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
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 four 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
At least three teenage girls were burned for Petty Treason. Mary Grote, aged
16, suffered at
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 four years, up to a maximum of life. They
were sent to either
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 six 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 seven 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 three 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
Those sentenced to die at
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
Predictably,
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 |
||||
Date |
Name |
Place |
Method |
Crime |
Monday 10th March |
Elizabeth Ambrook |
Tyburn |
Hanged |
Murder of her male bastard |
Jane Heybourn |
Burglary |
|||
Elizabeth Stevens |
Highway robbery |
|||
Friday 8th May |
Mary Warren |
|
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 |
|
Hanged with her boyfriend |
Murder of their bastard child. He was her late sister’s husband |
Friday 1st or 8th August |
Jane Hornblower |
|
Hanged |
Murder of her
female bastard |
Friday 8th August |
Mary Fawson (20) |
|
Burned |
P/T murder of her husband (poison) |
Elizabeth Wilkinson |
Hanged |
Picking pockets |
||
Friday 8th August |
Margaret Onion |
|
Burned |
P/T murder of her husband, Samuel (poison) |
Friday 22nd August |
Sarah Baylis |
Over |
Hanged with 3 men |
Murder of her male bastard |
Friday 29th August |
Mary Dulen |
|
Hanged |
Murder of her male bastard |
Monday 10th November |
Elizabeth Armstrong |
Tyburn |
Hanged |
Murder of Patrick Darling |
1736 |
||||
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 |
Privately stealing (pickpocket) |
Saturday 4th or 11th Sept. |
Martha Colston |
Cambridge |
Hanged |
Arson |
1737 |
||||
Date |
Name |
Place |
Method |
Crime |
Thursday 3rd March |
Mary Shrewsbury |
Tyburn |
Hanged |
Murder of her male bastard |
Wednesday 29th June |
Ann Mudd |
Tyburn |
Burned |
P/T murder husband, Thomas (stabbing) |
Friday 1st July |
Mary Bird |
Ely |
Burned |
P/T murder husband,
John |
Thursday 18th August |
Margaret Wickes or Wicker |
Maidstone |
Hanged |
Murder of Lydia
Faggs |
1738 |
||||
Date |
Name |
Place |
Method |
Crime |
Wednesday 18th January |
Sarah Allen |
Tyburn |
Hanged |
Murder of her male bastard |
Elizabeth Adams |
Robbery in dwelling house |
|||
Elizabeth Osborne & Ann Clark |
Burglary |
|||
Saturday 18th March |
Mary Grote |
Winchester |
Burned |
P/T murder mistress, Justin Turner (poison) |
Wednesday 12th April |
Ann Goodson |
Guildford |
Burned |
P/T murder of husband, Thomas (stabbing) |
Friday 22nd December |
Constancia Jones |
Tyburn |
Hanged |
Pickpocket |
1739 |
||||
Date |
Name |
Place |
Method |
Crime |
Saturday 17th or 24th March |
Sarah Farmer |
Winchester |
Hanged |
Murder of her female bastard |
Friday 13th April |
Mary Brittain |
Warwick |
Hanged |
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 |
||||
Date |
Name |
Place |
Method |
Crime |
Wednesday 6th February |
Elizabeth Winchley |
Peterborough |
Hanged |
Murder - poisoned her maidservant |
Friday 11th April |
Johanna Bryant |
Exeter |
Hanged |
Murder of their bastard children |
Dinah Turner |
||||
Ann Cummins |
||||
Saturday 3rd May |
Elizabeth Branch & Betty Branch |
Ilchester |
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 |
Hanged |
Horse theft |
Monday 24th November |
Margaret Stanton |
Tyburn |
Hanged |
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 |
||||
Date |
Name |
Place |
Method |
Crime |
Wednesday 18th March |
Elizabeth Fox & Priscilla Mahon |
Tyburn |
Hanged |
Robbery in a dwelling house (brothel) |
Mary Young (Jenny Diver) |
Highway robbery |
|||
Dorothy Middleton |
Burglary |
|||
Friday 17th April |
Jane Williams |
Bristol |
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 |
Tyburn |
Hanged with 3 men |
Highway robbery |
1742 |
||||
Date |
Name |
Place |
Method |
Crime |
Thursday 14th January |
Mary Dutton |
Tyburn |
Hanged |
Highway robbery |
Margaret Watson |
Pick pocket |
|||
Wednesday 14th April |
Ann Elliot |
Guildford |
Hanged |
Burglary |
1743
|
||||
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 |
Bristol |
Hanged |
Stealing in a
dwelling |
Wednesday 18th May |
Sarah Wilmshurst |
Tyburn |
Hanged with 2 men |
Murder of her infant daughter |
Elizabeth Cannon |
Stealing in a
dwelling |
|||
Ann Ellard |
||||
Thursday 25th August |
Ann Hazard |
Kennington Common |
Hanged with 5 men |
Murder of Simon Petell (hanged with co- defendant James Day) |
1744 |
||||
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 |
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 |
Hanged |
Stealing in a shop |
1745
|
||||
Date |
Name |
Place |
Method |
Crime |
Friday 15th March |
Mary Stracy |
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 |
||||
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 |
1747
|
||||
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 |
Hanged |
Murder of her male bastard |
Wednesday 17th June |
Mary Allen |
Tyburn |
Hanged |
Stealing in a shop |
Friday 31st July |
Elizabeth Dennis |
Tyburn |
Hanged |
Highway robbery |
Friday 18th September |
Mary Wadland |
Exeter |
Hanged |
Murder of her male bastard |
1748
|
||||
Date |
Name |
Place |
Method |
Crime |
Friday 28th October |
Sarah Kennington |
Tyburn |
Hanged |
Stealing in a dwelling house |
1749
|
||||
Date |
Name |
Place |
Method |
Crime |
Wednesday 26th April |
Ann Vain |
Tyburn |
Hanged |
Highway robbery |
Friday 4th of August |
Phillis Dykes |
Chelmsford |
Hanged |
Murder of her male bastard |
Wednesday 18th October |
Mary Dymer |
Tyburn |
Hanged |
Highway robbery |
Tuesday 7th November |
Amy Hutchinson |
Ely |
Burned |
P/T murder husband,
John |
*John Vickers (or Juckers) who was being hanged for murder asked that Amy be burnt first so that he could watch!
1750
|
||||
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 |
Hanged |
Uttering forgery (will) |
Margaret Harvey |
Privately stealing |
|||
Elizabeth Banks |
Highway robbery |
|||
Monday 31st December |
Catherine Connor |
Tyburn |
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
|
||||
Date |
Name |
Place |
Method |
Crime |
Thursday 11th April |
Ann Smith |
Maidstone |
Hanged |
Murder of her female bastard |
Thursday 22nd August |
Sarah Meredith |
Maidstone |
Hanged |
Highway robbery |
Wednesday 23rd October |
Ann Berry |
Tyburn |
Hanged |
Highway robbery |
Bridget Shepherd |
Stealing in a dwelling house |
1752 |
||||
Date |
Name |
Place |
Method |
Crime |
Monday 13th January |
Rachel Beachem |
Tyburn |
Hanged |
Murder of a child, |
Wednesday 18th March |
Alice Andrew |
Hertford |
Hanged |
Murder of daughter |
Monday 23rd March |
Anne Wilson |
Tyburn |
Hanged |
Murder |
Mary Gilfoy |
|
Stealing in a dwelling house |
||
Saturday 28th March |
Elizabeth Jeffries |
Epping Forest |
Hanged |
Both for the murder of her uncle, his master. |
Thursday 2nd of April |
Elizabeth Sparks |
Maidstone |
Hanged |
Highway robbery |
Monday 6th April |
Mary Blandy |
Oxford |
Hanged |
Murder of her father |
Monday 3rd August |
Agnes Collier |
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 |
||||
Date |
Name |
Place |
Method |
Crime |
Monday 12th February |
Ann Fox |
Tyburn |
Hanged |
Stealing in a dwelling house |
Friday 13th April |
Anne Williams |
Gloucester |
Burned |
P/T murder of husband (poison) |
Monday 16th April |
Grace Weedon |
Tyburn |
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 |
Hanged |
Highway robbery |
1754 |
||||
Date |
Name |
Place |
Method |
Crime |
Monday 4th February |
Grace Grannet |
Tyburn |
Hanged |
Highway robbery |
Monday 4th February |
Peggy Dunn |
Oxford |
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 |
Hanged |
Murder of Robert
Bacon |
Monday 5th August |
Mary Smith |
Tyburn |
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 |
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
|
||||
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 |
Hanged |
Murder of lover’s wife, hanged with Richard Jeffreys, her lover |
1756
|
||||
Date |
Name |
Place |
Method |
Crime |
Monday 29th March |
Ann Lance |
Maidstone |
Hanged |
Murder of her male bastard |
1757
|
||||
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 |
Hanged |
Stealing in a dwelling house |
Wednesday 5th October |
Eleanor Eddows |
Tyburn |
Hanged |
Uttering forgery |
1758
|
||||
Date |
Name |
Place |
Method |
Crime |
Friday 31st March |
Alice Davis |
Tyburn |
Burned? |
H/T coining |
Friday 31st March |
Christian Perkin |
Exeter |
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 |
Hanged |
Housebreaking |
Monday 2nd October |
Mary Larny |
Tyburn |
Burned? |
H/T filing coins |
1759
|
||||
Date |
Name |
Place |
Method |
Crime |
Saturday 31st March |
Ann Loale |
Northampton |
Hanged |
Murder of her bastard child |
Saturday 31st March |
Hannah Thomas |
Winchester |
Hanged |
Housebreaking |
Monday 2nd April |
Mary Edmondson |
Kennington Common |
Hanged |
Murder of her aunt,
|
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
|
||||
Date |
Name |
Place |
Method |
Crime |
Saturday 24th May |
Ann Hulloch |
Tyburn |
Hanged |
Murder of her female bastard |
1761
|
||||
Date |
Name |
Place |
Method |
Crime |
Monday 16th March |
Elizabeth Castlebine |
Leicester |
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 |
Hanged |
Murder of her female bastard |
1762
|
||||
Date |
Name |
Place |
Method |
Crime |
Thursday 11th March |
Ann Nott |
Worcester |
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 |
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 |
Hanged |
Murder of her female bastard |
Thursday 12th August |
Ann Morrell |
Warwick |
Hanged |
Murder bastard child |
Friday 20th August |
Susanna Guise |
Worcester |
Hanged |
Privately stealing from person |
1763
|
||||
Date |
Name |
Place |
Method |
Crime |
Monday 28th March |
Mary Saunders |
Stafford |
Hanged |
Murder of her female bastard |
Wednesday 6th April |
Elizabeth Morton |
Nottingham |
Hanged |
Murder of her master’s child |
Friday 8th April |
Margaret (Ann)
Beddingfield |
Ipswich |
Burned |
P/T murder of
husband, John (poison) |
Saturday 23rd April |
Mary Heald |
Chester |
Burned |
P/T murder of husband, Samuel (poison) |
Wednesday 4th May |
Hannah Dagoe |
Tyburn |
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 |
Hanged |
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 |
Hanged |
Stealing in a dwelling house |
1764
|
||||
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 |
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
|
||||
Date |
Name |
Place |
Method |
Crime |
Wednesday 8th May |
Mary Norwood |
Illchester Somerset |
Burned |
P/T murder of husband |
Friday 16th August |
Elizabeth Staddon |
Exeter |
Hanged |
Arson |
Monday 23rd September |
Maria Jenkins |
Tyburn |
Hanged |
Murder of her male bastard |
1766
|
||||
Date |
Name |
Place |
Method |
Crime |
Wednesday 15th January |
Mary Pyner |
Tyburn |
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 |
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
|
||||
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
|
||||
Date |
Name |
Place |
Method |
Crime |
Wednesday 29th June |
Mary Hindes |
Tyburn |
Hanged |
Murder of Joseph
Smith |
Saturday 13th August |
Martha Green |
Ipswich |
Hanged |
Stole in dwelling house |
Wednesday 12th October |
Hannah Smith |
Tyburn |
Hanged |
Stole in dwelling house |
Wednesday 21st December |
Elizabeth Richardson |
Tyburn |
Hanged |
Murder of William Pimlot |
1769
|
||||
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 |
Burned |
P/T murder of husband, John (poison) |
Saturday 16th September |
Elizabeth Martin (or Morton) |
Great Yarmouth |
Hanged |
Murder of her bastard child |
1770
|
||||
Date |
Name |
Place |
Method |
Crime |
Wednesday 10th October |
Mary Ann Ryan |
Tyburn |
Hanged |
Highway Robbery |
1771
|
||||
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 |
Hanged |
Housebreaking |
Friday 2nd August ? |
Elizabeth Williams |
Shrewsbury |
Hanged |
Murder of her male bastard |
Friday 9th August |
Ann Chapman |
Bodmin |
Hanged |
Murder of her female bastard |
Wednesday 16th October |
Mary Jones |
Tyburn |
Hanged |
Stole in shop |
1772 21 females sentenced to death, 3 hanged and 1 burned.
|
||||
Date |
Name |
Place |
Method |
Crime |
Monday 16 March |
Elizabeth Twigg |
Gloucester |
Hanged |
Murder of her son |
Monday 6th April |
Mary Hilton |
Lancaster Moor |
Burned |
P/T murder of husband (poison) |
Thursday 6th August |
Rachel Bayley |
Salisbury |
Hanged |
Murder of her male bastard |
Saturday 29th August |
Elizabeth Mansfield |
Bridgwater |
Hanged |
Murder of her male bastard |
1773 16 females sentenced to death, 1 hanged and 1 burned.
|
||||
Date |
Name |
Place |
Method |
Crime |
Monday 22nd March |
Frances Hallson |
Exeter |
Hanged |
Murder of her 3 week old son |
Monday 13th September |
Elizabeth Herring |
Tyburn |
Burned |
P/T murder of husband, Robert (stabbing) |
1774
|
||||
Date |
Name |
Place |
Method |
Crime |
Monday 23rd May |
Jane Cornforth |
Tyburn |
Hanged |
Murder of her male bastard |
Monday 29th August |
Elizabeth Hyne |
Chester |
Hanged |
Murder of neighbour’s bastard child |
December (poss. Jan 1775) |
Margaret Williams |
Caernarfon |
Hanged |
Murder of her
stepson |
Margaret Williams was sentenced on the 30th August but
respited as she was pregnant.
It is not clear whether she was hanged in the last week of December 1774 or the
first week of January 1775.
1775
|
||||
Date |
Name |
Place |
Method |
Crime |
Friday 24th March |
Elizabeth Aldridge |
Salisbury |
Hanged |
Murder of her female bastard |
Tamar Swain |
Murder of daughter, Ann (hanged with her husband) |
|||
Friday 11th August |
Susan Bran |
Maidstone |
Hanged |
Murder of her male bastard |
Wed 13th December |
Sarah Reynolds |
Tyburn |
Hanged |
Murder of her male bastard |
1776 20 females sentenced to death, 3 hanged and 3 burned.
|
||||
Date |
Name |
Place |
Method |
Crime |
Thursday 14th March |
Ann Hale |
Worcester |
Hanged |
Murder of her male bastard |
Monday 18th March |
Margaret Ryan |
Maidstone |
Burned |
P/T murder of husband, Patrick (stabbing) |
Wednesday 20th March |
Elizabeth Boardingham |
York |
Burned |
P/T murder husband,
John |
Friday 29th March |
Mary Penylegon |
Launceston |
Hanged |
Murder of her male bastard |
Friday 19th April |
Susannah Underwood |
Gloucester |
Hanged |
Arson |
Thursday 8th August |
Ann Cruttendon |
Horsham |
Burned |
P/T murder of husband, Joseph (stabbing) |
1777
|
1778
|
||||
Date |
Name |
Place |
Method |
Crime |
Monday 16th March |
Elizabeth Grimmet |
Gloucester |
Hanged |
Murder of her male bastard |
Monday 23rd March |
Elizabeth Johnson |
Leicester |
Hanged |
Murder of her bastard child |
Thursday 20th August |
Alice Curtis |
Warwick |
Hanged |
Murder of her bastard child |
Mary Wright |
Murder of her son, Roger |
|||
Friday 11th September |
Sarah Sant |
Chester |
Hanged |
Murder of her bastard child |
1779 21 females sentenced to death, 4 hanged and 1 burned.
|
||||
Date |
Name |
Place |
Method |
Crime |
Tuesday 25th May |
Alice Bishop |
Exeter |
Hanged |
Murder of her daughter |
Thursday 12th August |
Catherine Jenkins |
Gloucester |
Hanged |
Murder of her
niece, |
Saturday 2nd October |
Sarah Jones |
Chester |
Hanged |
Stealing in a shop |
Wednesday 27th October |
Margaret Creamer |
Tyburn |
Hanged |
Highway robbery |
Isabella Condon |
Burned |
H/T coining |
1780
|
||||
Date |
Name |
Place |
Method |
Crime |
Saturday 4th March |
Catherine Parker |
Northampton |
Hanged |
Murder of Thomas Cottingham |
Thursday 9th March |
Susan(na) Grigg |
Worcester |
Hanged |
Murder of her female bastard |
Friday 10th March |
Hannah Bryant |
Aylesbury |
Hanged |
Murder of her female bastard |
Friday 17th March |
Elizabeth Butchill |
Cambridge |
Hanged |
Murder of her female bastard |
Saturday 25th March or 1st April |
Mary Shelton |
Bedford |
Hanged |
Housebreaking |
Wednesday 5th April |
Elizabeth Kerby |
Aylesbury |
Hanged |
Housebreaking |
Tuesday 11th July |
Mary Roberts & |
Tower Hill |
Hanged |
Pulling down a house during the Gordon Riots |
Wednesday 9th August |
Elizabeth Collins & Mary Locke |
St. George’s Fields Southwark |
Hanged |
Pulling down a house during the Gordon Riots |
Friday 25th August |
Alice Twisden |
Exeter |
Hanged |
Stealing in a dwelling house |
Saturday 23 September |
Mary Ellicks |
Stratford |
Hanged |
Burglary |
Wed 22nd November |
Mary Gardner |
Tyburn |
Hanged |
Pulling down a house during the Gordon Riots |
Wed 29th November |
Margaret M’Clachlan |
Tyburn |
Hanged |
Robbery in a dwelling house |
The Gordon Riots were anti-Catholic riots which took place in London in June 1780.
1781
|
||||
Date |
Name |
Place |
Method |
Crime |
Tuesday 27th February |
Ann Martin |
Tyburn |
Hanged |
Stealing in a dwelling house |
Wednesday 6th June |
Jane Vincent |
Tyburn |
Hanged |
Robbery in a dwelling house |
Friday 24th August |
Martha Wills |
Hampton Green |
Hanged |
Murder of her female bastard |
Thursday 18th October |
Mary Bond |
Tyburn |
Hanged |
Robbery in a dwelling house |
Jane Fuller & Elizabeth Hatchett |
Highway robbery |
|||
Monday 20th November |
Margaret Tinkler |
Durham |
Hanged |
Murder of Jane Parkinson while attempting an abortion |
1782 42 females sentenced to death, 7 hanged and 1 burned.
|
||||
Date |
Name |
Place |
Method |
Crime |
Thursday 14th March |
Catherine Higgs |
Worcester |
Hanged |
Murder of her daughter, Mary |
Monday 18th March |
Jane Whitney |
Maidstone |
Hanged |
Murder of Hannah Fennell |
Monday 25th March |
Elizabeth Waldron |
Exeter |
Hanged |
Murder of her male bastard |
Wednesday 12th June |
Mary Rawlings |
Tyburn |
Hanged |
Robbery in a dwelling house |
Monday 29th July |
Sarah Turner |
Shrewsbury |
Hanged |
Murder of Mary Davies |
Monday 29th July |
Rebecca Downing |
Exeter |
Burned |
P/T murder of master, Richard Jarvis |
Tuesday 15th October |
Charlotte Goodall |
Tyburn |
Hanged |
Stealing in a dwelling house |
Friday 22nd November |
Elizabeth Holmstead |
Chelmsford |
Hanged |
Burglary |
1783
|
||||
Date |
Name |
Place |
Method |
Crime |
Friday 18th April |
Ann Williams |
Gloucester |
Hanged |
Housebreaking |
Saturday 3rd May |
Martha Brown |
Chester |
Hanged |
Arson |
Friday 8th August |
Eleanor or Elizabeth Hudd |
Salisbury |
Hanged |
Murder of her female bastard |
Saturday 23rd August |
Sarah Cave |
Bedford |
Hanged |
Arson |
Tuesday 26th August |
Martha Baker |
Southwark |
Hanged |
Murder of Elisha Cook (hanged with her co-accused) |
Friday 29th August |
Elizabeth Rumbelow (63) |
Exeter |
Hanged |
Sheep stealing |
Tuesday 9th December |
Frances Warren |
Newgate |
Hanged |
Burglary |
1784 40 females sentenced to death, 8 hanged and 1 burned.
|
||||
Date |
Name |
Place |
Method |
Crime |
Wednesday 21st January |
Mary Moody |
Newgate |
Hanged |
Stealing in a dwelling house |
Monday 8th March |
Mary Bailey |
Winchester |
Burned |
P/T murder of her husband. Her accomplice, John Quinn, was hanged. |
Monday 8th March |
Elizabeth Nokes |
Northampton |
Hanged |
Murder bastard child |
Wednesday 17th March |
Anne Castledine (age 28) |
Nottingham |
Hanged |
Murder of her bastard child (hanged with one man) |
Monday 22nd March |
Lydia Dickenson |
York |
Hanged |
Murder of her female bastard |
Saturday 27th March |
Vicaria Owen |
Shrewsbury |
Hanged |
Stealing in a shop |
Monday 26th April |
Betty Ward |
Chester |
Hanged |
Murder of James Sinster |
Friday 13th August |
Elizabeth Wright (49) |
Hereford |
Hanged |
Burglary |
Friday 12th November |
Patience Elsom |
Lincoln |
Hanged |
Arson |
1785
|
||||
Date |
Name |
Place |
Method |
Crime |
Friday 18th March |
Ann Hancock |
Shrewsbury |
Hanged |
Murder of her male bastard |
Saturday 26th March |
Sarah Davis |
Shrewsbury |
Hanged |
Housebreaking |
Monday 28th March |
Elizabeth Wilkinson |
Ipswich |
Hanged |
Murder of daughter,
Martha |
Friday 22nd April |
Elizabeth Green |
Warwick |
Hanged |
Stealing in a dwelling house |
Monday 1st August |
Isabella Patterson |
Durham |
Hanged |
Burglary |
Tuesday 2nd August |
Ann Smith, |
Kent Street
Southwark |
Hanged |
Highway robbery |
Friday 5th August |
Mary Morgan |
Gloucester |
Hanged |
Horse theft |
Wednesday 17th August |
Elizabeth Taylor |
Newgate |
Hanged |
Burglary |
1786 31 females sentenced to death, 4 hanged and 1 burned.
|
||||
Date |
Name |
Place |
Method |
Crime |
Thursday 16th March |
Mary Tilley |
Hertford |
Hanged |
Sacrilege |
Monday 3rd April |
Eleanor Haywood |
Warwick |
Hanged |
Murder bastard child |
Saturday 15th April |
Ann Sutton |
Warwick |
Hanged |
Theft |
Wednesday 21st June |
Phoebe Harris |
Newgate |
Burned |
H/T coining |
Saturday 16th September |
Susannah Minton |
Hereford |
Hanged |
Arson |
1787
|
||||
Date |
Name |
Place |
Method |
Crime |
Thursday 1st March |
Sophie Pringle |
Newgate |
Hanged |
Forging and uttering a Letter of Attorney |
Wednesday 11th April |
Mary Welkin |
Coventry |
Hanged |
Arson |
Thursday 26th April |
Catherine Connolly |
Newgate |
Hanged |
Burglary |
Elizabeth Sedgwick |
Arson |
|||
Wednesday 22nd August |
Grace Bootle |
Ilchester |
Hanged |
Burglary |
Wednesday 31st October |
Elizabeth Walker |
Newgate |
Hanged |
Highway robbery |
Friday 14th December |
Henrietta Radbourne |
Newgate |
Hanged |
Murder of her mistress, Hannah Morgan |
1788 27 females sentenced to death, 1 hanged and 1 burned.
|
||||
Date |
Name |
Place |
Method |
Crime |
Saturday 5th April |
Catherine Savage |
York |
Hanged |
Burglary |
Wednesday 25th June |
Margaret Sullivan |
Newgate |
Burned |
H/T coining |
1789 34 females sentenced to death, 2 hanged and 1 burned.
|
||||
Date |
Name |
Place |
Method |
Crime |
Wednesday 18th March |
Catherine Murphy |
Newgate |
Burned |
H/T coining |
Monday 3rd August |
Hannah Whitley |
York |
Hanged |
Murder of Joseph Rhodes |
Wednesday 4th November |
Mary Peters |
Newgate |
Hanged |
Highway robbery |
1790
|
||||
Date |
Name |
Place |
Method |
Crime |
Friday 26th March |
Clare Montford |
Chelmsford |
Hanged |
Burglary |
Saturday 3rd April |
Elizabeth Sullivan |
Cardigan |
Hanged |
Housebreaking |
Monday 2nd August |
Susannah Rigg |
Hereford |
Hanged |
Aiding and abetting William Jones to murder his wife. They were hanged together |
1791
|
||||
Date |
Name |
Place |
Method |
Crime |
Saturday 9th April |
Mary Adams |
Norwich |
Hanged |
Arson |
Thursday 28th April |
Catherine Lloyd |
Cardigan |
Hanged |
Horse theft |
Wednesday 6th July |
Isabella Stuart |
Newgate |
Hanged |
Stealing in a dwelling house |
Friday 26th August |
Joan Pierce |
Exeter |
Hanged |
Murder of her female bastard |
Friday 7th October |
Catherine Griffith |
Cardiff |
Hanged |
Burglary |
1792
|
||||
Date |
Name |
Place |
Method |
Crime |
Thursday 22nd March |
Sarah Shenston (aged 18) |
Shrewsbury |
Hanged |
Murder of her male bastard |
Friday 23rd March |
Jane Cross |
Northampton |
Hanged |
Highway robbery |
Monday 26th March |
Elizabeth Elliot |
York |
Hanged |
Murder Mary Walker |
Friday 10th August |
Jane Clarke & Eleanor Clarke |
West Gate Newcastle-upon -Tyne |
Hanged |
All 3 for the murder and robbery of Mrs. Margaret Crozier (elderly lady) |
Jane Clarke’s father had also been hanged for horse theft in
1788. William Winter, the man hanged
with them, was hanged in chains afterwards. Two of his relatives had been
hanged previously.
1793
|
||||
Date |
Name |
Place |
Method |
Crime |
Wednesday 3rd April |
Joan Tattel |
Taunton |
Hanged |
Murder of her female bastard |
Friday 26th April |
Ann Cooke |
Warwick |
Hanged |
Highway robbery |
Friday 12th July |
Mary Humphrey |
Buckingham |
Hanged |
Murder of her female bastard |
Wednesday 14th August |
Margaret Dunn |
Morpeth |
Hanged |
Burglary |
Walter Clarke was hanged alongside Margaret Dunn – he was the father of Jane & Eleanor Clarke above.
1794
|
||||
Date |
Name |
Place |
Method |
Crime |
Monday 17th March |
Elizabeth Marsh (aged 15) |
Dorchester |
Hanged |
Murder of her grandfather, John Nevil |
Friday 4th April |
Joan Stone |
Exeter |
Hanged |
Arson |
Tuesday 12th August |
Ann Scalberd |
York |
Hanged |
Murder of mother in
law, |
Friday 22nd August |
Hannah Limbrick |
Gloucester |
Hanged |
Murder of her
daughter, |
Saturday 23rd August |
Hannah Weobley |
Gloucester |
Hanged |
Murder of her male bastard |
1795
|
||||
Date |
Name |
Place |
Method |
Crime |
Wednesday 1st April |
Mary Finlayson |
Newgate |
Hanged |
Highway robbery |
Monday 3rd August |
Sarah King |
Kennington Common |
Hanged |
Murder of her male bastard |
Friday 14th August |
Margaret Boulker |
Warwick |
Hanged |
Riot |
1796
|
||||
Date |
Name |
Place |
Method |
Crime |
Wednesday 11th May |
Sarah Scott |
Newgate |
Hanged |
Stole in a dwelling house |
Monday 27th June |
Mary Nott |
Newgate |
Hanged |
Murder of Le Comte Montec de Laval |
Eleanor Hughes |
Hanged |
Murder of George Hebrier. (Co-accused, Richard Ludman hanged with them) |
||
Wednesday 10th August |
Hannah Griffiths |
Kennington Common |
Hanged |
Burglary |
1797
|
||||
Date |
Name |
Place |
Method |
Crime |
Friday 17th March |
Elizabeth Brockleby |
Lincoln |
Drawn to gallows & hanged |
P/T murder of husband. First woman not to burned for this crime |
Monday 20th March |
Elizabeth Amos |
Maidstone |
Hanged |
P/T murder of husband, Stephen. |
Wednesday 10th May |
Diana Davis |
Presteigne |
Hanged |
Sheep stealing |
Wednesday 9th August |
Rebecca Howard |
Norwich |
Hanged |
Murder of her male bastard |
Monday 21st August |
Rebecca Dunn |
Kennington Common |
Hanged |
H/T colouring coin |
Monday 11th December |
Maria Theresa Phipoe |
Newgate |
Hanged |
Murder of Mary Cox |
Elizabeth Brockleby & Elizabeth Amos were both drawn to
the gallows on sledges as they were to die for Petty Treason.
Rebecca Dunn was also probably drawn to the gallows.
1798
|
||||
Date |
Name |
Place |
Method |
Crime |
Wednesday 30th May |
Elizabeth Brown |
Newgate |
Hanged |
Forging a bank note |
Monday 22nd July |
Mary Nicholson |
Durham |
Hanged |
Murdered her master’s sister |
Wed. 28th November |
Ann Warner |
Newgate |
Hanged |
H/T Coining |
The rope used to hang Mary Nicholson broke as she dropped and she was made to wait an hour while another was found.
1799
|
||||
Date |
Name |
Place |
Method |
Crime |
Monday 18th March |
Sarah Williams |
Maidstone |
Hanged |
Murder of her female bastard |
Saturday 23rd March |
Mary Ann Martin |
Exeter (Devon County Gaol) |
Hanged |
Murder of Margaret Palmer |
Friday 5th April |
Betty Limpany (18) |
|
Hanged |
Arson |
Monday 22nd July |
Elizabeth Lavender |
Horsham |
Hanged |
Murder of her male bastard |
Wednesday 24th July |
Margaret Hughes |
Canterbury |
Hanged |
P/T murder of husband, Thomas. |