In 1820,
there were 42 hangings at Newgate, all carried out by James Foxen. Not one of
these was for murder. Twelve were for
"uttering" forged notes, 12 for robbery or burglary, and 5 for
highway robbery. At this time, murderers, rapists, arsonists, forgers, coiners
and highwaymen were virtually always executed and were seldom offered
transportation. Five of those executed
in 1820 were the Cato Street conspirators, who
were hanged and then beheaded for high treason (the disembowelling and
quartering part of their sentence having been remitted and the drawing reduced
to drawing them round the Press Yard on a sledge prior to the execution). They
were buried within the precincts of Newgate, as technically their bodies
belonged to the Crown. The largest multiple execution
in 1820 was that of 8 men on the 11th of December and the smallest was of 3 men
on the 24th of October. Sarah Price was
the only woman to suffer in 1820, alongside 6 men, for "uttering"
forged bank notes or coins on the 5th of December.
On the
eve of a hanging, the portable New Drop gallows would be brought out by a team
of horses and placed in front of the Debtor's Door of Newgate. Large crowds
would gather around it and it would be guarded by soldiers with pikes. Wealthy
people could pay as much as £10 for a seat in a window overlooking the gallows
at the hanging of a notorious criminal. At around 7.30
a.m., the condemned prisoners were led from their cells into the Press Yard
where the Sheriff and the Ordinary (prison chaplain) would meet them. Their leg
irons would be removed by the prison blacksmith and the hangman and his
assistant would bind their wrists in front of them with cord and also place a
cord round their body and arms at the elbows. White nightcaps were placed on
their heads. The prisoners would now be led across the Yard to the Lodge and
then out through the Debtor's Door where they would climb the steps up to the
gallows. There would be shouts of "hats off" in the crowd. This was
not out of respect for those about to die, but rather because the people
further back demanded those at the front remove their hats so as not to obscure
their view. Once assembled on the drop, the hangman would put the nooses round
their necks while they prayed with the Ordinary. Female prisoners might have
their dress bound around their legs for the sake of decency but the men's legs
were left free. When the prayers had finished, the Under Sheriff gave the
signal and the hangman moved the lever, which was connected to a drawbar under
the trap, and caused it to fall with a loud crash, the prisoners plunging 12-18
inches and usually writhing and struggling for some seconds before relaxing and
becoming still. If their bodies continued to struggle, the hangman, unseen by
the crowd within the box below the drop, would grasp their legs and swing on
them so adding his weight to theirs and thus ending their sufferings sooner.
The dangling bodies would be left hanging for an hour before being either
returned to their relatives or, in the case of murderers, sent for dissection.
Execution
Broadsides were often 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. As they were printed prior to the execution, they
were quite often unused if a reprieve was granted after printing, not an
uncommon occurrence at that time. They would show a stylised woodcut picture of
the hanging and had details of the crime. Ordinary newspapers were very few in
number at this time and relatively very expensive so were only read by the
wealthy.
For more information look at Newgate prison.
Back to main contents
page Back to 18th & 19th century index