The Violent Assault in Newborough
Only two hangings ever took place at Beaumaris Gaol on Anglesey.
The first was that of William Griffith, at 10.00 a.m. on the 15th of September 1830. The new gaol had opened only the year before.
Griffith had been separated from his wife, Mary, but on the night of the 2nd of April 1830, he went to the house in Newborough where she resided with her daughter.
He became violent and his daughter ran out to summon a neighbour’s help. When she returned to the house Griffith had fled, but his wife was found with her head forced beneath the fire grate and covered with hot coals.
He had also tried to strangle her and force a wooden stick down her throat.
She was very severely burned and injured, but amazingly still alive. She eventually made a full recovery.
Trial at the Anglesey Great Sessions
Griffith was arrested and charged with attempted murder.
Under English and Welsh law at the time (specifically Lord Ellenborough’s Act 1803 and subsequent revisions), administering severe wounds or attempting murder with malice aforethought remained a capital crime even if the victim survived.
He was tried at the Anglesey Great Sessions, where he was found guilty as charged.
Following his conviction, he was remanded to the newly built prison at Beaumaris to await execution.
Here his surviving wife visited him. Other visitors were the Rev. H.D. Owen, the Gaol’s Chaplain, and the Rev. Mr Hughes of Beaumaris.
All their efforts to bring Griffith to religious repentance were in vain; contemporary accounts noted that:
“he died as he had lived, without any manifestation of Christian feeling or even of manly firmness”.
Cell Barricade and Violent Scaffold Resistance
While he was incarcerated, Griffith was observed to be mentally disturbed.
On the morning of his execution, having been left alone for a few minutes, he smashed the wooden bench on which his bed was placed and used the timber to jam the door of his condemned cell shut.
This barricade bought him a little time until the door was at length forced open by warders and he was secured.
Uttering the most agonising cries and groans, Griffith continued to struggle violently and physically attacked the executioner until he was pinioned.
He was then brought out through the door in the outer prison wall above the street onto the gallows.
Even on the scaffold platform, he put up fierce resistance and tried to loosen the noose around his neck.
When the drop fell, death was reportedly instantaneous.
After hanging for the customary hour, his body was taken down and buried within the prison grounds later that day.
Public Unease and Scaffold Labor
An immense crowd had gathered in the narrow street below the gaol walls to watch Griffith die.
Many spectators expressed sympathy and believed that the death sentence should not have been passed, given that his wife had not actually died from her injuries.
Local carpenters and tradesmen on Anglesey refused to work on the scaffold or assist with the hanging, forcing officials to hire and bring in outside labour from Liverpool to erect the apparatus.
He was hanged by Samuel Burrows, the executioner from Chester.
The entire execution incurred a total cost to the county of £61.12.0 (£61.60)—a substantial sum at the time.
Beaumaris Gaol was later the site of only one further execution (that of Richard Rowlands in 1862) before closing. Today, Beaumaris Gaol operates as a museum and heritage site in North Wales.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was William Griffith?
William Griffith was a resident of Newborough, Anglesey, who was convicted and executed in September 1830 for the attempted murder and severe burning of his estranged wife, Mary.
Why was William Griffith executed if his wife survived?
Prior to major legislative reforms in 1837 and 1861, English and Welsh criminal law (governed by Lord Ellenborough’s Act and the 9 Geo. 4 c. 31 statute) prescribed mandatory capital punishment for attempted murder, severe maiming, and malicious wounding, regardless of whether the victim survived.
What happened on the morning of William Griffith’s execution?
Griffith barricaded himself inside his condemned cell by smashing his wooden bedstead to wedge the door shut. When guards breached the cell, he violently attacked the hangman and warders and continued fighting on the scaffold until the drop fell.
Why had execution laborers to be brought in from Liverpool?
Local tradesmen and residents of Anglesey strongly objected to the death sentence because the victim had survived. Due to widespread local boycotts, the sheriff was forced to hire carpenters from Liverpool to construct the gallows and engage Chester executioner Samuel Burrows.
Where and when was William Griffith executed?
He was hanged from a mural gallows projecting over the street outside Beaumaris Gaol on Anglesey at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, 15 September 1830.
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