The Crime of Petty Treason
In these male-dominated times, men were considered more valuable in law than women.
If a woman killed her husband, she was guilty not merely of murder but of the far graver crime of Petty Treason.
Petty Treason was defined by the Treason Act 1351 and encompassed the killing of a master by a servant, a husband by his wife, or an ecclesiastical superior by an inferior cleric.
These offences were treated as direct assaults on the authority of the Crown and the natural hierarchical order of society.
Consequently, the statutory punishment for Petty Treason was considerably more severe than for felony murder.
Men convicted of petty treason were drawn on a hurdle and hanged, while women were condemned to be drawn on a hurdle and burned at the stake.
Burning at the stake for women remained mandatory until the Treason Act 1790 replaced burning with hanging, while petty treason as a distinct legal category was abolished entirely in 1828.
Catherine Hayes was convicted of petty treason for the murder of her husband under the Bloody Code, leading to one of the most gruesome public executions ever recorded at Tyburn.
Early Life and Marriage
Catherine was born near Birmingham in 1690.
At the age of fifteen, she ran away from home and survived by working in domestic service and prostitution, including servicing army officers stationed in Great Ombersley, Worcestershire.
At twenty-three, she obtained employment as a housemaid to a prosperous gentleman farmer named Hayes.
She soon seduced his elder son, 21-year-old John Hayes. The couple married secretly in 1713 and resided in a cottage on his father’s farm.
Sometime prior to the marriage, Catherine had given birth to an illegitimate son, Thomas, following an affair with a local tanner.
Move to London and Domestic Conflict
The quiet rural life soon grew tiresome, and Catherine persuaded John to relocate to London in 1719.
John established himself in the capital as a coal merchant, pawnbroker, and money-lender. His business flourished, enabling Catherine to enjoy servants and a generous household allowance.
However, Catherine repeatedly demanded more funds, prompting John to curtail her finances, which resulted in violent domestic disputes.
By 1725, Catherine persuaded John to take in a lodger: 18-year-old tailor Thomas Billings—who was, in reality, her own illegitimate son.
She initiated an incestuous relationship with Billings and soon extended her liaisons to a second lodger, Thomas Wood, a butcher and personal acquaintance of her husband.
The Murder and Dismemberment of John Hayes
Growing tired of her husband and determined to secure his money, Catherine spent six weeks persuading Billings and Wood to murder him.
On 1 March 1726, John Hayes spent the evening drinking heavily with Billings and Wood, competing to see who could consume the greatest amount of liquor.
When they returned home, John fell asleep in an alcoholic stupor.
Once he was asleep, Billings entered the bedroom and struck him on the head with an axe. The blow failed to kill him immediately, and John’s screams alarmed Mrs. Springate, a tenant residing in the rooms above.
Catherine assured the neighbour that they were merely hosting guests. Wood then entered the bedroom and helped Billings strike the fatal blows with the axe.
To impede identification, the killers severed John’s head. They wrapped it in cloth, concealed it in a pail, and threw it into the River Thames at Millbank.
Wood used his trade skills as a butcher to dismember the torso and limbs, which they subsequently packed into boxes and dumped in a pond in Marylebone Fields.
Discovery of the Head and Arrests
The following morning, the severed head was found on a sandbank near the Horseferry at Westminster.
Because authorities could not identify the victim, the magistrate ordered the head washed, combed, and placed on an upright wooden pole in the churchyard of St Margaret’s, Westminster, where thousands viewed it.
Several acquaintances identified the face as that of John Hayes.
When challenged, Catherine claimed that her husband had fled the country after killing a man in a duel.
One of John’s business associates, Mr. Ashby, doubted the story and alerted the authorities.
Constables raided the Hayes lodgings and found Catherine in bed with Thomas Billings. Both were arrested on the spot.
Thomas Wood fled London but was captured upon his return several days later. On 26 March, the dismembered trunk and limbs were recovered from Marylebone Fields, matching the severed head.
The Old Bailey Trial
A coroner’s inquest returned a verdict of wilful murder against Catherine Hayes, Thomas Billings, and Thomas Wood.
The sensational case fascinated the London public and press, marking one of the earliest widely reported instances of criminal dismemberment in English legal history.
When examined by magistrates, the severed head was presented to Catherine preserved in a glass jar of spirits. Under the ancient folk belief of cruentation, a murdered corpse was supposed to bleed when touched by the killer. Catherine wept and kissed the glass, maintaining her innocence.
However, during interrogation, Thomas Wood made a full confession detailing the conspiracy, the poisoning of John with alcohol, the axe blows by Billings, and Catherine’s provision of funds and candles.
Catherine subsequently admitted her involvement, blaming the devil for their actions.
The trial took place at the Old Bailey April Sessions of 1726 before the Lord Mayor and Recorder of London.
The indictment against Catherine read:
“Katherine Hays is indicted for Petty Treason, in being Traitorously present, comforting and maintaining the said Thomas Billings in the Murder of the said John Hayes, her Husband.”
Billings and Wood were indicted for felony murder.
The jury took little time to convict all three defendants. Billings and Wood were sentenced to be hanged and afterwards hung in chains (gibbeted).
For Petty Treason, the mandatory statutory sentence passed on Catherine Hayes was to be drawn to Tyburn on a hurdle and burned at the stake.
Preparations and the Botched Execution at Tyburn
Prior to execution day, Thomas Wood died of gaol fever inside Newgate Prison.
On Monday, 9 May 1726, an immense crowd assembled along the route to Tyburn.
The male felons were conveyed in carts, while Catherine was tied to a wooden hurdle and dragged behind a horse from Newgate across London.
At Tyburn, Thomas Billings and the other condemned men were executed from the carts under the Tyburn Tree.
Catherine was made to watch her son hang before being taken to an execution stake set into the ground nearby.
She was secured to the stake with an iron chain around her waist. A hempen cord was looped around her neck and threaded through a hole in the timber behind her so executioner Richard Arnet could strangle her before the flames took hold.
Two cartloads of faggots, brushwood, and pitch were heaped around her feet and ignited.
As the fire flared, the flames suddenly blew directly toward the executioner, scorching Arnet’s hands. He released the cord before she had lost consciousness.
Catherine was left fully conscious as the fire swept through the faggots.
She screamed in agony, attempting to push the burning embers away from her body.
To end her suffering amidst the horror of the crowd, the executioner hurled a heavy piece of timber at her head, fracturing her skull and knocking her unconscious.
Faggots were piled higher around the stake, and it took more than three hours to reduce her remains to ashes.
Aftermath and Legacy
Following the hanging, the corpse of Thomas Billings was encased in iron gibbet chains and suspended near Tyburn on the Paddington Road as a public warning.
The terrible spectacle of Catherine Hayes being burned alive caused revulsion in London, intensifying public criticism of the treatment of women under the Petty Treason statutes.
Parallel executions for petty treason and aggravated domestic murder continued throughout the 18th century, including cases such as Ann Beddingfield in 1763 and Elizabeth Brownrigg in 1767, until the law was overhauled.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was Catherine Hayes?
Catherine Hayes was a 36-year-old London woman who conspired with her illegitimate son Thomas Billings and lodger Thomas Wood to axe, murder, and dismember her husband John Hayes in March 1726.
Why was Catherine Hayes sentenced to be burned at the stake?
Under the Treason Act 1351, a woman who murdered her husband was guilty of “Petty Treason” rather than simple felony murder, as the husband was viewed as the sovereign ruler of the domestic household. The statutory punishment for female petty traitors under the Bloody Code was burning at the stake.
Why was Catherine Hayes burned alive instead of being strangled first?
By custom, the executioner was supposed to strangle the prisoner using a cord threaded through the stake before lighting the brushwood. However, when the faggots were lit, the flames blew violently into the face and hands of executioner Richard Arnet, forcing him to let go of the cord before Catherine lost consciousness.
What happened to her accomplices?
Thomas Wood died of typhus (gaol fever) in Newgate Prison before his sentence could be carried out. Thomas Billings was publicly hanged at Tyburn alongside the other prisoners, after which his corpse was gibbeted in chains along the Paddington Road.
Where and when was Catherine Hayes executed?
She was executed at Tyburn on Monday, 9 May 1726, where she was burned at the stake before a large assembly of spectators.
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