Female executions 1735 – 1799.

 

With special thanks to Mr. Dave Mossop for allowing me to publish the results of his years of painstaking research that has enabled this unique insight into 18th century female crime and punishment.

 

Over this 65 year period, around 1,600 women and girls were sentenced to death in England and Wales.  Of these, a minimum of 355 can be confirmed as having been executed, 323 by hanging and 32 by burning at the stake.  At least 1,230 were reprieved, giving an overall reprieve rate in the order of 78%.  A few died in prison prior to execution/reprieve and in around 50 cases, it is not possible to be certain what the final outcome of their case was, although some of them may well have been executed.  Prior to 1760, those not listed as definitely reprieved were usually hanged, after that date the reverse is true.

 

Period

1735 - 44

1745 - 54

1755 - 64

1765 - 74

1775 - 84

1785 - 94

1795 - 99

Totals

Sentenced to death

258

186

155

202

319

325

150

1596

Reprieved

190

132

98

164

253

276

129

1243

% reprieved

74%

71%

63%

81%

79%

85%

86%

78%

Hanged

60

49

53

33

59

46

21

323

Burned

8

5

5

5

6

3

0

32

Total executed

68

54

57

38

65

49

21

355

 

Click here for a graph showing the trends for executions and reprieves.

 

187 of the confirmed executions were for murder, representing 52.7% of the total. Eighty of these were hanged for the crime of murder of their bastard. They were typically young mothers who had got pregnant outside wedlock and killed their new born babies to avoid the stigma of single parenthood that was completely unacceptable at the time and/or the problems of bringing up a baby without any financial support whatsoever.  It wasn’t until the Infanticide Act of 1922 that the killing of a newborn baby by its mother was no longer classed as a capital crime. Sadly, it is quite possible that some of these children may have been stillborn or died of natural causes in the hours immediately after birth. 
Seventy six women were to be executed for other murders and 31 for the crime of Petty Treason (noted as P/T below), which was the murder by a woman of her husband or mistress (her superiors in law), and carried a mandatory sentence of burning at the stake up to 1789.  Twenty seven of these women were burned and 4 hanged.
The law decreed that women convicted of coining or otherwise counterfeiting money or possessing the equipment with which to do so, were guilty of High Treason (noted as H/T below) and were also to be burnt at the stake. (Men were hanged in the normal way for both crimes.)  Both men and women convicted of these crimes were drawn to the place of execution on a hurdle or sledge. Eight women suffered this fate either at Tyburn or Newgate up to 1798. From 1790, both High Treason and Petty Treason committed by women became punishable by normal hanging, although the drawing to the gallows on a sledge still persisted.

 

Age was no bar to execution and teenage girls were regularly put to death. Eighteen year old Mary Stracey was hanged at Tyburn for highway robbery on the 15th of March 1745 and 15 year old Elizabeth Morton suffered at Nottingham on Wednesday, the 6th of April 1763, for the murder of her master’s two year old daughter. On the 16th of October 1771, Mary Jones (aged 18) was hanged at Tyburn for stealing 4 pieces of muslin valued at £5. 10s (quite a substantial sum at the time). Eighteen year old Sarah Shenston went to the gallows in Shrewsbury on Thursday, the 22nd of March 1792, for the murder of her bastard child.  Susannah Minton, aged 17, was hanged at Hereford for arson on Saturday, the 16th of September 1786.  At Dorchester Assizes in March 1794, 15 year old Elizabeth Marsh was convicted of the murder of her grandfather, for which she was to hang on Monday, the 17th of March.
At least 3 teenage girls were burned for Petty Treason. Mary Grote, aged 16, suffered at Winchester for the murder of her mistress on the 18th of March 1738 and two 19 year olds, Mary Fawson and Susannah Bruford, were burned for the murder of their husbands.

 

Crimes against property were also dealt with severely. Privately stealing (picking pockets), highway robbery (also picking pockets, in most cases, but committed on the King’s highway), burglary, stealing or robbing in a dwelling house, housebreaking, stealing from a shop and theft of horses and sheep all carried a mandatory death sentence.  Some 125 women were to hang for these offences (35% of the total). However, it should be noted that the vast number of reprieves granted were also for offences against property.  There are a few instances of reprieves for the more serious offences of arson, coining and even murder, but these are quite rare.
Where people were reprieved, they were typically sentenced to transportation for a period of not less than 4 years, up to a maximum of life.  They were sent to either America (up to the Civil War there) or later to Australia.  Returning from transportation before the completion of one’s sentence or being on the run having broken out of jail constituted the capital crime of being at large in the Kingdom, and 3 women were executed for this.

 

Arson was a capital crime, as the destruction of property and the attendant risk to life and limb made it a very serious offence. Sixteen women were to go to the gallows for this.
The anti-Catholic Gordon Riots of 1780 led to a large number of executions for those convicted of assisting in the destruction of property (including Newgate prison). At least 25 people, including 6 women were hanged for offences committed during these riots. One of these was Charlotte Gardiner, a 19 year old black girl. Most of the Gordon Rioters were young people.

 

Forgery, uttering forged bank notes, wills, Letters of Attorney, etc. and personating (impersonating another person to gain pecuniary advantage) almost always resulted in execution and 7 women were to die for these crimes.

 

Crime

Total

Murder bastard child

80

Murder

76

Highway robbery

42

Robbery in dwelling house

35

Petty Treason  (murder of  husband/master/mistress)

31

Burglary

25

Arson

16

Housebreaking

9

High Treason Coining

8

Forgery/Uttering/Personating

7

Riot/destroying property

6

Stealing in a shop

6

Horse/sheep theft

5

Pick pocket

5

Returning from transportation

3

Sacrilege

1

Totals

355

 

Click here for a graph showing the breakdown by the most common crimes, for which a total of 10 or more executions were carried out.

Prior to 1789, the place of execution would be typically a convenient open space outside the town to which the condemned would be taken in a procession consisting of the Sheriff or Under Sheriff, a minister, the hangman and a troop of Javelin men to guard them.  From 1789 to around 1820, there was a steady migration of executions away from these open spaces to places either directly in front of or on the roof of County gaols.
All of the women listed as hanged prior to 1783, would have been either “turned off” from a ladder or the back of a cart thus subjecting them to a short drop and therefore painful execution.  It was not until 1783 that the “New Drop” gallows, with a falling trap, was erected outside Newgate which may have led to a slightly easier death, although the drop given was still only 12–18 inches.  Prior to 1752, women who had been hanged were able to have their bodies reclaimed by family and friends and given a decent burial.  After this, women executed for murder had their bodies dissected after death and not returned to their families.
Those listed as burned would typically have been strangled with a “halter” before the fire was lit although this did not always happen.  Later they were, in effect, hanged at the stake prior to the fire being lit, as happened with the last 3 executions at Newgate.

 

The Murder Act of July 1752 required that murderers be hanged within two days of sentence, or the next “working day” if the second day was a Sunday, which was a “dies non” or non hanging day.  After this date, murderers were often hanged alone to comply with requirements of the Act.  As part of their punishment, they were only allowed bread and water between sentence and execution.

Women convicted of other crimes at the Old Bailey in London were usually executed several weeks after sentence when the Recorder had submitted his report indicating which prisoners sentenced to death should be reprieved and which were to be “left for execution” and were typically hanged alongside men, who had been sentenced to death at the same Sessions.  This was frequently the case at Tyburn and later at Newgate where quite large batches of prisoners were executed together.
Those sentenced to die at County Assizes had a report on their case forwarded by the trial judge to the Secretary of State for consideration for reprieve, containing his recommendation.  Many Assize towns in the Shire counties carried out executions on market day to ensure the biggest crowd, who were supposed to be deterred by the spectacle of the execution.

Where women were to be burned at the stake, their execution would usually take place a few minutes after the other condemned prisoners had been hanged, and they would be led to the stake past the hanging bodies of the other prisoners.

 

When a woman was convicted of a capital crime, she would be asked if there was any reason why sentence of death should not be passed upon her.  She could at this point “plead her belly,” i.e. that she was pregnant.  She was often not sentenced to death at this point but kept in prison and examined by matrons to see if she really was pregnant.  Many of the claims of pregnancy were entirely baseless.  If she was found to be “quick with child,” her execution was delayed until after she had given birth or her sentence was commuted to transportation. If not, she was returned to court to be formally sentenced to death and then included in the next batch of executions.  Anecdotal evidence suggests that women prisoners would sometimes try to get pregnant whilst in prison to save themselves from the gallows.  They would offer sex to their jailers or to visitors for this purpose, as the law did not permit the execution of a pregnant women.

 

By the mid 1700’s, newspapers were being widely produced, particularly in London and crimes, trials and executions were well reported.  Additionally, execution broadsides were sold, purporting to give the confessions and last dying speeches of some of these women.  Some of these still survive, but having read them one wonders how much of their content is pure fiction, especially as they were written several days before the execution.  In some cases, the prisoners were reprieved and in some cases there is no record of them having even existed!

 

Predictably, London and Middlesex had the most female executions with 72 at Tyburn between 1735 and 1783 and a further 19 outside Newgate between 1783 and 1799 (16 hanged and 3 burned).  The counties of Kent, Essex and Surrey also had large numbers of executions as crime moved out of the city of London into what are now the suburbs, but which at this time, were within the boundaries of these counties. It will be seen that there is a distinct North-South divide in favour of Northern women in the early years.

 

Below are the details of each of the confirmed executions from 1735–1799. In the early part of the period, it is sometimes difficult to ascertain whether prisoners who were sentenced to death were actually executed, as the records for some court circuits are very sketchy, so only the names of those whose executions can be verified are included.

 

1735
29 or 30 females sentenced to death, 13 confirmed executions - 11 hanged and 2 burned. There may have been one other woman sentenced to death in Nottingham.

Date

Name

Place

Method

Crime

Monday 10th March

Elizabeth Ambrook

Tyburn

Hanged
with 10 men

Murder of her male bastard

Jane Heybourn

Burglary

Elizabeth Stevens

Highway robbery

Friday 8th May

Mary Warren

Exeter

Hanged

Murder of her male bastard

August - date unclear

Margaret Jones

Manafon Montgomery

Hanged with her husband

Murder of John Rea (Both may have been hanged in chains after execution)

Saturday 2nd August

Ann Virgin

Bedford

Hanged with her boyfriend

Murder of their bastard child. He was her late sister’s husband

Friday 1st or 8th August

Jane Hornblower

Worcester
with 1 man

Hanged

Murder of her female bastard
Hanged on a new gallows that cost £5 to construct.

Friday 8th August

Mary Fawson (20)

Northampton

Burned

P/T murder of her husband (poison)

Elizabeth Wilkinson

Hanged

Picking pockets

Friday 8th August

Margaret Onion

Chelmsford
4 men hanged

Burned

P/T murder of her husband, Samuel (poison)

Friday 22nd August

Sarah Baylis

Over
(Gloucester )

Hanged with 3 men

Murder of her male bastard

Friday 29th August

Mary Dulen

Exeter

Hanged

Murder of her male bastard

Monday 10th November

Elizabeth Armstrong

Tyburn
with 1 man

Hanged

Murder of Patrick Darling

 

1736
20 females sentenced to death, 4 hanged and none burned.

Date

Name

Place

Method

Crime

Wednesday 9th June

Elizabeth Thompson

Gt. Yarmouth

Hanged

Murder of unnamed Dutchman

Friday 20th August

Mary Haddon

Northampton

Hanged

Murder of her mother

Thursday 26th August

Elizabeth Gillian

Kingston Surrey

Hanged
with 1 man

Privately stealing (pickpocket)

Saturday 4th or 11th Sept.

Martha Colston

Cambridge

Hanged

Arson

 

1737
26 females sentenced to death, 2 hanged and 2 burned.

Date

Name

Place

Method

Crime

Thursday 3rd March

Mary Shrewsbury

Tyburn
with 11 men

Hanged

Murder of her male bastard

Wednesday 29th June

Ann Mudd

Tyburn
with 6 men

Burned

P/T murder husband, Thomas (stabbing)

Friday 1st July

Mary Bird

Ely

Burned

P/T murder husband, John
(poison)

Thursday 18th August

Margaret Wickes or Wicker

Maidstone

Hanged
with 5 men

Murder of Lydia Faggs
(18 months old)

 

1738
15-17 females sentenced to death, 5 hanged and 2 burned. Possibly two other women hanged at Oxford and Shrewsbury but not confirmed and additionally 2 women sentenced to death in Pembrokeshire for murder but outcome of sentence not known.

Date

Name

Place

Method

Crime

 

Wednesday 18th January

Sarah Allen

Tyburn
(sentenced in 1737)

Hanged
with 9 men

Murder of her male bastard

Elizabeth Adams

Robbery in dwelling house

Elizabeth Osborne & Ann Clark

Burglary

Saturday 18th March

Mary Grote
(aged 16)

Winchester
with 2 men

Burned

P/T murder mistress, Justin Turner (poison)

Wednesday 12th April

Ann Goodson

Guildford
with 6 men

Burned

P/T murder of husband, Thomas (stabbing)

Friday 22nd December

Constancia Jones

Tyburn

Hanged
with 2 men

Pickpocket

 

1739
24 females sentenced to death, 6 hanged and 1 burned. Probably one other woman, Mary Wilkins,  hanged at Oxford for murder of her male bastard, but not confirmed.

Date

Name

Place

Method

Crime

Saturday 17th or 24th  March

Sarah Farmer

Winchester

Hanged
with 1 man

Murder of her female bastard

Friday 13th April

Mary Brittain

Warwick

Hanged
with 2 men

Murder of her bastard child

Saturday 26th May

Elinor Hadley

Carmarthen

Hanged

Murder of her bastard child

Friday 14th September

Eleanor Spencer

Kennington Common Surrey

Hanged with 4 men

Robbery in a dwelling house

Johanna Rashford

Friday 21st December

Susanna Broom (or Brown)

Tyburn

with 8 men

Burned

P/T murder of her husband, John (stabbing)

Elizabeth Harrard

Hanged

Murder of her male bastard

 

1740
33 females sentenced to death, 10 hanged and none burned. Probably one other woman, Margaret Sherley was hanged at Worcester for stealing in a dwelling house, but not confirmed.

Date

Name

Place

Method

Crime

Wednesday 6th February

Elizabeth Winchley

Peterborough

Hanged

Murder - poisoned her maidservant

Friday 11th April

Johanna Bryant

Exeter
with 6 men

Hanged

Murder of their bastard children

Dinah Turner

Ann Cummins

Saturday 3rd May

Elizabeth Branch & Betty Branch

Ilchester
Somerset

Hanged

Mother and daughter who murdered their maidservant, Jane Butterworth, aged 13

Thursday 21st August

Mary Cooper

Kingston Surrey

Hanged

Burglary

Friday 29th August

Martha Allen

Exeter
(Heavitree)

Hanged
with 2 men

Horse theft

Monday 24th November

Margaret Stanton

Tyburn

Hanged
with 3 men

Robbery in a dwelling house

Eleanor Mumpman

Housebreaking

16 year old William Duell who was hanged with Margaret Stanton & Eleanor Mumpman, survived his execution.
His death sentence was commuted and he was transported.

 

1741
38 females sentenced to death, 7 hanged and none burned. Probably one other woman, Sarah Holcombe, hanged at Ilchester for murdering her male bastard, but not confirmed.

Date

Name

Place

Method

Crime

 

Wednesday 18th March

Elizabeth Fox & Priscilla Mahon

Tyburn

Hanged
with 16 men

Robbery in a dwelling house (brothel)

Mary Young (Jenny Diver)

Highway robbery

Dorothy Middleton

Burglary

Friday 17th April

Jane Williams

Bristol
Hotwells

Hanged with 3 men

Murder of her bastard child

Friday 31st July

Catherine Lineham

Tyburn

Hanged with 1 man

Robbery in a dwelling house

Wed. 16th September

Mary Harris
(or Murphy)

Tyburn

Hanged with 3 men

Highway robbery

 

1742
32 females sentenced to death, 3 hanged and none burned. Possibly five other women hanged in Oxfordshire, Staffordshire, Cornwall and Devonshire, but not confirmed.

Date

Name

Place

Method

Crime

Thursday 14th January

Mary Dutton

Tyburn

Hanged
with 10 men

Highway robbery

Margaret Watson

Pick pocket

Wednesday 14th April

Ann Elliot

Guildford
with 5 men

Hanged

Burglary

 

1743
18 females sentenced to death, 6 hanged and none burned.

 

Date

Name

Place

Method

Crime

Friday 15th April

Alice Stribling

Exeter

Hanged with 2 men

Murder of her apprentice, Elizabeth Tossle

Friday 13th May

Sarah Barrett
(or Dodd)

Bristol
Hotwells

Hanged

Stealing in a dwelling
house

Wednesday 18th May

Sarah Wilmshurst

Tyburn

Hanged with 2 men

Murder of her infant daughter

Elizabeth Cannon

Stealing in a dwelling
house

Ann Ellard

Thursday 25th August

Ann Hazard

Kennington Common

Hanged with 5 men

Murder of Simon Petell (hanged with co- defendant James Day)

 

1744
22 females sentenced to death, 6 hanged and 1 burned. Possibly 2 other women hanged and 1 burned.

Date

Name

Place

Method

Crime

Friday 6th April

Elizabeth Haines

Red Hill Worcester

Hanged with 4 men

Murder of daughter, Anne

Friday 10th August

Elizabeth Moreton
(aged about 22)

Evesham Worcs.

Burned

P/T murder of husband (poison)

Friday 5th October

Sarah Cox

Tyburn

Hanged with 5 men

Highway robbery

Wednesday 7th November

Ann Gwynn

Tyburn

Hanged with 5 men

Robbery in a dwelling house

Ann Duck

Highway robbery

Ann Wells

Monday 24th December

Hannah Moses

Tyburn
with 17 men

Hanged

Stealing in a shop

 

1745
22 females sentenced to death, 5 hanged and none burned.

 

Date

Name

Place

Method

Crime

Friday 15th March

Mary Stracy
(or Martha Tracey)

Tyburn

Hanged with 1 man

Highway robbery

Friday 7th June

Mary “Cut & come again” White

Tyburn

Hanged with 6 men

Highway robbery

Lettuce Lyon

Housebreaking

Thursday 9th July

Margaret Greenaway &

Ann Rush

Tyburn

Hanged

Highway robbery

 

1746
22 females sentenced to death, 3 hanged and none burned. Probably 3 other women hanged for murders in Oxfordshire, Monmouthshire and Cornwall, but not confirmed. Possibly one in Durham.

Date

Name

Place

Method

Crime

Saturday 29th March

Mary Brewer

Chelmsford

Hanged

Murder of her male bastard

Friday 4th April

Judith Tilly

Tyburn

Hanged with 7 men

Highway robbery

Catherine Howell

Stealing in a dwelling
house

 

1747
16 females sentenced to death, 5 hanged and 1 burned.

 

Date

Name

Place

Method

Crime

Tuesday 14th April

Elizabeth Tarrant

Salisbury

Hanged with 2 men

Arson

Friday 10th or 17th April

Mary Johnson

Lincoln

Burned

P/T murder of husband (poison)

Wednesday 6th May

Susanna Way

Taunton
with 1 man

Hanged

Murder of her male bastard

Wednesday 17th June

Mary Allen
(or Smith)

Tyburn
with 4 men

Hanged

Stealing in a shop

Friday 31st July

Elizabeth Dennis

Tyburn
with 2 men

Hanged

Highway robbery

Friday 18th September

Mary Wadland

Exeter

Hanged

Murder of her male bastard

 

1748
11 females sentenced to death, 1 hanged and none burned.

 

Date

Name

Place

Method

Crime

Friday 28th October

Sarah Kennington

Tyburn
with 9 men

Hanged

Stealing in a dwelling house

 

1749
18 females sentenced to death, 3 hanged and 1 burned.

 

Date

Name

Place

Method

Crime

Wednesday 26th April

Ann Vain

Tyburn
with 8 men

Hanged

Highway robbery

Friday 4th of August

Phillis Dykes

Chelmsford
with 2 men

Hanged

Murder of her male bastard

Wednesday 18th October

Mary Dymer

Tyburn
with 14 men

Hanged

Highway robbery

Tuesday 7th November

Amy Hutchinson

Ely
with 1 man*

Burned

P/T murder husband, John
(poison)

*John Vickers (or Juckers) who was being hanged for murder asked that Amy be burnt first so that he could watch!

 

1750
15 females sentenced to death, 5 hanged and one burned.  Probably 1 other woman was hanged, in Essex (Mary Farthing for the murder of her female bastard).

 

Date

Name

Place

Method

Crime

Thursday 12th April

Susan Phillips

Exeter

Hanged

Murder of her male bastard

Thursday 12th April

Elizabeth Packard

Exeter

Burned

P/T murder of her husband

 

Friday 6th July

Catherine Conway

Tyburn
(all female execution)

Hanged

Uttering forgery (will)

Margaret Harvey

Privately stealing

Elizabeth Banks

Highway robbery

Monday 31st December

Catherine Connor
(age 17)

Tyburn
with 14 men

Hanged

Uttering forgery (will)

Both Catherine Conway and Margaret Harvey had been pregnant at the time of their trials and their
executions were delayed until after they had given birth.

 

1751
18 females sentenced to death, 4 hanged and none burned. Probably 1 other woman was hanged at Horsham (Elizabeth Lewes for the murder of her male bastard.)

 

Date

Name

Place

Method

Crime

Thursday 11th April

Ann Smith

Maidstone
with 4 men

Hanged

Murder of her female bastard

Thursday 22nd August

Sarah Meredith

Maidstone
with 1 man

Hanged

Highway robbery

Wednesday 23rd October

Ann Berry

Tyburn
with 9 men

Hanged

Highway robbery

Bridget Shepherd

Stealing in a dwelling house

 

1752
20 females sentenced to death, 9 hanged and 1 burned.

Date

Name

Place

Method

Crime

Monday 13th January

Rachel Beachem

Tyburn
with 3 men

Hanged

Murder of a child,
Henrietta Dawes

Wednesday 18th March

Alice Andrew

Hertford
with 3 men

Hanged

Murder of daughter
Her male co-defendant was hanged with her.

Monday 23rd March

Anne Wilson

Tyburn
with 14 men

Hanged

Murder

Mary Gilfoy

 

Stealing in a dwelling house

Saturday 28th March

Elizabeth Jeffries

Epping Forest
with 1 man

Hanged

Both for the murder of her uncle, his master.

Thursday 2nd of April

Elizabeth Sparks

Maidstone
with 5 men

Hanged

Highway robbery

Monday 6th April

Mary Blandy

Oxford

Hanged

Murder of her father

Monday 3rd August

Agnes Collier
(or Cole)

Exeter

Hanged

Murder

Friday 7th August

Anne Whale

Broadbridge Heath, Sussex

Burned

P/T murder of husband, James (poison)

Sarah Pledge

Hanged

Assisting Ann Whale

 

1753
18 females sentenced to death, 5 hanged and 2 burned. Possibly 1 other woman, Elizabeth Gammin was hanged in Somerset for being at large in the Kingdom.

Date

Name

Place

Method

Crime

Monday 12th February

Ann Fox

Tyburn
with 6 men

Hanged

Stealing in a dwelling house

Friday 13th April

Anne Williams

Gloucester
with 2 men

Burned

P/T murder of husband (poison)

Monday 16th April

Grace Weedon

Tyburn
with 4 men

Hanged

Highway robbery

Isabella Roe

Monday 27th August

Ann Course

Aylesbury

Hanged

Arson

Monday 3rd September

Susannah Bruford

Wells Somerset

Burned

P/T murder of husband, John (poison)

Monday 1st October

Hannah Wilson

Tyburn
with 3 men

Hanged

Highway robbery

 

1754
26 females sentenced to death, 11 hanged and none burned. Possibly 2 other women were hanged in Herefordshire (Elizabeth Williams for stealing in a shop) and Somerset (Elizabeth Barnstable for stealing in a dwelling house).

Date

Name

Place

Method

Crime

Monday 4th February

Grace Grannet

Tyburn
with 11 men

Hanged

Highway robbery

Monday 4th February

Peggy Dunn

Oxford
City gallows

Hanged

Privately stealing

Monday 11th March

Alice Whitman

Hertford

Hanged

Murder of her female bastard

Saturday 23rd March

Mary Dilke(s)

Derby

Hanged

Murder of her male bastard

Monday 8th April

Mary Ashford

Taunton
with 1 man

Hanged

Murder of Robert Bacon
(hanged with her husband)

Monday 5th August

Mary Smith

Tyburn
with 1 man

Hanged

Highway robbery

Monday 12th August

Frances Cheek

Chelmsford

Hanged

Murder of her daughter, Hester

Monday 19th August

Dorothy Catinby

Newcastle upon Tyne

Hanged

Murder of her bastard child

Friday 27th September

Elizabeth Hind

Bristol
with 1 man

Hanged

Highway robbery

Monday 9th December

Eleanor Connor

Tyburn

Hanged

At large (returning from transportation)

Saturday 21st December

Margaret Mantle

Canterbury

Hanged

Murder bastard child

 

1755
20 females sentenced to death, 9 hanged and none burned.

 

Date

Name

Place

Method

Crime

Monday 10th March

Mary Russell

Winchester

Hanged

Murder of Philip Lander

Friday 4th April

Ann Ockford

Gloucester

Hanged

Murder of her female bastard

Friday 11th April

Sarah Dean

Chester

Hanged

Murder

Thursday 17th July

Margaret Wright

Reading

Hanged

Murder of her bastard child

Friday 1st August

Ann Williamson

Derby

Hanged

Privately stealing from a person

Monday 11th August

Grace Smith

Bodmin

Hanged

Murder of infant girl

Monday 18th August

Catherine Gardner

Bristol

Hanged

Murder of her female bastard

Monday 15th September

Mabel Hughes

Tyburn

Hanged

Murder of Alexander Knipe

Monday 8th December

Elizabeth Barnes

Tyburn
with 1 man

Hanged

Murder of lover’s wife, hanged with Richard Jeffreys, her lover

 

1756
4 females sentenced to death, 1 hanged and none burned.

 

Date

Name

Place

Method

Crime

Monday 29th March

Ann Lance
(or Wood)

Maidstone

Hanged

Murder of her male bastard

 

1757
16 females sentenced to death, 4 hanged and 1 burned. Possibly 1 other woman hanged at Newcastle upon Tyne for the murder of her bastard child, but no confirmation of this.

 

Date

Name

Place

Method

Crime

Monday 28th March

Mary Ellah

York

Burned

P/T murder of husband, Thomas with an axe

Monday 30th May

Mary Mussen

Tyburn

Hanged

Murder of her female bastard

Thursday 28th July

Elizabeth Newman

Salisbury

Hanged

Murder of her female bastard

Saturday 6th August

Mary Williams

Winchester
with 1 man

Hanged

Stealing in a dwelling house

Wednesday 5th October

Eleanor Eddows

Tyburn
with 11 men

Hanged

Uttering forgery

 

1758
27 females sentenced to death, 5 hanged, 2 probably burned. (Alice Davis & Mary Larny). High treason normally resulted in burning at the stake.

 

Date

Name

Place

Method

Crime

Friday 31st March

Alice Davis

Tyburn
with 7 men

Burned?

H/T coining

Friday 31st March

Christian Perkin

Exeter
with 8 men

Hanged

Housebreaking

Wednesday 3rd May

Margaret Dryden

Berwick on Tweed

Hanged

Murder bastard child

Friday 21st July

Ann Jordan

Salisbury

Hanged

Murder of female bastard

Monday 7th August

Alice Williamson

Newcastle upon Tyne (City)

Hanged

Burglary

Wednesday 16th August

Mary Vinson

Gloucester
with 1 man

Hanged

Housebreaking

Monday 2nd October

Mary Larny

Tyburn
with 4 men

Burned?

H/T filing coins

 

1759
16 females sentenced to death, 6 hanged and none burned.

 

Date

Name

Place

Method

Crime

Saturday 31st March

Ann Loale

Northampton

Hanged

Murder of her bastard child

Saturday 31st March

Hannah Thomas

Winchester
with 5 men

Hanged

Housebreaking

Monday 2nd April

Mary Edmondson

Kennington Common

Hanged

Murder of her aunt,
Susanna Walker

Monday 16th April

Edith Saunders

Gloucester

Hanged

Murder of James Short

Monday 16th April

Sarah Evill

Taunton

Hanged

Murder of her male bastard

Monday 16th June

Catherine Knowland

Tyburn

Hanged

Highway robbery

 

1760
7 females sentenced to death, 1 hanged and none burned.

 

Date

Name

Place

Method

Crime

Saturday 24th May

Ann Hulloch

Tyburn

Hanged

Murder of her female bastard

 

1761
17 females sentenced to death, 5 hanged and none burned. Jean Blave was probably hanged at
Ilchester for burglary in a dwelling house.

 

Date

Name

Place

Method

Crime

Monday 16th March

Elizabeth Castlebine

Leicester
with 1 man

Hanged

Murder of Edward Brown (hanged with her husband)

Saturday 21st March

Ann Giles

Reading

Hanged

Arson

Friday 3rd April

Elizabeth Brooks

Gloucester

Hanged

Burglary

Wednesday 8th July

Mary Jefferies

Salisbury

Hanged

Murder bastard child

Monday 26th October

Ester Rowden

Tyburn
with 1 man

Hanged

Murder of her female bastard

 

1762
13 females sentenced to death, 8 hanged and none burned.

 

Date

Name

Place

Method

Crime

Thursday 11th March

Ann Nott

Worcester
City gallows

Hanged

Murder of her male bastard

Friday 26th March

Alice Ridley

Lancaster Moor

Hanged

Murder of her male bastard

Thursday 15th April

Margaret Ramsey

Maidstone
with 2 men

Hanged

Personating to receive a another’s wages

Monday 19th July

Sarah Metyard & her daughter, Sarah Morgan Metyard

Tyburn

Hanged

Murder of Ann Nailor (13) their apprentice

Saturday 24th July

Susannah Harris

Oxford
with 1 man

Hanged

Murder of her female bastard

Thursday 12th August

Ann Morrell

Warwick

Hanged

Murder bastard child

Friday 20th August

Susanna Guise

Worcester
Red Hill

Hanged

Privately stealing from person

 

1763
20 females sentenced to death, 8 hanged and 2 burned.

 

Date

Name

Place

Method

Crime

Monday 28th March

Mary Saunders

Stafford

Hanged

Murder of her female bastard

Wednesday 6th April

Elizabeth Morton
(age 15)

Nottingham

Hanged

Murder of her master’s child

Friday 8th April

Margaret (Ann) Beddingfield
(age 21)

Ipswich

Burned

P/T murder of husband, John (poison)
Her co-defendant Richard Ringe was hanged at the same time

Saturday 23rd April

Mary Heald

Chester

Burned

P/T murder of husband, Samuel (poison)

Wednesday 4th May

Hannah Dagoe

Tyburn
with 2 men

Hanged

Stealing in a dwelling house

Monday 1st August

Margaret Middleton

Durham

Hanged

Murder of a child, Lucy Elliott

Wednesday 10th August

Margaret Clarke

Coventry
(Whitley Common)

Hanged
with 2 men

At large (returning from transportation)

Margaret Brown

Stealing in a dwelling house

Monday 19th September

Esther Levingston

Tyburn

Hanged

Murder of Peter Dove

Wed. 28th December

Mary Robinson

Tyburn
with 3 men

Hanged

Stealing in a dwelling house

 

1764
15 females sentenced to death, 3 hanged and 1 burned.

 

Date

Name

Place

Method

Crime

Wednesday 21st March

Mary Saunders

Monmouth

Burned

P/T murder of mistress, Joan Jones

Wednesday 28th March

Ann Barker

Tyburn
with 3 men

Hanged

Highway robbery

Friday 30th March

Sarah Young

Horsham

Hanged

Murder of her male bastard

Friday 21st December

Jane Smith

Coventry

Hanged

At large (returning from transportation)

 

1765
22 females sentenced to death, 2 hanged and 1 burned.

 

Date

Name

Place

Method

Crime

Wednesday 8th May

Mary Norwood

Illchester Somerset

Burned

P/T murder of husband

Friday 16th August

Elizabeth Staddon

Exeter
with 1 man

Hanged

Arson

Monday 23rd September

Maria Jenkins

Tyburn
with 2 men

Hanged

Murder of her male bastard

 

1766
23 females sentenced to death, 5 or 6 hanged and none or 1 burned. Mary Davy could have been burned as the crime of murdering her mistress was Petty treason.

 

Date

Name

Place

Method

Crime

Wednesday 15th January

Mary Pyner

Tyburn
with 6 men

Hanged

Stole in dwelling house

Monday 10th March

Mary Lamphrey

Oxford

Hanged

Murder daughter’s bastard child

Wednesday 12th March

Mary Davy

Lincoln

Hanged or burned

Murder of her mistress, Mary Kemp & Elizabeth Verney, a nurse

Friday 4th April

Elizabeth Burroughs

Bury St. Edmunds

Hanged

Murder of maidservant

Wednesday 18th June

Jane M’Ginnis

Tyburn
with 1 man

Hanged

Stole in dwelling house

Thursday 29th July

Susan Schiffel

Salisbury

Hanged

Murder of Ann Noyes (her husband had been hanged for this crime in March)

 

1767
18 females sentenced to death, 4 hanged and 1 burned. 2 others possibly hanged together in Pembrokeshire for murdering their bastard children.

 

Date

Name

Place

Method

Crime

Monday 3rd August

Sarah Addington

Bedford

Hanged

Murder of Mary Dunton

Friday 7th August

Ann Strawbridge

Salisbury

Hanged

Murder female bastard

Saturday 8th August

Mary Newton

Chester

Hanged

Murder of a child

Monday 10th August

Ann Sowerby

York

Burned

P/T murder of husband, Timothy (poison)

Monday 14th September

Elizabeth Brownrigg

Tyburn

Hanged

Murder of her apprentice, Mary Clifford

 

1768
19 females sentenced to death, 4 hanged and none burned.

 

Date

Name

Place

Method

Crime

Wednesday 29th June

Mary Hindes

Tyburn

Hanged

Murder of Joseph Smith
(17 months)

Saturday 13th August

Martha Green

Ipswich

Hanged

Stole in dwelling house

Wednesday 12th October

Hannah Smith

Tyburn
with 4 men

Hanged

Stole in dwelling house

Wednesday 21st December

Elizabeth Richardson

Tyburn

Hanged

Murder of William Pimlot

 

1769
18 females sentenced to death, 2 hanged and 1 burned.

 

Date

Name

Place

Method

Crime

Monday 27th March

Ann Windsor

Exeter

Hanged

Murder of her 6 month old child, Mary

Friday 21st July

Susannah Lott

Maidstone
with 1 man

Burned

P/T murder of husband, John (poison)

Saturday 16th September

Elizabeth Martin (or Morton)

Great Yarmouth

Hanged

Murder of her bastard child

 

1770
15 females sentenced to death, 1 hanged and none burned.

 

Date

Name

Place

Method

Crime

Wednesday 10th October

Mary Ann Ryan

Tyburn
with 4 men

Hanged

Highway Robbery

 

1771
28 females sentenced to death, 7 hanged and none burned.

 

Date

Name

Place

Method

Crime

Monday 1st April

Catherine Burgess

Launceston

Hanged

Murder of her female bastard

Saturday 13th April

Ann Catchpole

Ipswich

Hanged

Arson

Wednesday 31st July

Susan Dulwich

Ipswich

Hanged

Murder of her bastard child

Wednesday 7th August

Frances Allen

Tyburn
with 2 men

Hanged

Housebreaking

Friday 2nd August ?

Elizabeth Williams

Shrewsbury

Hanged

Murder of her male bastard