Background Margaret Beddingfield, who went by the name of Ann, was a Suffolk farmer’s daughter who was born in 1742. She married 24-year-old John Beddingfield, also a farmer, on Tuesday, July the 3rd, 1759, and his wealthy parents gave them a good farm near the village of Sternfield in Suffolk, some 18 miles from Ipswich. … Read more
With special thanks to guest author David Muss for researching this case. On Friday the 27th of June 1777 there was to be a double hanging at Tyburn. One of the prisoners was and still is a well known name. He was Dr. Dodd, but with him on the cart was a fifteen year old boy named … Read more
The Gordon Riots: Background and Scale In June 1780, London experienced five days of very serious rioting which, it is estimated, led to some 285 people being killed, 173 wounded, and 139 arrested. Most of the casualties were among the rioters after the army was called in to quell them on Wednesday, the 7th of … Read more
A Rare Execution Elizabeth Taylor became only the third woman to be hanged on the New Drop gallows outside Newgate. The other two were Frances Warren and Mary Moody. Elizabeth and her brother Martin were convicted of burgling the house and shop of Samuel Hooker at Highgate in London on the night of Sunday, the … Read more
Up to 1790, women convicted of High Treason and Petty Treason were burned at the stake. Although I am sure you have a perception of what High Treason is, as a crime in those days, it also encompassed several other offences, notably coining. Coining covered several individual offences relating only to gold and silver coins, e.g. clipping … Read more
