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Winchester prison and its
executions. |
In 1788 a new Hampshire County Gaol
opened in Jewry Street Winchester at a cost of £10,000 to the design of
architect George Moneypenney. A debtor’s prison was
added in 1805. These continued in
service until the mid-1850’s when the magistrates decided that a new larger
prison was needed.
Charles Pearce was appointed to design and build the new
prison on a six acre site off Romsey Road, see photo. Construction commenced in 1846 and was
completed in September 1849 by a local builder, Thomas Stopher.
The new prison was designed on the then fashionable “Panoptican”
principal, with five four storey wings radiating from
a central hub topped by a tall ventilation tower. Inmates were transferred into this building
from Jewry Street and from the Bridewells (local lock ups) in Winchester,
Southampton, Portsmouth and Gosport. In
1871 the prison had a capacity of 321 males and 31 female prisoners. It also had
the capacity for 29 male and 4 female debtors who were held in a separate
building.
As built, each wing had a large window at the end which was the height of two stories and there were roof sky-lights. Every cell had a gas mantle to augment the natural light from the windows. Water for the prison was obtained from a well in the grounds and ventilation air was ducted from the central tower. In 1908 a prison hospital was added.
A new condemned suite was completed in February 1937, to replace the
previous execution shed. It was
constructed at the end of D wing, on D2 landing, the last two cells on the
right. The drop room was on D1 landing, which is a kitchen now. What is now the
outside wash (pots and pans) is where the bodies would have been wheeled out
the door across to the mortuary, about 30 feet away, that was No 5 workshop
(mailbags), from there they were buried in the confines of the prison, with a
number and an arrow to indicate where the graves were. An official memo dated 1950 gave dimensions of
7 feet 6 inches by 4 feet 6 inches for the trap doors.
Between 1856 and 1963, 42 men were hanged here. 11 were
hanged in public, all by William Calcraft.
They were:
Abraham Baker was the first, on the 8th of January 1856, for the murder of Naomi Kingswell.
Thomas Jones was executed on the 22nd of March 1856 for the murder of Dr. Hope.
Three Italian seamen were hanged on the 23rd of December 1856, for the murders of two officers aboard the ship "Globe" in the Black Sea. They were Giuseppe Lagava, Giovanni Barbalano and Matteo Pettrici.
James Johnson was executed on New Year’s Day 1861 for the murder of Corporal Coler.
Thomas Jackson was hanged on the 27th of December 1861 for murdering Sgt. John Dickson.
On the 4th of August 1862, George Gilbert was executed for the murder of 23 year old Mary Ann Hall.
Ferdinando Petrina was hanged on the 30th of December 1862 for murder on the high seas.
John Hughes was executed on the 4th of August 1865 for the murder of Maria Clements.
On the 24th of December 1867, Frederick Baker became the last to be hanged in public when he was executed for the murder of 8 year old Fanny Adams.
15 men were executed within the prison from 1869 to
1899. They were:
William Dixon was executed by William Calcraft on the 6th of September 1869 for the murder of Corporal Brett.
Thomas Smith was hanged by William Calcraft on the 16th of November 1874 for the murder of Captain Bird.
James Caffyn went to the gallows set up in one of the prison’s yards on the 11th of February 1878 for the murder of his ex-girlfriend, Maria Barber. William Marwood was the executioner.
Albert Brown and James Whelan were hanged by James Berry on the 31st of May 1886 for the murders of two sailors, George Richardson and James Parker on board the S.S. Emma J Shore.
42 year old George Clarke was executed by James Berry on the 27th of March 1888 for the murder of his step-daughter, Ann Vaughan.
Edward Fawcett was hanged by James Berry on the 25th of August 1891 for the murder of his wife, Ester.
19 year old George Mason was
executed by James Billington on the 6th of December 1893 for the murder of army Sgt. James Robinson.
Samuel Elkins was hanged by James Billington on the 28th of
July 1894 for the murder of William Mitchell.
On the 12th of December 1898 two murderers were hanged. Cyrus Knight was to die for the murder of his wife, Frances and William Rogers was to die for the murder of Sarah Jupe. James Billington was assisted by William Warbrick.
Winchester’s only triple execution took place on the 21st of July 1896 when James Billington assisted by William Warbrick hanged 24 year old Frederick Burden for murdering Angelina Faithful, 32 year old Philip Matthews for the murder of his daughter and 18 year old Samuel Smith for the murder of Cpl. Robert Payne. The gallows were set up in the shed (in the foreground of the photo) used to house the governor’s coach and a new split beam had been obtained for this hanging.
22 year old Charles Maidment became the last to die here in the 19th century when he was hanged on the 12th of July 1899 for the murder of his girlfriend, Dorcas Houghton. James Billington was the hangman.
In the 20th century 16 men were
hanged here. They were:
35 year old William Churcher was to die on 22nd of July 1902 for the
murder of his girlfriend Sophia Jane Hepworth. He was hanged by William
Billington.
William Brown, age 27 and 36 year old
Thomas Cowdrey were hanged on the 16th of December 1903 by William and John
Billington for the murder of Esther Atkins.
Augustus Penny, 30, was hanged by John Ellis on the 26th of
November 1913 for the murder of his mother, Matilda.
Walter White age 22, was hanged by John Ellis the 16th of June
1914 for the murder of his girlfriend, Frances Priscilla Hunter.
26 year old Leo O’Donnell was executed on the 29th of
March 1917 by John Ellis and Robert Baxter for the murder of William F.
Watterton.
Thomas Henry Allaway, age 36, was hanged by John Ellis and Robert
Baxter on the 19th of August 1922 for murdering Irene May Wilkins.
22 year old Abraham Goldenberg had been
convicted of the murder of William Edward Hall and was hanged on the 30th of
July 1924 by Thomas Pierrepoint, assisted by William Willis.
Charles Finden, age 22, was hanged on the 12th of August 1928, by
Thomas Pierrepoint and Robert Baxter for the murder of John Richard Thompson.
On the 22nd of April 1930 William Podmore was hanged by Thomas
Pierrepoint and Alfred Allen for the murder of Vivian Messiter.
Sydney Chamberlain, age 32 was convicted of the murder of his
girlfriend, Doreen Messinger and was hanged on the 28th of July 1949 by Albert
Pierrepoint and Harry Allen.
Zbigniew Gower and Roman
Redel were hanged on the 7th of July 1950 by Albert Pierrepoint, Harry Kirk and
Harry Allen for the robbery murder of Robert Taylor.
On the 9th of May 1951, William Shaughnessy
was hanged for the murders of his wife, Marie and daughter Joyce. The executioners were Albert
Pierrepoint and Harry Allen.
24 year old Michael Tatum was to die for the murder
of Charles Barrett. He was hanged on the
14th of May 1959 by Robert Stewart and Thomas Cunliffe.
22 year old Dennis Whitty was the last person to be
hanged here on 17th of December 1963 by Robert Stewart and Harry Robinson. He was to die for the murder of William
Garfield Rowe.
His co-defendant, Russell Pascoe was simultaneously hanged at Horfield Prison in Bristol.
As HMP Winchester, remains operational as a Category B/C prison for adult males.
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