One of the most infamous Victorian criminals was Charles Peace, who was hanged at Armley Prison, Leeds, by William Marwood on Monday, the 25th of February 1879 — “For that I done but never intended,” as Peace put it. Early Life and Criminal Career Peace was a violent career criminal born in Sheffield in May … Read more
Background Catherine Flannagan, aged 55, and Margaret Higgins, aged 41 (her age is also given as 45), were sisters who emigrated from Ireland during the potato famines of 1845–1849 and came to live in the Liverpool slums. They embarked on a plan to make money from life insurance and burial societies, which were popular in … Read more
The Relationship and Events Leading to Murder A Short-Lived Romance 24 year old Alfred Sowery (or Sowrey) had been going out with 19 year old Annie Kelly for eight or nine weeks in the Spring of 1887. She was a laundry maid at the Bull Hotel in Preston and he was a pawn-broker’s assistant. On … Read more
45 year old Robert Goodale was a market gardener who had been married to a lady called Bethsheba for 22 years. He owned a piece of land at Walsoken Marsh, near Wisbech, where he grew fruit and vegetables. On the property was a house that was used only for storage and not lived in, together with a … Read more
Mary Ann Britland was born in 1848 and had married in her late teens to Thomas Britland, five years her senior, to whom she had born two daughters, Elizabeth and Susannah a year apart. At the time of the murders the Britlands were living in a rented house at 92 Turner Lane, Ashton under Lyne near Manchester where they had moved in late 1885 … Read more
