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Hanging And Garrottage
- Thread starter Laetitia
- Start date
vadim69
Governor
Martha Browning - for murder and theft.
On Monday, the 5th of January 1846 at 8 o’clock Martha Browning expiated her crime on the scaffold in the Old Bailey, for the murder of 60 year old Elizabeth Mundell in the early hours of the 1st of December 1845.
22 year old petite maid-servant, Martha had lodged with Elizabeth Mundell for some three weeks at her house at 1 Providence Place in Brewers Green in Westminster. In the early morning of Monday the 1st of December, she had strangled Elizabeth with a rope in her bed for the purpose of stealing a five pound note from her. She then arranged Elizabeth’s body to make it look like a suicide, before going to visit Ann Gaze who was Elizabeth’s daughter, and telling her that her mother was ill. Ann went with Martha to her mother’s house where she discovered the body lying on its back on some boxes in the bedroom. Ann was able to identify the bank note because it was actually a fake/toy note drawn on the “Bank of Elegance” not the Bank of England and it had grease marks on it. Martha did not realise this and assumed that it was real and showed it to Ann.
Martha was arrested by Inspector Francis Partridge on Wednesday the 3rd of December having gone to Gardener’s Lane Police Station with Edward Gaze, who was Elizabeth’s son-in-law. She came to trial at the Old Bailey before Mr. Justice Patteson on the 17th of December. Ann Gaze and her husband Edward were the principal witnesses for the prosecution. Another resident of Providence Place, Mary Cheshire, testified that “about seven o'clock on the Monday morning I was awoke by a cry of "Murder!"—it was Mrs. Mundell's voice—I heard a second cry of "Murder!" in the same voice, I then got out of bed; and as I was making way to my door, I heard Mrs. Mundell cry out, in a loud tone of voice, "What are you doing? what are you doing?" Martha was still in the room and had locked the door from the inside. She told Mary that nothing was wrong. Martha made a detailed confession to the crime in Newgate.
Martha had chosen a long black dress for her hanging as a sign of mourning. According to the London Weekly Chronicle, “the culprit was a fine young woman, of prepossessing figure and rather pleasing features, her stature rather under the ordinary height.” Reportedly “she showed great presence of mind and ascended the gallows with a firm and steady step, and without any assistance”. On the drop she told the Rev. Mr. Davis, the Ordinary, “I deserve it”. Her final words were “Lord God have mercy on my soul”. William Calcraft withdrew the bolt and she became still after two or three minutes. The body was cut down at 9 o’clock and a cast made of her head. She was buried within Newgate that evening. At least two broadsides were printed for her execution.
Under new regulations issued by Sir James Graham, the Secretary of State, newspaper reporters were excluded from the interior of Newgate and were only permitted to witness the execution from the Old Bailey.
Immediately after taking Martha’s body down Calcraft departed from Newgate in a cab to go Horsemonger Lane County Gaol to hang Samuel Quennell for the murder of Daniel Fitzgerald, a shipmate, by shooting him in Kennington Lane. The execution took place on the gatehouse roof precisely at 10 o’clock. Apparently “The culprit behaved himself becomingly and ascended the scaffold without assistance”
On Monday, the 5th of January 1846 at 8 o’clock Martha Browning expiated her crime on the scaffold in the Old Bailey, for the murder of 60 year old Elizabeth Mundell in the early hours of the 1st of December 1845.
22 year old petite maid-servant, Martha had lodged with Elizabeth Mundell for some three weeks at her house at 1 Providence Place in Brewers Green in Westminster. In the early morning of Monday the 1st of December, she had strangled Elizabeth with a rope in her bed for the purpose of stealing a five pound note from her. She then arranged Elizabeth’s body to make it look like a suicide, before going to visit Ann Gaze who was Elizabeth’s daughter, and telling her that her mother was ill. Ann went with Martha to her mother’s house where she discovered the body lying on its back on some boxes in the bedroom. Ann was able to identify the bank note because it was actually a fake/toy note drawn on the “Bank of Elegance” not the Bank of England and it had grease marks on it. Martha did not realise this and assumed that it was real and showed it to Ann.
Martha was arrested by Inspector Francis Partridge on Wednesday the 3rd of December having gone to Gardener’s Lane Police Station with Edward Gaze, who was Elizabeth’s son-in-law. She came to trial at the Old Bailey before Mr. Justice Patteson on the 17th of December. Ann Gaze and her husband Edward were the principal witnesses for the prosecution. Another resident of Providence Place, Mary Cheshire, testified that “about seven o'clock on the Monday morning I was awoke by a cry of "Murder!"—it was Mrs. Mundell's voice—I heard a second cry of "Murder!" in the same voice, I then got out of bed; and as I was making way to my door, I heard Mrs. Mundell cry out, in a loud tone of voice, "What are you doing? what are you doing?" Martha was still in the room and had locked the door from the inside. She told Mary that nothing was wrong. Martha made a detailed confession to the crime in Newgate.
Martha had chosen a long black dress for her hanging as a sign of mourning. According to the London Weekly Chronicle, “the culprit was a fine young woman, of prepossessing figure and rather pleasing features, her stature rather under the ordinary height.” Reportedly “she showed great presence of mind and ascended the gallows with a firm and steady step, and without any assistance”. On the drop she told the Rev. Mr. Davis, the Ordinary, “I deserve it”. Her final words were “Lord God have mercy on my soul”. William Calcraft withdrew the bolt and she became still after two or three minutes. The body was cut down at 9 o’clock and a cast made of her head. She was buried within Newgate that evening. At least two broadsides were printed for her execution.
Under new regulations issued by Sir James Graham, the Secretary of State, newspaper reporters were excluded from the interior of Newgate and were only permitted to witness the execution from the Old Bailey.
Immediately after taking Martha’s body down Calcraft departed from Newgate in a cab to go Horsemonger Lane County Gaol to hang Samuel Quennell for the murder of Daniel Fitzgerald, a shipmate, by shooting him in Kennington Lane. The execution took place on the gatehouse roof precisely at 10 o’clock. Apparently “The culprit behaved himself becomingly and ascended the scaffold without assistance”
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Naraku
Draconarius
So, she was essentially executed for being illiterate.
