William Corder – “The Red Barn” Murder

The Relationship and Disappearance

Maria Marten was the 26-year-old daughter of mole catcher, Thomas Marten, who lived at Polstead in Suffolk.

She was in a relationship with 24-year-old William Corder and had become pregnant by him, but the child had died at about two weeks old.

Maria had a child, Thomas Henry, by a previous relationship with Peter Matthews. At the age of seventeen she had also dated Thomas Corder, William Corder’s second oldest brother.

On the 18th of May 1827, Maria donned men’s clothing at Corder’s request and set out to meet him at the Red Barn on Barnfield Hill, about half a mile from the Martens’ cottage. Maria never returned home.

It seems that they got into an argument which according to Corder was over Maria wanting them to get married. This escalated into the murder.

Corder’s Flight and New Life in London

After the murder Corder left Suffolk and moved initially to Portsmouth, the Isle of Wight, and Southampton.

After about two months he went to London where he advertised for a wife in The Sunday Times and had some forty-five replies.

As a result he married Mary Moore and the pair settled down to a new life together.

He wrote to Maria’s parents claiming that she was alive and well, but her parents were sceptical because she had left her young son behind for so long.

The Stepmother’s Dream and the Discovery

Maria’s stepmother, Ann, had a dream that her body was buried in the Red Barn and on the 19th of April 1828 she persuaded her husband to investigate it.

He found an area of the earth floor that had been disturbed and upon excavating this discovered a body which he was able to identify as Maria’s from her clothes.

The body was taken to the Cock Inn in Polstead for a formal inquest. She was identified by her sister, also Ann, from a missing tooth, her hair, and her clothing.

Local surgeon, John Lawson, examined the remains, but the precise cause of death could not be absolutely established due to the decomposition of the body.

Maria had a stab wound to one eye, an injury to her body that could have been caused by her father’s spade when he was digging in the barn, and a wound from a pistol ball. She also had a handkerchief wrapped tightly around her neck.

Tracking and Arrest at Brentford

Corder was the prime suspect in the disappearance of Maria.

He was tracked by Constable Ayres, the Polstead village policeman, who obtained his old address from a friend.

Ayres contacted Constable James Lea of the London constabulary who was able to make the arrest at Everley Grove House in Brentford, which Corder and his new wife, Mary, ran as a ladies’ boarding school.

Lea searched the house and found a brace of pistols, one of which was thought to be the murder weapon, together with a short sword or dagger. These he later produced at the trial.

The Assize Trial at Shire Hall

Corder was taken back to Polstead and then sent to the Suffolk County Gaol at Bury St. Edmunds to await trial at the Summer Assizes on Thursday the 7th and Friday the 8th of August 1828, before the Chief Baron, William Alexander, in the Shire Hall.

The trial attracted huge public interest. Corder was defended by Mr. Broderick and the prosecution was led by Mr. Andrews. A scale model of the Red Barn was placed on a table near the jury.

He was indicted with:

“murdering Maria Marten, by feloniously and wilfully shooting her with a pistol through the body, and likewise stabbing her with a dagger.”

Corder pleaded not guilty and maintained his innocence throughout the hearing, alleging that Maria had shot herself with one of his pistols during their quarrel.

Given the considerable amount of evidence against him, the jury needed just 35 minutes to reject his explanation and find him guilty.

He was therefore sentenced to be hanged by the neck until he was dead and afterwards to be dissected. The Murder Act of 1751 was still in force at this time, so the execution was set for Monday the 11th of August at noon.

At 11.30 p.m. on the Sunday evening Corder made a confession to Mr. John Orridge, the governor of the gaol, which was formally signed by him the following morning.

Public Execution at Bury St. Edmunds

Typically the “New Drop” gallows at Bury St. Edmunds was erected in the middle of a paddock on the northeast side of the gaol.

The prisoner was normally brought out through the main gate and walked along the road to it. In Corder’s case, because of the enormous crowds expected, a doorway was knocked through the prison wall adjoining the paddock with the gallows close by. This opening became known as “Corder’s Door”.

A concourse of people estimated at some 7,000 had gathered to witness the hanging.

Just before midday on the Monday, Corder was led out through the newly created door supported by two turnkeys and accompanied by the chaplain, the Rev. W. Stocking.

Mr. Orridge asked him if he had any final statement. Corder told him:

“I am guilty; my sentence is just; I deserve my fate; and, may God have mercy on my soul.”

This was relayed to the crowd by Mr. Orridge.

The white hood was drawn down over his head and he was executed by London’s hangman, Thomas Cheshire.

Cheshire had to add his own weight to Corder’s body to accelerate death under the short drop, and the prisoner’s arms and hands soon relaxed.

Post-Mortem Display, Dissection, and Artifacts

The body was left hanging for the customary hour before being taken back to the Shire Hall in a cart.

Under the provisions of the Murder Act of 1751, his corpse was cut open from the breastbone downwards and the skin folded back to reveal the muscles. It was put on public display before being sent to the West Suffolk Hospital for dissection.

According to the Norwich and Bury Post, over 5,000 people queued to view the dissected body. It was noted in the press that the face and neck were swollen and the mark of the rope was clearly visible.

A plaster cast was taken of his head for a death mask to be made for examination by the Phrenological Society.

After dissection, Corder’s skeleton was preserved for anatomical study, as was a section of his scalp with an ear attached and strips of tanned skin.

A book chronicling his trial bound in Corder’s own skin is still preserved at Moyse’s Hall Museum in Bury St. Edmunds.

The Cock Inn at Polstead, where the original coroner’s inquest was held, also remains standing today.

A year later, another notable matricide case under the 1751 dissection statute occurred with Jane Jameson in Newcastle.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who was William Corder?

William Corder was a 24-year-old farmer’s son from Polstead, Suffolk, convicted and executed in August 1828 for the murder of his lover, Maria Marten, inside the Red Barn.

How was Maria Marten’s body discovered in the Red Barn?

Almost a year after Maria vanished in May 1827, her stepmother Ann Marten claimed to have had repeated vivid dreams that Maria was murdered and buried under the floor of the Red Barn. Ann persuaded her husband Thomas to dig in the barn, where he uncovered Maria’s decomposed body wrapped in a sack.

Why is the Red Barn Murder famous in British folklore?

The case became a sensational 19th-century Victorian melodrama, inspiring popular broadside ballads, stage plays, pottery figures, and puppet shows, driven by the dramatic elements of the stepmother’s prophetic dream, Corder’s newspaper advertisement for a bride, and the macabre aftermath.

What happened to William Corder’s body after execution?

Under the Murder Act of 1751, Corder was denied a standard burial and sentenced to public dissection. After his corpse was publicly displayed at Shire Hall, his skeleton was mounted for medical research, his death mask was cast, and an account of the trial was bound in his tanned human skin, which is preserved at Moyse’s Hall Museum in Bury St. Edmunds.

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