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Cheshire's
Execution Files
Derek Yarwood
By dusty decree, the county judges sent ‘em
down . . . and the city sheriffs strung ‘em
up.
From Norman times to the late 19th century, Cheshire
had its own unique way of disposing of the criminals
condemned at its assizes. For more than 500 years
the county’s rulers simply handed the miscreants
over to the Chester city fathers who, due to an obscure
medieval tradition, were duty bound to execute them.
Ever since the Emperor Vespasian’s Second Legion
encamped beside the River Dee, Chester has always
been a magnet for visitors. Its once-thriving port
and, in more recent years, its importance as a tourist,
commercial and administrative centre have maintained
its popular attraction. Today, people come from all
over the world to discover its Roman origins, to
admire its half-timbered buildings and to stroll
along the city walls and the famous Rows shopping
arcades.
Up until 1866, however, there was a less savoury—though,
it seems, equally compelling—reason why people
in their thousands flocked to Chester. They came
to gawp at public hangings.
In this new true-crime anthology, former journalist
Derek Yarwood tells the story of Cheshire’s
unique place in the history of capital punishment
through a fascinating collection of 18th and 19th
century cases. Authenticated by original court documents
wherever possible, the crimes, trials and executions
detailed here, while all sensational events in their
own right, also bear witness to the public’s
unfading enthusiasm for watching a fellow creature
being strangled to death on the gallows.
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About the
Author
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