A history of London’s most (in)famous prison - Newgate.

The evolution of the building.

The Roman city of Londinium was a walled city originally with four gates. Newgate was London's 5th gate and was situated at the corner of Newgate Street and the Old Bailey at the site of a previous gate in the Roman city wall. Here is a drawing of the original, as was the norm at the time for gatehouses, it contained a dungeon and a guard room, situated above the gate itself.

There were several different buildings on the site over the centuries from the late 12th century to the beginning of the 20th century. There seemed to be constant evolution, as the population of London increased, the operational requirements of the prison changed and the previous buildings being severely damaged or totally destroyed by fire.

Studying the plans of the later prison (1785 to 1902) it is clear that the same area of the prison was modified over time to suit different needs. For instance the 1800 plan has a large amount of space given over to debtors. The 1820 plan shows the same area as being for convicts awaiting transportation. This was because debtors ceased to be incarcerated at Newgate in 1815 and were moved to the Fleet and Marshalsea prisons. The reason for this was to relieve overcrowding in Newgate. Here is the 1862 plan.

At the command of King Henry II the New gate served as a prison from 1188, whilst still continuing to operate as a gate into the City of London. Records exist of committals to Newgate as far back as 1218.

Henry III ordered the repair and enlargement of Newgate Prison in 1236. At this time it was used to house debtors, those awaiting trial and those condemned to death.

A separate wing was added for female prisoners in 1406. In 1421 former Lord Mayor of London, Sir Richard Whittington died, leaving a large sum of money in the hands of his executors for the renovation of Newgate. The old gate was demolished and rebuilt, a brand new central hall, a chapel and additional cells were constructed. This gave Newgate a capacity to house about 300 inmates.

As in the earlier prisons there were two "Condemned Holds". The male hold was little more than a dark, fetid dungeon adjacent to the Lodge. It would seemed that this remained in use until 1728. It was described as being about 15 feet x 20 feet with stone walls and floor and having one tiny window. Metal ring-bolts were set into the wall to which disorderly prisoners could be chained. Women awaiting execution had a separate Condemned Hold situated near the Press Room. On the top floor was the chapel which had several holding pens and a special area for those awaiting execution who were not visible to the other prisoners. They were seated in a special pew immediately in front of the Ordinary around a table with an open coffin on it.

The Fire of London completely destroyed this prison and adjoining Sessions House in 1666 and a new structure was constructed on the site that opened in 1672. It was described as “most strong and convenient for the purpose”. This building was extended between 1726 and 1728 providing a total capacity of 150 prisoners. Fifteen condemned cells on three floors adjoining the Press Yard were added at this time. The remaining prisoners were held in large wards. In the mid eighteenth century there were thirteen common wards and four master's wards.

Newgate suffered fire damage in 1762 which destroyed several cells adjoining the Press Yard and badly damaged the chapel. This it would seem was finally the catalyst for the construction of a new and considerably larger prison began in 1770, the work proceeding slowly. The first stone laid bore the following inscription : “The First Stone of the Gaol erected at Public Expense was laid this 31st day of May 1770 in the 10th year of the reign of King George the Third”. Before it could be finished the building was badly damaged by fire during the Gordon riots on the 6th of June 1780 (see picture) and was not finally completed until 1782, under the direction of architect George Dance, who also designed the Mansion House. Together with the adjoining new Sessions House the whole project cost over £100,000.

The new prison had a long frontage along Newgate Street opposite the open space called the Old Bailey. There were two main gates in this later design, each adorned with stone carvings of fetters over the doorway. They were the Main Door and the Debtor’s Door and there was a flight of stone steps leading up from the roadway of the Old Bailey to each door. See drawing. As built the prison was able to house 300 males, 60 females and 100 debtors. Overcrowding had always been a problem at Newgate and records from 1809 show that there were nearly 800 inmates incarcerated. This situation got steadily worse with over 1,000 inmates by 1817.

In 1856 the interior of the prison underwent significant internal modifications to provide single cells for inmates. This rebuild was short lived as the building was very badly damaged again by fire in 1877 and had to be largely rebuilt. It was then used as a normal prison again until 1881.

With the passing of the Prisons Act of 1877, that placed control of prisons with the Home Office, Newgate ceased to be an ordinary prison and was used only for those awaiting trial, and prisoners sentenced to death awaiting execution. This led to a huge reduction in the number of inmates. Newgate had the great advantage, from the authorities' point of view, of being next door to the Central Criminal Court which was the trial venue for all of London's most serious criminals. It saved the cost and security risk of transporting prisoners by horse drawn van from other prisons for their trial. Birdcage Walk (also called Deadman’s Walk) was the passage between the court and the prison, so named because the roof consisted of a lattice of iron bars forming a secure ceiling. The bodies of 108 executed murderers were buried under the flagstones here after 1834 with the initial of their surname carved into the stone wall above. The T, B, I, D & T visible in the photo are the initials of the five Cato Street conspirators.

The Central Criminal Court Act of 1856 permitted prisoners from anywhere in the country accused of a very serious offences to be tried at the Old Bailey. The Act was passed to allow for William Palmer, the Rugeley (Staffordshire) Poisoner to get a fair trial free from local prejudice. The advent of an efficient railway system had made it possible to transport prisoners quickly and easily over considerable distances. Palmer was returned to Stafford prison for his execution. Similarly Maria & Frederick Manning and Kate Webster were kept at Newgate during their trials and then returned to the Surrey county prison for execution.

Newgate closed for good in late May 1902, its male prisoners and the gallows were transferred to Pentonville while the female prisoners were moved to Holloway prison which had been recently renovated and turned into London's only women's prison. The bodies of those buried within the prison were exhumed and reinterred at the City Of London Cemetery in Newham.

The demolition of Newgate was completed in 1904 to enable the new Central Criminal Court to be built on the site to the design of Edward Mountfield. The four new courts opened on the 27th of February 1907 and their construction had cost £300,000.

Newgate in 1810.

Here is a “snapshot” of Newgate as it was in 1810, taken from Mr. James Neild’s “State of Prisons in England, Scotland, and Wales” published in 1812. It should be noted that Newgate was often, if not normally overcrowded and that outbreaks of Gaol Fever were not uncommon, often resulting in death.

The prison consisted of eight largely separate areas as follows:

The Male Debtors’ side. This contained 13 wards and a day room.

The Female Debtors’ side, consisting of just two wards. A high wall separated the male and female debtors accommodations. Both male and female debtors lived in squalid and overcrowded conditions unless they could afford to pay for better accommodation.

Note : Imprisonment for debtors was largely ended by the Debtors Act of 1869.

The Chapel Yard had five wards and was up to 1811 reserved for offenders who had been reprieved from their death sentences and were awaiting transportation.

The Middle Yard housed the least serious offenders in five wards. In 1812 it exchanged its functions with the chapel yard and by 1820 was used for persons awaiting trial.

The Master felons’ side housed the better class offenders who could afford to pay for “superior” accommodation. It is interesting to note that the 1808 plan shows that there was a Tap Room and a Wine Room for those who could afford to buy alcohol.

The Female felons’ side had nine wards and was divided into a master’s side and a common side.

The State side housed the more upper class criminals and those who had the most money.

The Press Yard and the condemned cells. There were 15 condemned cells on three floors, 10 for male prisoners on the 1st and 2nd floors and five for females on the 3rd floor. There was a day room, also known as the Press Room and it appears that condemned inmates were only locked in their cells at night. These cells had vaulted ceilings nine feet high to the crown of the arch. The ground floor cells were nine feet by six feet, the upper story cells were rather larger. Each cell had a heavy wooden door studded with broad-headed nails and a double-grated window at the opposite end. Here is a drawing of one. At this time murderers were normally sentenced on a Friday and hanged three days later on the Monday. They were kept in irons in their cell and not permitted to use the Press Yard or Press Room.

At this time, as had been the case for centuries previously, Newgate was run as a for profit enterprise by the Keeper who was appointed by the Sheriffs of London and Middlesex. Money was made from the sale of “easements” such as not having to be fettered and being able to live in the better furnished cells of the prison. Income was also derived from the sale of alcohol, food and from entry and discharge fees.

Later condemned cells.

Improved condemned cells were constructed in Newgate during the 1830's, created by knocking two ordinary cells into one. (See picture) The number of death sentences being passed had reduced dramatically by 1837 as the last remnants of the “Bloody Code” were abolished and thus the number of condemned prisoners was reduced accordingly.

The Press Yard and Press Room had originally been the places where prisoners who refused to plead (stood mute) to their charges were pressed under heavy weights until they either changed their minds or died from this torture.

Prison conditions.

For a period in 1419 the conditions had become so bad that Newgate had to be closed for renovations. At most times it suffered from overcrowding and poor sanitary conditions that led to frequent outbreaks of Gaol Fever - a form of typhus, caused by bacteria spreading through the bites of lice and fleas, that often proved fatal.

Conditions in Newgate in the early part of the nineteenth century were appalling and led to great efforts by early prison reformers such as John Howard and Elizabeth Fry to improve things. Elizabeth Fry was deeply shocked by the conditions that women were detained under in the Female Quarter, as the women's area was known, when she visited the prison in 1816. She found the place crowded with half naked women with their children. The women were typically waiting for transfer to the prison ships that would transport them to Australia. Women were brought to Newgate from county prisons in the South of England to await transportation and kept there for weeks or months until a ship was available. Many of the ordinary women prisoners were drunk, due to the availability of cheap gin and some were clearly deranged. They were kept in leg irons if they could not afford to pay the Keeper of Newgate for "easement". Fry formed an "Association for the improvement of the female prisoners in Newgate" and as part of that set up a school within the prison for the younger children in 1817. The following year she gave evidence to Parliamentary Committee on her findings. She was able to get a proper Matron appointed to look after the women in 1817 and conditions slowly improved.

Trials at the Sessions House (The Old Bailey).

Sessions, as trials were known at that time, were held up to 12 times a year at the Sessions House which was directly connected to Newgate and became known as the Old Bailey. In the late 18th century and early19th century it was normal to sentence those found guilty of ordinary felonies in groups at the end of the Sessions. Murderers were dealt with differently and typically sentenced on a Friday and hanged on the following Monday. In 1836 The Murder Act of 1752 was repealed, a period of 14 – 27 days between sentence and execution then became normal.

In non-murder felony cases the Recorder of London would make a report to the King (George III, George IV and William IV) sitting with the Privy Council in what were known as “Hanging Cabinets”, recommending which prisoners should be executed and which should be reprieved. Those sentenced to death and not reprieved (on condition of transportation for seven, fourteen years or life) were executed in groups - men and women together. In the event of the Monarch being ill or out of the country there could be considerable delays in resolving these cases, leaving prisoners in the condemned cells for several months. 1837 saw the Recorder's Report abolished and Old Bailey judges could commute the sentence of death on non murderers.
Note : When Queen Victoria ascended the throne in 1837 the Home Office took over the function of deciding upon reprieves, as it was not considered proper to expect a 19 year old girl, as she was in 1837, to make such decisions.

Prisoners under sentence of death were kept apart from other prisoners in conditions that were somewhat better, however murderers were shackled and were only allowed bread and water for the final two or three days of their lives. Their only permitted visitors were prison staff and the Ordinary (prison chaplain). In the centre of the chapel in Newgate was the Condemned Pew, a large black painted enclosure with seats for the prisoners, just in front of the pulpit. On the Sunday preceding their execution, prisoners under sentence of death had to endure the "Condemned Sermon" and hear the burial service read to them. Wealthy visitors could come and attend this service. Several Lords were present at the service held in 1840 for Francis Courvoisier, a Swiss valet, who had murdered his employer, Lord William Russell. It is unclear when this practice died out.

Conditions improved after 1837 when condemned prisoners would spend around three weeks awaiting execution after the law was changed to allow three clear Sundays to pass before they were hanged. They were no longer kept in irons and were given better food than the ordinary prisoners. They were also permitted visits by their families and friends. See the Visiting Cage in the yard next to the execution shed.

Executions at Newgate.

As London was the crime capital of England, so it was that Newgate was the execution capital. Up to 1783 condemned prisoners were taken from Newgate in carts to Tyburn for their execution. From late 1783 executions were carried out at Newgate itself.

Between the 9th of December 1783 and the 6th of May 1902, at least 1191 people were put to death here or close to the crime scene in cases considered to he especially heinous (hangings being carried out at various locations, including Execution Dock in Wapping). The "Bloody Code" as it was known remained largely in force up to 1834. At its height over 200 felonies were punishable by death although in practice people were only executed for about 20 of them. See analysis below. Those convicted of the more minor felonies typically had their sentence reduced to transportation. The concept of imprisonment as a punishment only really came in after 1816 when the Millbank penitentiary opened in London. Transportation was theoretically abolished by the Penal Servitude Act of 1857, which substituted penal servitude (prison) for transportation, but some convicts were still sent to Western Australia. The last batch of convicts to be transported were sent to Australia in 1867.

Public executions were carried outside the Debtor's Door in the open space of the Old Bailey from the 9th December 1783 and continued at Newgate up to the 25th May 1868 when Michael Barrett became the last to hang for the Clerkenwell bomb outrage that killed seven people.

Statistical analysis of executions between 1783 and 1902.

In the sixteen years between 09/12/1783 and 31/11/1799, 542 men and 19 women were executed at Newgate or in six cases at the place of their crime, an average of 35 per year.

During this time three women were burned at the stake in the Old Bailey, for the crime of coining which was deemed to be high treason. They were Phoebe Harris (21/06/1786), Margaret Sullivan (25/06/1788) and Catherine Murphy (18/03/1789). In all three cases they were first hanged until they were dead and then their bodies burnt. Women accounted for 3.57% of the executions in this period.

The Cato Street conspirators who had also been convicted of high treason were sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quartered there (the male punishment for high treason), but in fact were hanged and then beheaded.

1800 - 1835.

There were 523 verifiable public hangings, including those of 22 women, between the 24th of February 1800 and the 27th of November 1835. (Records in some cases are not always reliable) Only 47 of these executions were for murder, the rest being for various other felonies, particularly burglary and forgery. See analysis below.

Analysis of the principal crimes for which people were executed for between 1800 and 1835
Arson	Attempted murder	Burglary	Coining	Forgery	Highway Robbery	High Treason	Horse Stealing	House-breaking	Murder	Rape
4	5	105	5	98	69	5	16	15	47	7
0.76%	0.96%	20%	0.96%	18.75%	13.20%	0.96%	3.1%	2.87%	9%	1.34%
Robbery	Sheep Stealing	Shooting at	Sodomy	Stealing *	Uttering **	Other crimes
32	7	4	12	41	31	20
6.12%	1.34%	0.76	2.29%	7.84%	5.93%

* including from letters, on the river and from dwelling houses.
** Uttering is the crime of passing forgeries, e.g. counterfeit coins and notes.

1836. There were no executions at Newgate.

After 1837 all of those hanged at Newgate suffered for murder. 99 men and 8 women were executed for this crime between 1837 and 1902. 41 men and 3 women were hanged in public up to the 26th of May 1868. This included the five “Flowery Land Pirates” who were executed for murder and piracy on the 22nd of February 1864.
Following the abolition of public executions a further 51 men and 3 women were hanged in private between the 8th of September 1868 and the end of 1899. There were two double hangings, a treble, and a quadruple (“The Lennie Mutineers”) during this period.

A further 7 men and 2 women were hanged between the 9th of January 1900 and the 6th of May 1902. All of these were single executions.

Executioners at Newgate.

From 1771 to September 1786, when he died, Edward Dennis was the official executioner for London and Middlesex. He carried out 202 hangings at Newgate, plus the burning of Phoebe Harris there on the 21st of June 1786. He had previously carried out hangings and two burnings at Tyburn from 1771.
On the 9th December 1783, he and William Brunskill, his normal assistant, hanged 9 men and 1 woman side by side on the "New Drop" at Newgate's first execution (see picture). Those hanged on this day were : John Burke and George Morley for highway robbery, Simon Wilson for coining, John Wallis, Richard Martin and Frances Warren (f) for burglary at the dwelling house of Eleanor Baynes, John Lawler also for burglary, William Munro for uttering, William Busby and Francis Burke for being at large, having returned from a sentence of transportation before they were eligible to do so. Multiple executions were the norm at this time.

In accordance with the Murder Act of 1751 murderers were typically hanged on a Monday and usually on their own, this day continuing to be used for murderers up to 1880. Ordinary criminals could be hanged on any day of the week, Wednesdays being the most common day. Dennis hanged 95 men and 1 woman between February and December of 1785, with 20 men being hanged on one day alone (Wednesday, 2nd of February 1785).

Dennis was often assisted at these marathons by the man who was to become his successor, William Brunskill, who went on to hang an amazing 543 people, including 2 women, as principal hangman. Brunskill carried out the last two burnings at Newgate, those of Margaret Harrison and Catherine Murphy.

John Langley took over from Brunskill in 1814 and hanged 37 men and 3 women in his three years in office, Eliza Fenning, Sarah French and Elizabeth Fricker. He died in April 1817 and was succeeded by his assistant, James Botting who was known as “Jemmy”. Here are drawings of the Eliza Fenning’s execution before and after the drop.

Botting hanged 35 men and 4 women during his two year tenure, commencing on the 2nd of May 1815 and ending on the 7th of April 1819. In 1818, shoplifting was removed from the list of capital crimes.

In July 1819 James Foxen (or Foxten) assumed the position having previously assisted Botting, and hanged 212 men and 6 women over the next 11 years. The five Cato Street conspirators became the last to suffer hanging and beheading, on Monday May 1st 1820, for conspiring to murder several members of the Cabinet. Foxen was assisted by Thomas Cheshire for this high profile execution and unnamed and secret person who actually cut off the traitor's heads.
Thomas Cheshire (“Old Cheese” as he was commonly known) officiated as principal at a quadruple hanging on the 24th March 1829 of three highway robbers and one man convicted of stealing in a dwelling house.

William Calcraft took over from Foxen in April 1829, his first job being the hanging of the hated child murderer, Ester Hibner on the 13th of that month. Prior to taking up the position he had sold pies at hangings and had got to know Foxen and Cheshire. Calcraft would go on to hang a total of 86 people including 6 women at Newgate, before he retired in 1874. As the official hangman for London and Middlesex, Calcraft also carried out floggings at Newgate. He received one guinea (£1.05) a week retainer and a further guinea for each hanging there and half a crown (12.5p) for a flogging. From 1848 condemned prisoners were guarded round the clock by two or three warders to prevent suicide.
The execution of William Bousfield at Newgate on the 31st of March 1856 was problematic because Bousfield managed to get his feet back onto the platform, causing Calcraft to use an ankle strap thereafter and this remained standard until abolition. One of his most famous cases was Francois Courvoisier who had murdered his master, Lord William Russell. Another was Britain's first railway murderer, Franz Muller, who he publicly hanged on the 14th November 1864 for killing Mr. Thomas Briggs. Calcraft carried out both the last public hanging at Newgate of the Fenian Michael Barrett and the first private one four months later, that of Alexander Mackay on the 8th of September 1868. His last execution at Newgate was that of John Godwin on the 25th of May, 1874. Calcraft retired on a pension of 25 shillings (£1.25) per week provided by the City of London in 1874 and died on the 13th of December 1879. He was buried in Abney Park Cemetery in London. With the advent of a comprehensive railway network Calcraft was able to work over most of the country in his later years and became Britain's principal hangman. During Calcraft's tenure the number of executions fell dramatically.

William Marwood replaced Calcraft and officiated at 17 hangings at Newgate, his first being that of Frances Stewart on the 29th of June 1874, all using the “long drop”. Assisted by George Incher, he hanged the Lennie Mutineers for murder and mutiny on the 23rd May 1876 in Newgate's only quadruple private execution. This hanging was widely reported in the press. A new gallows was constructed in 1881 and it remained in use until closure in 1902, being then moved to Pentonville prison where John MacDonald became the first to hang there on 30th September 1902.

Bartholomew Bins carried out one hanging after Marwood’s death, that of Patrick O'Donnell on the 17th of December 1883, before being replaced by James Berry.

Berry performed 12 executions between 1884 and 1890. He was to hang Mary Eleanor Pearcey at 9.00 a.m. on the 23rd of December 1890.

On Berry’s resignation, James Billington took over and hanged 24 men and 3 women up to 1901, including Louisa Massett the first person to be executed in Britain in the 20th century and baby-farmers Ada Chard Williams and Amelia Dyer. Another of his famous customers was Thomas Neill Cream who, in December 1892, standing hooded and noosed on the trap said "I am Jack the " just as the drop fell. It is extremely unlikely that he was Jack the Ripper however. Billington carried out the last triple execution at Newgate when he hanged Henry Fowler, Albert Milsom and William Seaman (all for murder) on the 9th June 1896. The following day he executed the infamous baby farmer Amelia Dyer, who at 57, became the oldest woman to be hanged in modern times.
The last hanging at Newgate, that of George Wolfe for the murder of his girlfriend, was carried out by Billington's son, William on the 6th May 1902.

From the mid to late 1880’s the normal time of executions was revised from 8.00 a.m. to 9.00 a.m.

Newgate was also the training prison for executioners in its final years. The last training class taking place in 1901 with John Ellis being one of the attendees.

The gallows at Newgate.

The original New Drop gallows used by Dennis and Brunskill had two parallel beams from which a maximum of 20 criminals could be hanged at once, as happened on the 2nd of February 1785. See drawing.

As executions began to decline in the early 19th century the gallows was reduced to a single beam. The platform was approximately 10 feet long by 8 feet wide and was raised above the scaffold by six inches. It was released by moving the "pin" withdrawing the bolts holding two beams under the drop and sank down into the scaffold. The condemned were given a drop of between 1 and 2 feet so death was hardly ever "instantaneous". It is not known exactly when this arrangement was replaced by conventional trap doors.

There was a “penthouse” at the wall end of the scaffold reached by a flight of steps and containing two benches for the sheriffs and under-sheriffs to sit on. The prisoners, or sufferers as they were referred to in the press, emerged from the Debtor’s Door, turned right and walked a few yards behind a screen before climbing a separate flight of ten steps up onto the platform. See drawing.

Occasionally the mechanism failed and a simple beam and cart was used to get the prisoners suspended, as had been done at Tyburn. This method was used for the execution of Ann Hurle and Methuselah Spalding in February 1804. This attracted severe criticism in the press and the New Drop gallows was soon repaired.

The next gallows.

It is probable that a smaller, simpler gallows was constructed sometime in the 1840’s, without the “penthouse” and seats for the sheriffs, although the only drawing of it is of Newgate’s last public hanging, that of Michael Barrett in May 1868. This gallows was used for the first private execution, that of Alexander Mackay on the 8th of September 1868. See later for details.

Reports of the execution of John Godwin which was carried out on the 25th of May 1874 by William Calcraft, suggest that Godwin was hanged on a short drop gallows set up in one of the yards, again probably the Chapel Yard. The space under the platform was enclosed by black cloth. A few links of chain hung from the beam. It is probable that Calcraft was using a short rope with a metal hook spliced into the free end which he hooked into a suitable link of the chain. The platform was reached by a short flight of steps. If the newspaper reports are correct, the trapdoors were released by drawing a bolt from underneath. Godwin reportedly died without a struggle. This was Calcraft’s last execution at Newgate, prior to his retirement.

Frances Stewart was most probably the last person executed on this gallows when she was hanged by William Marwood on Monday the 29th of June 1874. A pit had been excavated to allow for the longer drop that Marwood used and at his insistence it was later excavated to a depth of 10 feet.

Being hanged at Newgate in 1815, using the terminology of the day.

Newspapers were plentiful by this time and executions were generally well reported and I have used these reports to create a generic execution scenario.

The Old Bailey is crowded with spectators and there are a lot of young women in the crowd.

At seven forty five the bell of St. Sepulchre’s church begins to toll, heralding the start of the execution. The culprit will have been brought down to the Press Room, where a stout cord has been tied around his arms and body, just above the elbows. His wrists are secured in front with another cord and the halter noose placed around his neck, the free end coiled around his body. The sheriffs make their way to the seats in the penthouse of gallows and the procession consisting of the Ordinary, the condemned man, several turnkeys, the hangman and his assistant start out through the passages, finally walking through the kitchen before emerging the Debtor’s Door. See the lengthy path on this plan. He then walks a few yards behind a screen and climbs the ten steps of the scaffold.

Just before 8 o’clock the sufferer appears on the platform to shouts of “Hats off!” from the large crowd that has come to watch him die. He is typically dressed in his best clothes. He walks firmly into his position under the fatal beam.

John Langley, the hangman, uncoils the rope, throwing it over the beam and tying it off, leaving very little slack. The Rev. Dr. Horace Cotton, the Ordinary asks the man for his final statement and prays with him. The prayers having concluded, Langley pulls the white hood over his head and it moves in and out as he breathes.

The hangman moves to the pin, awaiting the signal from Dr. Cotton. At four minutes past eight this is given and Langley releases the platform which falls with a heavy thud and the perpetrator is “launched into eternity”.

It would often be the case that for a moment the person hanged still and then began to writhe and struggle for two or three minutes. It would be reported that he was “greatly convulsed”. In other cases it would be reported that the prisoner died without a struggle.

After hanging for “the usual time” (one hour) soon after nine o’clock the body is cut down and taken back into Newgate. The crowds begin to disperse. In the case of ordinary felons, the bodies were returned to family and friends on payment of a fee. Murderer’s bodies were transferred to Surgeon’s Hall for dissection in accordance with their sentence.

Being hanged at Newgate in 1828 - a snap shot of justice.

At 8.20 a.m. on Tuesday the 13th of May 1828 five men were “launched into eternity” at Newgate by James Foxen, probably assisted by Thomas (”Old Cheese”) Cheshire. They were 22 year old John Roberts for stealing in a dwelling house, 18 year old Russell Brown for highway robbery, 28 year old Hambry Price for coining, 48 year old John Baker for horse theft, and 35 year old John Brown for highway robbery. All had been convicted at the April 1828 Sessions of the Old Bailey, that opened on the 10th of that month and resulted in no fewer than 34 death sentences. At the end of the Sessions the judges would hand their written reports to the Recorder of the Old Bailey, recommending which prisoners should have their death sentences carried out and which should be offered a reprieve on condition of transportation. The Recorder would then deliver his report to the King and the Privy Council, who would take the final decisions. In this instance the decisions of the “Hanging Cabinet” were made public on Wednesday the 7th of May and the date of the executions published in the press. This would be the only quintuple hanging at Newgate in 1828. It was reported that Hambry Price was drawn on a sled to the gallows, as the crime of coining was high treason. Only Russell Brown reportedly struggled, the others becoming still immediately.

As the “Bloody Code”, as it was called. slowly began to be dismantled so these spectacles would become a thing of the past. There were 57 executions in England and Wales in 1828 but a decade later there were just eight, all for murder.

This picture shows Thomas Cheshire speaking to a pie man, who would become his successor a few weeks later, none other than William Calcraft, at the quadruple hanging of Charles Goodlad, Thomas Birmingham, Joseph Redgard & William Kelly on the 24th of March 1829.
Note how the condemned are pinioned with their hands in front. A cord would have been tied around their waists and elbows. This arrangement allowed them to pray with the Ordinary, The Reverend Dr. Horace Salusbury Cotton, prior to the white night caps being drawn down over their faces. The bell of nearby St. Sepulchre’s church would be tolling from around 7.45 a.m. and continue to do so until around 8.15 a.m. Once the men were on the gallows there would be shouts of “Hats off” so that those further back in the crowd could see the execution. When everything was ready the City Marshall gave the signal for the pin to be drawn. The drop given at this time was no more than 18 inches so the neck was never broken.

Execution broadsides were usually sold among the crowd, purporting to give the last confessions of the condemned. These were like tabloid newspapers of the day and were often total fabrication. They would show a stylised woodcut picture of the hanging and had details of the crime.

The first private execution within Newgate.

18 year old Alexander Arthur Mackay became the first person to be executed in private at Newgate. The gallows was erected in a corner of an enclosed area of the Chapel yard, and was described as consisting of two vertical beams some 12 - 14 feet high with a cross beam from which an iron chain was suspended. Beneath the this was a scaffold concealed by sheeting and reached by a few steps. The hanging was attended by the Governor, Mr. Jonas, the Ordinary, the Rev. Mr. Jones, Mr. Gibson the prison surgeon, the sheriff and two under sheriff and representatives of the press. A little before 8.00 a.m., Mackay was led from the condemned cell through a passage that opened into the yard, supported by the Ordinary and ascended the steps up onto the platform where he joined in with Mr. Jones' prayers. Only he, Mr. Jones and William Calcraft were present on the drop, there being no warders to support Mackay. Calcraft descended from the scaffold and withdrew the bolt holding the trapdoors. Mackay dropped the customary 12 - 18 inches and after several convulsive struggles, lasting some two minutes, became still, according to contemporary newspaper reports. The black flag was raised over the prison to signify that the execution had been carried out and the bell of St. Sepulchres Church tolled from 7.45 a.m. to 8.15 a.m. Mackay was left hanging for an hour before being taken down and prepared for the formal inquest, which took place at 2 p.m. that afternoon. It was noted that his face bore a calm expression which as a warder noted was not usual.

The inquest was held by Deputy Coroner, Mr. W. H. Payne sitting with 21 jurors from the City of London to enquire into whether Mackay had died from lawful hanging. The cause of death was given as asphyxia consequent upon judicial hanging. Mackay was then buried in an unmarked grave within the prison. A waxwork was made of Mackay for exhibition in the Chamber of Horrors at Madame Tussauds.

Private hangings in the first execution shed.

Here is how The Times reported the execution of Henry Wainwright who was hanged by William Marwood on the 21st of December 1875, for the murder of his mistress, Harriet Lane.

“The gallows had been erected within the gaol yard, and was peculiar in construction and appearance; it being roofed over, lighted with lamps at each end, and having a deep pit, over which a chain and noose were suspended. The drop fell at a touch or signal with an awful shock, echoing for a moment or two all over the prison yard. The body fell a depth of exactly 5ft. 6in. - that being, by a coincidence, the convict's own height. Judging from the tension of the rope for some considerable interval after the bolt had been drawn the prisoner must have "died hard," as the saying goes.” Some 67 people reportedly witnessed this execution. There was one notable improvement, the bolt underneath the gallows had been replaced by a lever on the platform, greatly reducing the time the pinioned, hooded and noosed prisoner had to wait.

The original shed was replaced at some point with a largely similar one in 1881.

Later private hangings in the second execution shed.

In 1881 a new execution shed was constructed in one of the yards. It was probably in the Chapel Yard but it is not possible to be definitive on the location. This shed was illuminated by gas lights. 19 men and 4 women were to die here. Just by the shed and clearly visible in the photograph is the visiting cage where family and friends could visit inmates.

There were no executions at Newgate during 1882 so it is probable that the first hanging to be carried out in the new execution shed was that of Patrick O’Donnell who was hanged by Bartholomew Binns on Monday the 17th of December 1883. The shed was a wooden construction and the 12 foot long trap doors were set level with the yard over a brick lined pit. They were released by a lever on the platform. A simple gallows consisting of two uprights with a cross beam having one or more iron brackets with an eight link length of chain attached was provided. The cross beam was 8 feet 2 inches above the trap doors and the uprights have pulleys and ropes to raise the heavy trap doors back into to the level position after the execution.

The shed was entered through double half doors, the bottom halves being closed once the prisoner and the execution party were inside. Newspaper reporters were not permitted within the shed and could therefore only see the top half of the prisoner and see them drop completely out of view. Here is a photo of the gallows.

An inquest was required by law and it was normal for the press to be allowed to view the body.

This shed continued in use until the 6th of May 1902 for the execution of George Woolfe.

A grand juror recounts his visit to Newgate in the early 1880’s.
“It is customary for the Grand Jury of Middlesex to inspect Newgate Prison, and this we proceeded to do. First we were shown casts of the heads of murderers, taken after execution, and in some instances bearing a terrible tell-tale depression in the neck. Next we examined the complicated fastenings by which ancient hangmen pinioned the doomed man, till Calcraft and Marwood introduced simpler adjustments. Here, too, were the irons in which prisoners were formerly confined, including a ponderous set once worn by Jack Sheppard, but in spite of which he managed to escape (but who was re-captured and hanged at Tyburn). We then inspected the cells, and visited a room since used as a kitchen, through which, in the days of public executions, the prisoner passed to the gallows. Then we were taken to the chapel, so contrived that the prisoners see only the clergyman, and to the condemned cell, dim and dreary enough to appal the stoutest heart. We passed through the bleak passage, paved with flag-stones, beneath which the bodies of murderers are buried in quicklime and where their initials are rudely scratched upon the wall. Lastly we saw the place of execution, where everything is in such readiness that, as the warder informed us, in five minutes from receiving the order a man could be hanged. A strong chair, of a severe aesthetic shape, attracted our attention. This, we were told, was used when the convict was too faint to stand, and as the bolt was drawn the chair and its occupants crashed down together into the pit below. We gladly left this dismal scene; and after our foreman had entered the usual expression of approval in the visitors' book, we departed from the sunless prison of Newgate, having fulfilled the last duty of the grand jury of Middlesex.”

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