villain whom lived in brookfields hockleyby the school in the late fortys early fifties was sent to broadmoor for murder
but as you say they stopped the public hanging and done it inside the walls
when judge jelf sent a man to the gallows in 1925 there was a 6000 petion but it was declined and they hung him in worcester gaol
and even in that days they burried them with in the walls
have a nice day best wishes astonion
 
It is surprising how many such occurances took place outside of London. Apart from the ones mentioned there were the Bloody Assizes in 1685 in the West Country for example. But as yet I have not found a mention in the Birmingham area, which cannot be right.

Take for example the trials of witches over the centuries. The penalty was burning but many were publicly hanged or died in the "confessional" stages. The following site lists the recorded trials by County and there are hundreds inc in Worcestershire, Leicestershire & Staffordshire but no Warwickshire! https://www.hulford.co.uk/county.html
 
Hi Thylacine,

Years ago we visited Berekely Castle and stood in the room where Edward II was imprisoned. The guide was an elderly, very refined lady, who merely said that Edward II was murdered in a particularly 'orrible manner. An American in the group asked her to expand on this, and all she would say was that Edward 'was burned internally', which puzzled the American. As we sauntered out I had the pleasure of explaining to him just how Edward was bumped off, and the American was hugely impressed that us supposedly weak-kneed Limeys were capable of such behaviour!

Big G
 
Aidan said:
... Take for example the trials of witches over the centuries. The penalty was burning but many were publicly hanged or died in the "confessional" stages. The following site lists the recorded trials by County and there are hundreds inc in Worcestershire, Leicestershire & Staffordshire but no Warwickshire! ...
Click to expand...

The Witchcraft Hysteria of early modern Europe is one of the most shameful chapters in the history of man's inhumanity to woman. It lasted from the 14th to the 18th centuries, with the peak of persecution occurring in the period 1550-1700. While some men were caught up in the witch-hunt, the vast majority of victims were women, especially women who lived alone or were "unusual" in any way (such as herbalists). It is estimated that between 300 and 1,000 "witches" were executed in England.

The so-called intellectuals of the time had a field-day: even King James I of England wrote a book on the subject: The Daemonologie (Edinburgh, 1597).

I'm not sure how representative the list Aidan linked to is, but if indeed Warwickshire largely escaped the madness, then that fact is a credit to the Midlands. Though witch trials did occur in the surrounding counties, the list mentions few cases for Derbyshire (4), Gloucestershire (0), Herefordshire (0), Nottinghamshire (3), Oxfordshire (0), Shropshire (1), Staffordshire (3) and Worcestershire (2). Only Leicestershire (13) and Northamptonshire (11) spoil the good record.

But this rather gruesome story shows that Warwickshire has not altogether escaped witchcraft hysteria, even in the 20th century.
 
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paul stacey said:
I remember a story as a young kid of "the Tow Path Murder" where three young men were hanged, I believe, 1 in brum 1 in Manchester 1 in Cardiff, I am sure they were midlanders proberly around late 50's early 60's I remember because the newspaper reports of the time were read by our dad to me, the young men were youths really and the murder was a tragic accident as they knew the victim?? any idea's
paul stacey
Click to expand...

The details are mildly reminiscent of the Christina Collins murder case from the 19th Century. Three men - narrow boat workers - were charged with the rape and murder of a woman who was travelling on their vessel near Rugeley, Staffordshire. She was found dead in the canal and the case is sometimes referred to as the 'Tow Path' or 'Bloody Steps Murder'. (Though, I think only two were possibly executed in this incident).

Aidan said:
Promising he would never die with his shoes on seems a strange expression - anyone know what it means please?
Click to expand...

I think this was something which was said about people who were always up to no good...... inferring that they would come to a sticky end in on way, shape or form and not die a peaceful (i.e. in bed) death. The claim re. an alleged criminal purposefully 'removing his boots before execution' has been widely associated with a number of alleged felons......

The thing I love about the execution of Matsell was the fact that he allegedly leaped into the air once the rope had been put about his neck and his last words on earth, as he sprang, were: "Here we go.....!!!"

Now that IS class!!!! Laugh, laugh, laugh!!!!

Regards to all,

Nick
 
Big Gee said:
... Years ago we visited Berekely Castle and stood in the room where Edward II was imprisoned ...
Click to expand...

That's a lovely story, Big Gee! It used to be that respectable history books were as delicate on this subject as your lady guide at Berkeley Castle. The closest they would come to spelling out the facts was to express it in Latin (probably quoting some ancient historian). Being of a similarly delicate nature myself, I searched in vain for that Latin sentence to post here. Had to make do with linking to Wikipedia's "plain English" exposé. Takes all the romance out of it somehow! ;)
 
Some great detail coming out - thanks to all so far.

I am not sure if the full horror of these public executions have been captured on the silver screen for obvious reasons. Although I thought the representation of the HDQ of William Wallace in Braveheart gives some understanding https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vf7muYYQkJQ and any number of Joan of Arc films give their interpretations of burning at the stake, I can't think of many others.
 
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Ray Barrett said:
... the first person to be hung in Australia was Thomas Barrett...he was guilty...of being a bit of a petty thief ???.
Click to expand...

[I couldn't resist investigating this little story, Ray.]

Thomas Barrett (c 1758 – 1788) was convicted on 11 September 1782 at the Old Bailey of stealing a silver watch (worth £3), a steel chain, a watch key, a hook, two shirts and a shift. He was sentenced to death, commuted to transportation to North America for fourteen years. He soon escaped back to England, was apprehended and again sentenced to death, commuted this time to transportation to Australia for life. He sailed with the First Fleet aboard the Charlotte. During the 250 day voyage he melted down belt buckles and pewter spoons and forged quarter dollars which he was caught passing at Rio de Janeiro. One of the ship's officers was so impressed with his work that he commissioned Barrett to engrave what became known as the Charlotte Medal. This was done while at anchor aboard the Charlotte at Port Jackson, New South Wales, in January 1788. Within a month of his disembarkation, he was convicted of stealing butter and again sentenced to death. This time there was no commutation, and on 27 February 1788 Thomas Barrett was hanged before the assembled company of officers and convicts. Lieutenant-General Watkin Tench wrote:
The wretch ... an old (!) and desperate offender ... died with that hardy spirit which too often is found in the worst and most abandoned class of men.​
The remarkable silver Charlotte Medal was recently acquired by the Australian National Maritime Museum (Sydney) for a six-figure sum. The obverse is pictured below.
 
There's a book available to buy about Hanging in Birmingham. In the local interest section at WH Smith or Waterstones (I didn't want to get it though).
 
Thylacine said:
... Thomas Barrett (c 1758 – 1788) ...
Click to expand...

I forgot to mention that there is a Royal Australian Historical Society commemorative "green plaque" near the site of Barrett's execution: on the corner of Harrington and Essex Streets, The Rocks, Sydney.
 
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[We are getting much closer to Birmingham with the following story, brought to my attention by mike-g via the old "punishment from years gone by" thread.]

Edward Wightman (1566-1612) was a radical Anabaptist of Burton-on-Trent. By becoming more and more outspoken in his dissent to the established church, he attracted the attention of the authorities. He was finally arrested by Bishop Richard Neile of Lichfield and Coventry. Wightman prepared an eighteen-leaf defence (now lost) of his religious views, addressed to King James I (reigned 1603-1625). By this action his danger became even more acute. He was charged with heresy, and his trial began on 19 November 1611 in the Consistory of Lichfield Cathedral. On 14 December 1611 Wightman was convicted of "the wicked heresies of Ebion, Cerinthus, Valentinian, Arius, Macedonius, Simon Magus, Manichees, Photinus, and of the Anabaptists and other arch heretics, and moreover, of other cursed opinions belched by the instinct of Satan".

On 9 March 1612 he was excommunicated and condemned to be burned at the stake by direct order of King James. On 20 March he was tied to a post in the Market Square at Lichfield and the fire was lit under him. The crowd interpreted his screams of agony as the intention to recant, and though badly burned he was removed from the fire. Wightman found new courage, and refused to make the required written retraction. On 11 April 1612 he was burned to death at the same place. He was the last person in England to be burned alive for heresy. Pictured below is Wightman's memorial plaque at Lichfield.

[Sources: websites linked to in the text; Edward Wightman at rootsweb.]
 
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