Swansea prison was built between 1845 and 1861 to replace the former prison at Swansea Castle. It is situated about half a mile from the city centre, on Oystermouth Road. Swansea held both male and female prisoners until 1922 when female inmates were transferred to Cardiff Prison.
Executions in the 19th Century
Three men had been hanged in public here and a further three in private in the 19th century.
| Name | Date of execution | Executioner |
|---|---|---|
| Panaotis Alepis | 20/03/1858 | William Calcraft |
| Maneoli Selaptane | 20/03/1858 | William Calcraft |
| Robert Coe | 12/04/1866 | William Calcraft |
| David Roberts | 02/03/1886 | James Berry |
| Thomas Allen | 10/04/1889 | James Berry |
| Joseph Lewis | 30/08/1898 | James Billington |
Executions in the 20th Century
Nine men would be executed here in the 20th century, all for murder. They were:
| Name | Date of execution | Executioner/assistant |
|---|---|---|
| William Joseph Foy | 08/05/1909 | Henry Pierrepoint & John Ellis |
| Henry Phillips | 14/12/1911 | John Ellis & William Willis |
| Daniel Sullivan | 06/09/1916 | John Ellis & George Brown |
| Trevor Edwards | 11/12/1928 | Robert Baxter & Alfred Allen |
| Rex Harvey Jones | 04/08/1949 | Albert Pierrepoint & Harry Kirk |
| Robert Mackintosh | 04/08/1949 | Albert Pierrepoint & Harry Kirk |
| Albert Jenkins | 19/04/1950 | Albert Pierrepoint & Harry Kirk |
| Thomas Harries | 28/04/1954 | Albert Pierrepoint & Robert Leslie Stewart |
| Vivian Teed | 06/05/1958 | Robert Leslie Stewart & Harry Robinson |
The gallows arrangement used for William Foy was described as follows by one of the four reporters permitted to witness the hanging:
“It was located in the gallery of the weaving house, in which operations had been suspended since the condemnation. On the floor of this house the scaffold had been erected. It was of a substantial, even enormous structure, and was used for the first time at Swansea, and in comparison with the previous structure used, a very permanent affair. From the huge black cross beam was suspended a rope, which had been coiled up at the top so as to allow the noose, which was neatly covered with leather, to just about reach the head of the man.”
In 1929 a purpose-built condemned suite was constructed. The plan shows the condemned cells, bathrooms and the adjacent gallows room.
Case Summaries
William Joseph Foy (08/05/1909)
See William Foy and “Old Sloppy”.
Henry Phillips (14/12/1911)
44 year old Henry Phillips was a labourer and also an alcoholic. He was married to 39 year old Margaret but on the 13th of July 1911 she left him due to his persistent physical abuse. She went to stay with her mother, Mrs. Ann Ace, in Frogmore Lane, Knelston in the Gower Peninsula, taking three of her children with her. She went to court over the abuse and on the 22nd of July Phillips was served with a summons to appear before magistrates and Penmaer on the 8th of August. This clearly enraged Phillips.
On Wednesday the 26th of July, Margaret’s sister, also Ann Ace, who was still living at home with her mother, had gone to draw water from the nearby well. She met up with Margaret and had a brief conversation. As she walked off she heard her sister scream “Oh Harry, Harry!” She turned to see her sister still standing but bleeding profusely from a wound to her throat. She ran back to her mother’s and returned with the older Ann and their lodger Thomas Casement. He gave chase to Phillips but gave up when Phillips threatened to kill him too.
Phillips then went to the “Welcome to Town Inn” where he bought beer and asked the landlord, John Thomas, to step outside as he wanted to tell him something. He informed Mr. Thomas that he had just killed his wife.
The police found Phillips asleep in a corn field later that evening and arrested him.
He was tried at Swansea before Mr. Justice Channell on the 10th of November 1911. He pleaded insanity but given the eye witness testimony was easily convicted. A petition for a reprieve containing around 7,000 signatures was drawn up and taken to the Home Secretary by John Williams, MP for the Gower.
Phillips was hanged by John Ellis and William Willis on Thursday the 14th of December 1911. A crowd of some 300 people stood outside the prison to see the execution notices posted.
Daniel Sullivan (06/09/1916)
38 year old Daniel Sullivan lived at 20 Cwm-Canol Street in Dowlais near Merthyr Tydfil in South Wales with his wife, 35 year old Catherine and her two children from a former marriage, Frederick and Bridget, plus a new baby. The couple had married in 1910. He worked as coker at Dowlais Iron & Steel Works and was noted for being a heavy drinker.
On the evening of Saturday the 8th of July 1916, Sullivan had been drinking in the Antelope pub in the village and then went home and demanded that Catherine, who had gone to bed, get up and make him supper. When she protested he attacked her, kicking her repeatedly. Frederick witnessed this and ran for help, as he was unable to overpower his step-father. In the end he found constables Thomas Davies and James Bevan. When they arrived Sullivan was sitting in the kitchen, with Catherine lying badly injured on the floor. Davies, assisted by a neighbour, Mary Ryan, got Catherine upstairs to bed, while Bevan arrested Sullivan for causing grievous bodily harm. Catherine died around 3 a.m. on the Sunday morning so the charge was now upgraded to murder. When arrested Sullivan was wearing his heavy studded work boots, hence the severity of Catherine’s injuries.
Sullivan was tried at Swansea on the 22nd of July 1916, before Mr. Justice Ridley.
The main prosecution witnesses were Frederick and Bridget who had both been present when Catherine was attacked. It took the jury just half an hour to reach their verdict.
Remarkably a petition was got up for a reprieve, but this was ignored by the Home Office. Sullivan was duly hanged on Wednesday the 6th of September 1916, by John Ellis and George Brown.
Trevor John Edwards (11/12/1928)
Elsie Cook had been in a relationship with Edwards for some months. Both were 21 years old and lived in Llanwonno in South Wales.
Elsie’s parents were fine with it until Elsie found she was pregnant and told her mother on the 2nd of June 1928. Mrs. Cook held a family meeting with Edwards on the 6th of June and it was agreed that the couple should marry the following month.
On the evening of Saturday the 16th of June Edwards took Elsie to the Brynffynnon Hotel where they had a drink and he purchased a flagon of cider. They were seen together near the churchyard about 8.30 pm. On the Sunday morning David Griffiths was on the hillside when he saw a man covered in blood. Five minutes later, William James was approached by this man, asking for a match. James asked him about the blood and he replied that he had cut his throat and that he had killed his girlfriend. James called the police and Edwards repeated his story to them, telling them where Elsie’s body lay. When police went to the scene, they found Elsie had been battered with the cider flagon and nearly decapitated with a knife. Edwards admitted that he bought the flagon to use as a weapon, but having hit Elsie with it, she fought back so he choked and then slit her throat.
He told police that he was also having a relationship with another girl and Elsie’s pregnancy and their “forced” marriage were the reasons why he killed her.
After a one day trial at Cardiff, before Mr. Justice Branson on the 22nd of November, Edwards was convicted and sentenced to death. There was no appeal and he was hanged at Swansea prison on Tuesday the 11th of December by Robert Baxter and Alfred Allen. Edwards weighed 160 lbs. and was given a drop of 7’ 1”. Baxter who was blind in one eye, did not notice that Allen was still on the trapdoors pinioning Edwards’ leg, when he pushed the lever and Allen fell through, grabbing Edwards to save himself. Fortunately he was not seriously injured.
Rex Harvey Jones and Robert Mackintosh (04/08/1949)
Jones was a 21 year old collier from Trealaw in the Rhondda Valley. He had previously served 3 years in the Royal Navy.
He had known 21 year old Beatrice Mary Watts for around a year, after meeting her at a dance. On Sunday the 15th of May 1949, the pair had gone out for the evening and ended up walking back to her home around 11:30 p.m. Beatrice’s body was discovered next morning in a lane near her house. She had been strangled and some of her clothing was missing. Suspicion quickly fell on Jones and he was interviewed by Detective Inspector Thomas Davies and Detective Sergeant William Henry. In his second statement to them, he admitted that he had strangled her after a struggle. He said: “She put her hands up to my face and said, ‘Don’t Rex.’ I struck her on the face. She fell and I got on top of her and throttled her. I did not mean to kill her, but I lost my temper and lost control of myself.” He was arrested and charged with murder. At no time did he try to withdraw this confession.
Jones was tried at Swansea before Mr. Justice Sellers on the 5th of July 1949. It took the jury just 10 minutes to reach a guilty verdict, although they added a strong recommendation for mercy. However, the Home Secretary was not minded to commute the sentence.
Also sentenced to death at Swansea that summer was Robert Mackintosh. His was a domestic murder and took place in the Cwmbwrla district of the city. He had killed 16 year old Beryl Beechy, a family friend, who was found by police lying on the sofa in the Mackintosh’s front room with a nylon stocking and a piece of towelling around her neck. She had been strangled.
He claimed that the two of them had had a row and he had not meant to hurt her. Forensic evidence placed him at the scene and a button from his coat was found in Beryl’s clenched hand. When interviewed by police, he changed his story a number of times and was charged with her murder.
Mackintosh was tried before Mr. Justice Hallett and also sentenced to death.
This was Swansea’s only double execution, which took place on Thursday the 4th of August 1949. Albert Pierrepoint and Harry Kirk hanged both men simultaneously.
Albert Edward Jenkins (19/04/1950)
38 year old Jenkins was a bachelor who worked a small farm in the parish of St. Issels in Pembrokeshire.
He had been trying to buy the farm from his landlord, 66 year old William Llewellyn, but the deal was proving difficult as Jenkins had no capital.
He lured Llewellyn to a meeting at the farm on Tuesday the 22nd of November 1949. Llewellyn left home at 9:30 a.m. and his wife Annie became worried when he hadn’t returned by 2 p.m. She phoned the farm and got no reply so she asked her neighbour, Fred Lewis, to go and check on her husband.
Lewis found the farmhouse locked and on searching the yard and outbuildings came upon Jenkins dragging a large bundle wrapped in tarpaulin. There was blood oozing from it and Jenkins claimed it was a pig carcass. Lewis demanded that the bundle be unwrapped and when Jenkins refused, he went to call the police. The police arrested Jenkins on suspicion of murder.
Llewellyn’s body was discovered buried in a clay pit on the farm. He had been beaten to death with a hammer and partially stripped. A .22 rifle and two boxes of ammunition were also found in the farmhouse and these had been stolen from a nearby property. Jenkins confessed to the murder and to the burglary.
Jenkins was tried at Haverfordwest before Mr. Justice Sellers on the 20th of February 1950 and sentenced to death. He was transferred to Swansea prison to await execution as Haverfordwest had no facilities. He was hanged by Albert Pierrepoint and Harry Kirk on Wednesday the 19th of April 1950.
Thomas Harries – “The Pendine Murder” (28/04/1954)
Harries, aged 25, had been adopted by Mr. and Mrs. Thomas, who were childless. They were elderly and lived on a small farm called Pen-y-Bont near Pendine in Carmarthenshire. Harries had financial difficulties and wanted the farm for himself. On the 10th of January 1954 he forged a cheque for £65 on his adoptive father’s account, and shortly thereafter murdered both his adoptive parents and buried their bodies on the farm.
The police began investigating the cheque and laid a trap to see if Harries would try to cash another one. They arrested him and he eventually admitted the killings. He had denied murder throughout the trial and claimed insanity but was found guilty.
Harries was tried at Carmarthen before Mr. Justice Oliver on the 11th of March 1954 and sentenced to death. He was executed by Albert Pierrepoint and Robert Leslie Stewart on Wednesday the 28th of April 1954.
Vivian Teed (06/05/1958)
See Vivian Teed – The Last Man Hanged in Wales.
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