HM Prison Birmingham, known locally as Winson Green prison, stands as one of the most historically significant penal institutions in the West Midlands. Built between 1845 and 1849 in the Winson Green area in the west of Birmingham, it originally opened on October 29, 1849, under the official name Birmingham Borough Gaol.
Architecture and Victorian Expansion
Designed on the “Panopticon” principle by Birmingham architect Daniel Rowlinson Hill, the prison featured four wings radiating from a central rotunda, fronted by a fortress-like main gate built to resemble a castle. The core building was a three-storey brick structure that initially housed 321 cells for men, women, and juveniles.
- Early Leadership: Its first governor was George Glossop, quickly succeeded by Captain Alexander Maconochie. Maconochie introduced various prison reform experiments before being sacked in 1851 for being deemed too lenient.
- Wing Construction: Only three of the four radial wings were built initially. In 1854, G Wing was added to provide 42 cells for female inmates, a wash house, and a laundry. B Wing was completed in 1859.
- Specialized Quarters: D Wing held up to 40 juveniles, while E Wing accommodated up to 18 debtors. F Wing housed administrative offices and the prison chapel.
- Medical Facilities & Growth: A male hospital wing (H Wing) was opened in 1892, followed by a dedicated female hospital wing in 1903.
- Capacity and Later Expansions: The original standard cells measured 13’ x 7’ x 9’ high. By 1903, the prison held 498 men and 121 women, bolstered by the addition of K Wing in the early 1900s. Further wings were constructed in the 1980s and 1990s, keeping the site operational to this day.
The Gallows and Execution Facilities
In 1885, Winson Green took over execution duties from Warwick Gaol for individuals convicted at the Birmingham Assizes. In the early 20th century, its remit broadened further, handling executions for Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire, and Nottinghamshire as those counties decommissioned their own gallows.
- The Original Execution Shed (1885): A cramped, whitewashed brick shed was erected against the prison wall adjacent to C Wing. A 10-foot-deep, brick-lined pit sat beneath trapdoors level with the floor, removing the need for condemned prisoners to climb steps. The overhead beam was set into wall sockets 11 feet above the floor.
- Condemned Cells (1903): Cells C1 30 and C1 31 in C Wing were converted into condemned quarters, while C1 32 served as the entrance lobby to the execution shed. This removed the harrowing, long walk previously required from H Wing.
- The Modern Execution Suite (1930s): Seven standard cells in C Wing were combined to form a self-contained condemned suite:
- Ground Floor: Drop room with exterior double doors for discreet removal of the body.
- First Floor: Condemned cell, bathroom, toilet, visiting room, and double doors opening directly to the gallows platform.
- Second Floor: Overhead housing for the execution beam.
- Burials & Abolition: Condemned prisoners were buried within the prison yard in graves excavated by grave-diggers from Birmingham City Council. Following the abolition of capital punishment, the suite was dismantled and returned to standard cell accommodation.
Executions and Executioners (1885–1962)
Between 1885 and 1962, a total of 41 men and one woman were executed at Winson Green. Except for two double hangings, all were individual executions carried out by Britain’s most prominent hangmen:
- James Berry: 4 executions (including the first at the prison, as well as one double hanging)
- James Billington: 3 executions
- William Billington: 2 executions (Charles Dyer and Samuel Holden)
- Thomas Pierrepoint: 12 executions (assisted on occasion by Albert Pierrepoint, Thomas Phillips, and Stanley Cross)
- John Ellis: 8 executions
- Steve Wade: 2 executions
- William Willis: 2 executions
- Albert Pierrepoint: 6 executions
- Harry Allen: 3 executions (including the prison’s final execution)
Notable Capital Cases
Henry Kimberley (March 17, 1885)
- Executioner: James Berry
- Case: Kimberley was the first man hanged at Winson Green. Tried before Mr. Justice Field, the 53-year-old had followed his estranged partner, Mrs. Stewart, and her companion, Emma Palmer, into The White Hart pub on Paradise Street. He drew a revolver intending to shoot Mrs. Stewart, but struck and killed Emma Palmer instantly. Mrs. Stewart was seriously wounded but survived. Kimberley was overpowered at the scene and died instantaneously on the scaffold in front of press reporters at 8:00 am.
George Nathaniel Daniels & Harry Jones (August 28, 1888)
- Executioner: James Berry
- Case: The prison’s first double execution. Daniels (34) was condemned for murdering his girlfriend, Emma Hastings, in Birmingham, while Jones had murdered two-and-a-half-year-old Florence Mabel Harris in Aston. While Daniels died instantly, Jones’ drop was inadequate, resulting in a reported four-minute struggle before death.
Frank Taylor (August 18, 1896)
- Executioner: James Billington
- Case: Taylor (23) abducted, raped, and murdered 10-year-old Mary Lewis on Vyse Street before battering her with a brick. After failing to hide her in an attic cistern, he left her body in the yard. Following an unsuccessful suicide attempt in a canal, he was tried before Mr. Justice Wills. Taylor walked unaided to the scaffold after eating a full breakfast, fully admitting his guilt. A crowd of 1,000 cheered outside as the black flag was raised at 8:02 am.
Samuel Westwood (December 30, 1920)
- Executioner: John Ellis
- Case: A 26-year-old WWI veteran who had spent eight months in a German PoW camp after suffering severe blast concussion. Following domestic friction between his wife, Lydia, and his mother in Willenhall, an argument escalated at a fairground when Lydia’s mother opposed their reconciliation. Westwood snapped, fatally cutting Lydia’s throat with a pocket knife on Walsall Street before surrendering at the adjacent police station. His defense argued war-induced trauma (PTSD), but he was convicted at Stafford Assizes.
Jeremiah Hanbury (February 2, 1933)
- Executioner: Thomas & Robert Wilson (Albert Pierrepoint present for instruction)
- Case: Hanbury (49) attacked his 39-year-old lover, Jessie Payne, with a hammer and cut her throat at her Brockmoor home after she attempted to break off their 10-week affair. He slashed his own throat and wandered the street bleeding, muttering, “Jerry said revenge, Jerry’s had revenge.” His insanity plea failed before Mr. Justice Humphreys. On the scaffold, he politely told his warders, “Be good, everyone,” and thanked the governor.
Dorothea Waddingham (April 16, 1936)
- Executioner: Thomas Pierrepoint
- Case: The only woman ever executed at Winson Green. A nursing home operator, Waddingham was hanged for the morphine poisoning murders of two elderly patients, Louisa Baguley and her daughter Ada Baguley.
Peter Barnes & James McCormack (February 7, 1940)
- Executioner: Thomas Pierrepoint
- Case: The Coventry IRA bicycle bombing of August 25, 1939, killed five civilians (John Corbett Arnott, Elsie Ansell, Rex Gentle, Gwilym Rowlands, and James Clay) and injured 70 on Broadgate. Barnes and McCormack (alias James Richards) assembled and transported the device. Tried alongside three others who were acquitted, Barnes maintained his innocence while McCormack claimed the mantle of a freedom fighter. Their hanging was the second double execution at Winson Green. Their bodies were exhumed in 1969 for reburial in Ireland.
Arthur Peach (January 30, 1942)
- Executioner: Thomas Pierrepoint
- Case: A 23-year-old army deserter who shot two teenagers, Kitty Lyon (18) and Violet Richards, on a footpath in Rushall, Walsall. After wounding Violet, Peach shot Kitty point-blank in the head, battered Violet with his firearm, and stole her handbag. Violet survived and testified against him. Peach’s shifting alibis—including blaming an imaginary soldier named “Jock”—fell apart at trial.
Harold Oswald Merry (September 10, 1942)
- Executioner: Thomas Pierrepoint
- Case: Merry (40), a married father of five from Redditch, entered a secret relationship with Joyce Dixon (27). When Joyce’s mother uncovered his marital status, the pair disappeared, later producing a joint suicide pact. Merry strangled and drowned Joyce in a pool at Turves Green, Northfield, before his brother-in-law interrupted him attempting to hang himself at home. Despite a 2,000-signature clemency petition, Merry was convicted of wilful murder.
Horace Carter (January 1, 1952)
- Executioner: Albert Pierrepoint
- Case: Carter (31) raped and strangled 11-year-old Sheila Attwood in Caversham Road in August 1950, leaving her body behind a hedge. He confessed to police after initial denials. A Birmingham jury took only 15 minutes to dismiss his insanity defense, leading to his execution on New Year’s Day.
Leslie Green (December 23, 1952)
- Executioner: Albert Pierrepoint
- Case: Green (29), a former chauffeur dismissed by wealthy couple Cuthbert and Alice Wiltshaw of Barlaston, broke into their estate (“Estoril”), bludgeoned 62-year-old Alice, and drove a fireplace poker through her mouth into her brain before stealing £3,000 in jewelry. Detectives tied Green to the scene through a cut on his thumb matching a severed glove, a bloody footprint, recovered rings given to his girlfriend, and an abandoned bloodstained coat.
Corbett Montague Roberts (August 2, 1955)
- Executioner: Steve Wade
- Case: Roberts (46), a Jamaican immigrant, bludgeoned his wife Doris to death with two hammers over a breakfast table dispute concerning stolen funds in Frederick Road, Aston. After the murder, he walked into the police station stating, “I have done my wife in.” Refusing legal counsel, he claimed a crime of passion and was hanged by Wade, who returned just one week later to hang Ernest Harding for the murder of Evelyn Higgins.
Dennis Howard (December 4, 1957)
- Case: Hanged at Winson Green following his conviction for the murder of David Keasey.
The End of Capital Punishment & Modern Infamy
Oswald Augustus Grey (November 20, 1962)
The final person executed at Winson Green was 20-year-old Jamaican native Oswald Augustus Grey. Grey shot 47-year-old newsagent Thomas Arthur Bates in the chest during an armed robbery on Lea Bank Road, Edgbaston. Grey was arrested four days later after being spotted fishing bullets from a dustbin, having stolen the weapon from a local resident. Convicted after 15 minutes of jury deliberation, he was hanged by Harry Allen and Samuel Plant.
Christopher Simcox: The Reprieve of 1964
Simcox (55) was scheduled to hang on March 17, 1964, for shooting his third wife Ruby, his sister-in-law Hilda Payton (fatal), and Hilda’s husband, before turning the gun on himself. Having previously served 10 years for murdering his second wife in 1948, Simcox would have been the final execution at the prison. However, the self-inflicted wounds to his throat and body made a humane hanging impossible, prompting a reprieve. He died in prison in 1981.
Fred West (1995)
Decades after the abolition of capital punishment, Winson Green held serial killer Fred West as he awaited trial alongside his wife, Rose, for the murders of 12 young women and girls buried at their Cromwell Street home in Gloucester. On January 1, 1995, West committed suicide by hanging himself inside his cell before facing court.
HM Prison Birmingham remains an active category B men’s prison.
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