|
Executions at Tyburn 1715 – 1724. |
With
special thanks to Mr. Dave Mossop for allowing me to publish the results of his
years of painstaking research thus enabling this unique
insight into 18th century crime and punishment. If you would like more detail
on some of these cases or wish to view the trial transcripts, have a look at
the Old Bailey on-line website at http://www.oldbaileyonline.org/
751
death sentences were passed during the decade on 587 men and 164 women. Of
these 327 men and 24 women were duly executed. Overall reprieve rate : 56.4 %. Male reprieves :
44.3 % Female reprieves : 85.37%. A
further 7 men were executed as a result of trial by the King’s Bench under the
newly introduced Black Acts in 1723.
In some
case the defendant’s age or approximate age was recorded at the Sessions and
where they are juveniles (18 or under) this is recorded.
Where women
pleaded pregnancy, which a very large number did, they were examined by a panel
of matrons and if found to be “quick with child” they were respited until after
they had given birth. If not “quick” they could be hanged. Most of
those respited were in fact reprieved.
1715
There were
10 “hanging days” at Tyburn with 38 men and 7 women being executed.
64 men and
23 women were sentenced to death at the Old Bailey during the year.
The
Sessions held on the 14th of January resulted in 5 men and a woman being sentenced
to death of whom 4 men were reprieved.
|
Date of execution |
Name |
Crime |
|
Wednesday 2nd February |
George Hines (Hales) |
Housebreaking |
|
Ann Wright |
Robbery in a dwelling house |
The 23rd of
February Sessions resulted in a further 3 men being sentenced to death, of whom
1 was hanged in June.
12 men and
6 women were sentenced to death at the 27th of April Sessions. 4 men and 5
women were subsequently reprieved.
|
Date of execution |
Name |
Crime |
|
Wednesday 11th May |
John Carbonel |
Stealing in a dwelling house |
|
John Borde |
Stealing in a dwelling house |
|
|
Joseph Barbamino |
Stealing in a dwelling house |
|
|
John Stone |
Stealing in a dwelling house |
|
|
Matthew Cornwall |
Housebreaking |
|
|
Samuel Awdry (or Awdrey) |
Privately stealing from a person |
|
|
Mary Skip |
Highway robbery |
|
|
Francis Martin (Cushaw) |
Stealing from a wagon |
|
Date of execution |
Name |
Crime |
|
Friday 20th May |
Nathaniel Perkhurst |
Murder |
11 men and
a woman were condemned at the Sessions that opened on the 2nd of June. Of
these 6 men and the woman were reprieved.
|
Date of execution |
Name |
Crime |
|
Wednesday 22nd June |
Guy Guy (sentenced in February) |
Housebreaking |
|
James Johnson (Fishpond) |
Housebreaking |
|
|
John Irish |
Housebreaking |
|
|
John Edwards |
Housebreaking |
|
|
Richard Dunham |
Housebreaking |
|
|
Henry Cockale |
Housebreaking |
The Sessions
on the 13th of July saw 5 men and 2 women get the death sentence of whom 4 of the men were reprieved.
|
Date of execution |
Name |
Crime |
|
Wednesday 3rd August |
Sarah Glass |
Stealing in a shop |
|
Edward Dalton |
Highway robbery |
|
|
Margaret Jones |
Stealing in a dwelling house |
The next
Sessions began on the 7th of September and resulted in 6 men and 5 women being
sentenced to death. 2 of the men and 4 of the women were reprieved (3 of the
women were found to be pregnant.)
|
Date of execution |
Name |
Crime |
|
Wednesday 21st September |
Ralph Walker |
Stealing in a shop |
|
Alexander Murray |
Stealing in a dwelling house |
|
|
Trolly Lolly (female) |
Housebreaking |
|
|
Joseph Pewterer |
Housebreaking |
|
|
John Smith |
Housebreaking |
14 men and
3 women were condemned at the 12th of October Sessions, of whom 4 men were
reprieved and the women found to be pregnant.
|
Date of execution |
Name |
Crime |
|
Friday 28th October |
Joseph Sullivan |
High treason |
|
Robert Whitty |
High treason |
|
|
Felix Hara |
High treason |
|
Date of execution |
Name |
Crime |
|
Wednesday 2nd November |
Benjamin Payne |
Theft |
|
John Fairborne |
Housebreaking |
|
|
Daniel Blunt |
Privately stealing from a person |
|
|
John Stapleton (Stevenson) |
Housebreaking |
|
|
Edward Shaw |
Housebreaking |
|
|
James Blunt (Bonner) |
Housebreaking |
|
|
John Evans |
Housebreaking |
3 men were
convicted of High Treason by the King’s Bench on the 22nd of November and were drawn
to Tyburn for execution on the 7th of December. These 3 were sentenced to be
hanged, drawn and quartered although there is no confirmation that the
disembowelling took place.
|
Date of execution |
Name |
Crime |
|
Wednesday 7th December |
John Dorrell |
High treason |
|
Captain John Gordon |
High treason |
|
|
Captain William Kerr |
High treason |
The
December Sessions opened on the 7th and 8 men and 5 women received death
sentences of whom 2 men and 3 women were reprieved. The
women had all pleaded pregnancy and 3 were found to be “quick with child”.
|
Date of execution |
Name |
Crime |
|
Wednesday 23rd December |
Thomas Smith |
Stealing in a work house |
|
John Wright |
Stealing in a dwelling house |
|
|
Richard Bowcher |
Housebreaking |
|
|
Richard Bell (Brown) |
Stealing in a shop |
|
|
Henry Howard (Powell) |
Highway robbery |
|
|
Mary Still (Steel & Hull) |
Housebreaking |
|
|
Ann Body |
Housebreaking |
1716
89 men and 24
women were sentenced to death during this year and 53 men and 4 women hanged at
Tyburn on 9 “hanging days”. A further 5 men were hanged in Fleet Street for
riot.
The first
Sessions of 1736 were held on the 13th January and resulted in 5 men and 2
women receiving death sentences. 1 of the men and one woman who was “quick with
child ”were reprieved.
|
Date of execution |
Name |
Crime |
|
Friday 27th January |
Edward Smith (Allcock) |
Stealing in a dwelling house |
|
John Hope |
Stealing in a shop |
|
|
James Bullock |
Housebreaking |
|
|
Thomas Help |
Housebreaking |
|
|
Mary Knight |
Privately stealing from a person |
The next
Sessions opened on the 22nd of February and resulted in 17 male and 2 female
death sentences. 6 men and the 2 women who were both “quick with child ” were reprieved.
|
Date of execution |
Name |
Crime |
|
Monday 12th March |
Joseph Hutton |
Privately stealing from a person |
|
William Williams |
Stealing from a warehouse |
|
|
David Long |
Highway robbery |
|
|
William Jennings (age 12) |
Housebreaking |
|
|
Robert Haynes |
Housebreaking |
|
|
Thomas Hunter |
Housebreaking |
|
|
John Onion |
Housebreaking |
|
|
John Wilkinson |
Housebreaking |
|
|
John Hurrell |
Housebreaking |
|
|
James Goodman |
Highway robbery |
|
|
Jonathan Robinson (age 17) |
Housebreaking |
12 men and
1 woman were condemned at the April 11th Sessions of whom 4 men were reprieved,
and the woman found “quick”.
|
Date of execution |
Name |
Crime |
|
Wednesday 25th April |
John Hamson |
Stealing in a dwelling house |
|
John Stevenson ( |
Theft |
|
|
William King (Tibbs) (age 18) |
Housebreaking |
|
|
Edward Spencer |
Highway robbery |
|
|
John Smith |
Highway robbery |
|
|
Ralph Walker (Parker) |
Housebreaking |
|
|
Thomas Pyman |
Housebreaking |
|
|
Thomas Smith (Fink) (age 16) |
Housebreaking |
The 17th of
May Sessions resulted in 8 men and 2 women receiving death sentences of which
those on 3 men and 1 woman were commuted.
|
Date of execution |
Name |
Crime |
|
Friday 8th June |
William Hankerson |
Housebreaking |
|
William White |
Housebreaking |
|
|
Thomas Thurland |
Highway robbery |
|
|
John Chapman |
Highway robbery |
|
|
Priscilla Spencer |
Housebreaking |
|
|
Samuel Ellis |
Privately stealing from a person |
Details of
5 male death sentences being passed at the Sessions on 4th of July remain
although there were said to be 8 in total. There no reprieves for the 5
named defendants.
|
Date of execution |
Name |
Crime |
|
Monday 23rd July |
George Morgan |
At large |
|
John Keen |
At large |
|
|
Timothy Dunn |
Highway robbery |
|
|
William Davis |
Housebreaking |
|
|
Luke Pritchard |
Highway robbery |
The September
Sessions on the 6th saw 21 men and 12 women condemned of whom 7 men and 10
women were reprieved. John Love, Thomas Bean, George Purchase, Richard
Price and William Price were hanged on Friday the 21st of September at the end
of
|
Date of execution |
Name |
Crime |
|
Wednesday 19th September |
Elizabeth Slate |
Robbery in a brothel |
|
Mary Williams |
Stealing in a shop |
|
|
John Lloyd (age 17) |
Housebreaking |
|
|
Robert Evans |
Burglary |
|
|
Jacob Leatherson |
Burglary |
|
|
Richard Griffiths |
Murder |
|
|
Thomas Allen |
Housebreaking |
|
|
William Deverill |
Housebreaking |
|
|
Thomas Jackson |
Housebreaking |
|
|
Richard Scott |
Stealing in a shop |
|
|
Richard Worrall (Thomas Green) (age 16) |
2 unspecified capital crimes |
7 men were
sentenced to death at the October Sessions on the 10th of that month, with 4
reprieved.
|
Date of execution |
Name |
Crime |
|
Monday 19th October |
John Chance ( |
Housebreaking |
|
Humphrey Clements |
Housebreaking |
|
|
William Beaufort |
Horse theft |
A further
14 men and 5 women were condemned at the 5th of December Sessions with 8 men
and 3 women being reprieved. 2 women and a man were called to former
judgement at these Sessions and the man’s sentence carried out.
|
Date of execution |
Name |
Crime |
|
Wednesday 19th December |
William Hartley |
Cattle theft |
|
William Parker |
Housebreaking |
|
|
William Thompson |
Highway robbery |
|
|
Highway robbery |
||
|
Anthony Rogers |
Highway robbery |
|
|
Thomas Hurd |
Housebreaking |
|
|
John Moony |
Sheep theft |
|
|
William Dane |
Burglary |
|
|
Richard Brookes |
Burglary |
1717
96 men and 18
women were sentenced to death during this year. There were 7 actual “hanging
days” at Tyburn this year with 44 men and 3 women hanged. An 8th day had
to be aborted see below.
3 women and
17 men received death sentences at the January Sessions on the 11th, of whom 2
women and 13 men were reprieved and the rest hanged on the 1st of February. All
3 women pleaded pregnancy although only one was found to be “quick with child”.
|
Date of execution |
Name |
Crime |
|
Friday 1st February |
Mary Pearse |
Stealing in a shop |
|
William Farendine |
Housebreaking |
|
|
Johnson Burdet |
Murder |
|
|
Thomas Winchurst |
Murder |
|
|
Thomas Whitehead |
Privately stealing from a person |
23 men and 5
women were sentenced to death at the 27th of February Sessions of whom one
woman and 14 men were subsequently hanged. 4 women pleaded pregnancy and all
were found to be “quick with child”. Joseph Still was hanged on Friday
the 22nd of March for murder at Stamford Hill and afterwards hanged in chains.
|
Date of execution |
Name |
Crime |
|
Wednesday 20th March |
John Keys |
Highway robbery |