William Marwood
Encyclopedia
William Marwood was a hangman
for the British government. He developed the technique of hanging
known as the "long drop".
Gaol to allow him to conduct an execution. The efficient way in which he conducted the hanging
of William Frederick Horry
without a hitch on 1 April 1872 assisted him in being appointed hangman by the Sheriffs of London and Middlesex in 1879, in succession to William Calcraft
, at a retainer of £20 a year plus £10 per execution.
.
In his nine years as a hangman, Marwood hanged 176 people, including:
, a retired police officer and friend to take up the role of hangman. During his time Berry improved upon William Marwood's technique of the long drop
.
Marwood was one of two executioners to give their name to the character of the hangman in the British Punch and Judy puppet show (Jack Ketch being the better known one).
In Marwood's time there was a popular rhyme which went:
and jaundice
and was buried at Trinity Church, Horncastle, Lincolnshire.
Hangman
Hangman may refer to:* Hangman, an executioner who carries out a death sentence by hanging* Hangman , a game of guessing a word or phrase one letter at a timeIn literature:* Hangman , an enemy of Batman...
for the British government. He developed the technique of hanging
Hanging
Hanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain...
known as the "long drop".
Early life
Marwood was originally a cobbler, of Church Lane, Horncastle, Lincolnshire, England.Executioner
At the age of 54 he persuaded the governor of Lincoln CastleLincoln Castle
Lincoln Castle is a major castle constructed in Lincoln, England during the late 11th century by William the Conqueror on the site of a pre-existing Roman fortress. The castle is unusual in that it has two mottes. It is only one of two such castles in the country, the other being at Lewes in Sussex...
Gaol to allow him to conduct an execution. The efficient way in which he conducted the hanging
Hanging
Hanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain...
of William Frederick Horry
William Frederick Horry
William Frederick Horry, also known as Fred Horry was the first person to be hanged by Victorian hangman William Marwood, and the first to fall using the long drop method. He was hanged at Lincoln Castle, Lincoln, England on 1 April 1872, aged 28, for the murder of his wife, Jane Horry. Related to...
without a hitch on 1 April 1872 assisted him in being appointed hangman by the Sheriffs of London and Middlesex in 1879, in succession to William Calcraft
William Calcraft
William Calcraft was the most famous English hangman of the 19th century. One of the most prolific British executioners of all time, it is estimated that he carried out 450 executions during his 45-year career...
, at a retainer of £20 a year plus £10 per execution.
The "Long Drop"
Marwood developed the "long drop" technique of hanging, which ensured that the prisoners' neck was broken instantly at the end of the drop, resulting in the prisoner dying of asphyxia while unconscious. This was considered somewhat more kind than the slow death by strangulation caused by the "short drop" method, which was particularly distressing to prison governors and staff who were required to witness executions at a close quarters following the abolition of public executions by the Capital Punishment Amendment Act 1868Capital Punishment Amendment Act 1868
The Capital Punishment Amendment Act 1868 received Royal Assent on 29 May 1868, putting an end to public executions in the United Kingdom. The Act required that all prisoners sentenced to death be executed within the walls of the prison in which they were being held,and that their bodies be...
.
Notable executions
- William Frederick HorryWilliam Frederick HorryWilliam Frederick Horry, also known as Fred Horry was the first person to be hanged by Victorian hangman William Marwood, and the first to fall using the long drop method. He was hanged at Lincoln Castle, Lincoln, England on 1 April 1872, aged 28, for the murder of his wife, Jane Horry. Related to...
, the first person to be hanged by William Marwood and the first person to fall using the long drop; hanged at Lincoln Castle, LincolnshireLincolnshireLincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
on 1 April 1872. - Henry WainwrightHenry WainwrightHenry Wainwright was an English murderer.Wainwright was a brushmaker who murdered his mistress Harriet Lane in September 1874 and buried her body in a warehouse he owned. When he was declared bankrupt the next year, he disinterred the body in September 1875 and attempted to rebury it with his...
, a brushmaker who murdered his mistress Harriet Lane in September 1874 and buried her body in a warehouse he owned. When he was declared bankrupt the next year, he disinterred the body in September 1875 and was arrested attempting to rebury it. He was hanged in Newgate on 21 December 1875. - Charles PeaceCharles PeaceCharles Frederick Peace was a notorious English burglar and murderer from Sheffield, whose somewhat remarkable life later spawned dozens of romanticised novels and films...
, the archetypal Victorian burglar and murderer, whose name struck terror in the hearts of everyone at the time; hanged at Armley Jail, LeedsLeedsLeeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
, YorkshireYorkshireYorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
, on 25 February 1879. Marwood apparently met Charles Peace on a railroad journey a few years before the execution. Peace asked Marwood about his experiences. At the time of the hanging, Marwood reassured Peace he would make it fast and painless with the long drop method. - Kate WebsterMurder of Julia Martha ThomasThe murder of Julia Martha Thomas, dubbed the Barnes Mystery or the Richmond Murder by the press, was one of the most notorious crimes in late 19th-century Britain. Thomas, a widow in her 50s who lived in Richmond in west London, was murdered on 2 March 1879 by her maid, Kate Webster, a...
, an Irish servant girl who murdered her mistress with an axe; hanged at WandsworthWandsworth (HM Prison)HM Prison Wandsworth is a Category B men's prison at Wandsworth in the London Borough of Wandsworth, south west London, England. It is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service and is the largest prison in London and one of the largest in western Europe, with similar capacity to Liverpool...
Prison, LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, on 29 July 1879. - Charles Shurety who viciously beat his common-law wife's young daughter to death in London; he was executed at Newgate PrisonNewgate PrisonNewgate Prison was a prison in London, at the corner of Newgate Street and Old Bailey just inside the City of London. It was originally located at the site of a gate in the Roman London Wall. The gate/prison was rebuilt in the 12th century, and demolished in 1777...
, LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
on 5 January 1880, after a failed attempt to stop the execution with a forged order from the Home Office. - Percy Lefroy MapletonPercy Lefroy MapletonPercy Lefroy Mapleton , a journalist, was the British "railway murderer" of 1881...
, who murdered Isaac Frederick Gold on a train between London and BrightonBrightonBrighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
for his watch and some coins; Mapleton was arrested almost immediately, but escaped before being arrested again, convicted, and hanged on 29 November 1881. - Dr George Henry LamsonGeorge Henry LamsonGeorge Henry Lamson was an American doctor and murderer.In his early career he had been a volunteer surgeon in Romania and Serbia, and decorated for his work. He returned to England and practised in Bournemouth...
, who poisoned Percy Johns (his crippled brother-in-law) with aconitineAconitineAconitine is a highly poisonous alkaloid derived from various aconite species.-Uses:...
at WimbledonWimbledon, LondonWimbledon is a district in the south west area of London, England, located south of Wandsworth, and east of Kingston upon Thames. It is situated within Greater London. It is home to the Wimbledon Tennis Championships and New Wimbledon Theatre, and contains Wimbledon Common, one of the largest areas...
so his wife could inherit some money. Lamson actually returned from France, certain he had covered his tracks; he was tried and convicted, and hanged at Wandsworth Prison on 28 April 1882. - Joe Brady and four other members of the Irish National InvinciblesIrish National InvinciblesThe Irish National Invincibles, usually known as "The Invincibles" were a radical splinter group of the Irish Republican Brotherhood and leading representatives of the Land League movement, both of Ireland and Britain...
gang who murdered Lord Frederick CavendishLord Frederick CavendishLord Frederick Charles Cavendish was an English Liberal politician and protégé of the Prime Minister, William Ewart Gladstone...
, the Chief Secretary for Ireland, and Thomas Henry BurkeThomas Henry Burke (Irish politician)Thomas Henry Burke was Permanent Under Secretary at the Irish Office for many years before being killed during the Phoenix Park Murders on Saturday 6 May 1882. The killing was carried out by an Irish republican organisation called the Irish National Invincibles...
, the Permanent Under-Secretary for Ireland, with surgical knives in Dublin's Phoenix ParkPhoenix ParkPhoenix Park is an urban park in Dublin, Ireland, lying 2–4 km west of the city centre, north of the River Liffey. Its 16 km perimeter wall encloses , one of the largest walled city parks in Europe. It includes large areas of grassland and tree-lined avenues, and since the seventeenth...
; they were hanged at Kilmainham Jail in Dublin in 1883.
Legacy
William Marwood influenced James BerryJames Berry (hangman)
James Berry was an English executioner from 1884 until 1891. Berry was born in Heckmondwike in Yorkshire, where his father worked as a wool-stapler. His most important contribution to the science of hanging was his refinement of the long drop method developed by William Marwood, whom Berry knew...
, a retired police officer and friend to take up the role of hangman. During his time Berry improved upon William Marwood's technique of the long drop
Hanging
Hanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain...
.
Marwood was one of two executioners to give their name to the character of the hangman in the British Punch and Judy puppet show (Jack Ketch being the better known one).
In Marwood's time there was a popular rhyme which went:
- If Pa killed Ma
- Who'd kill Pa?
- Marwood.
Death
Marwood died in 1883 from pneumoniaPneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
and jaundice
Jaundice
Jaundice is a yellowish pigmentation of the skin, the conjunctival membranes over the sclerae , and other mucous membranes caused by hyperbilirubinemia . This hyperbilirubinemia subsequently causes increased levels of bilirubin in the extracellular fluid...
and was buried at Trinity Church, Horncastle, Lincolnshire.
Further reading
- Crime Novel Becomes Reality for GW English Professor, GW English News, English Department, George Washington University, 28 October 2010
- Skull found in Sir David Attenborough's garden that solves 1879 Barnes murder mystery, Daily Mail, 25 October 2010
- How a skull found in David Attenborough's garden has solved one of Victorian Britain's most gruesome murder mysteries, Daily Mail, 26 October 2010