William Calcraft (11 October 1800 – 13 December 1879) was a 19th-century English hangman, one of the most prolific of British executioners. It is estimated in his 45-year career he carried out 450 executions. A cobbler by trade, Calcraft was initially recruited to flog juvenile offenders held in Newgate Prison. While selling meat pies on streets around the prison, Calcraft met the City of London's hangman, John Foxton.
After Foxton's death in 1829 the government appointed Calcraft the official Executioner for the City of London and Middlesex. Following this, his executioner services were in great demand throughout England. Nevertheless, some considered Calcraft incompetent, in particular for his controversial use of the short-drop hanging method in which the condemned were slowly strangled to death, instead of having their necks broken.
Because with Calcraft's methods the condemned took several minutes to die, to hasten death Calcraft would sometimes dramatically pull on legs or climb on shoulders in an effort to break the victim's neck. It has been speculated that Calcraft used these methods partly to entertain the crowds, sometimes numbering 30,000 spectators or more.
Executions in England were public until 1868. That year the law changed, mandating executions would take place privately and inside the prison. In 1868 Calcraft carried out the last public and first private executions. Among his executions were Marie and Frederick Manning, the first husband and wife to be hanged together since 1700.
WilliamCalcraft (11 October 1800 – 13 December 1879) was a 19th-century English hangman, one of the most prolific of British executioners. It is estimated...
soldier and politician John Calcraft, English army agent and politician John Calcraft (the younger) Thomas CalcraftWilliamCalcraft, English hangman This page...
Mary Ann Cotton was hanged at Durham County Gaol on 24 March 1873 by WilliamCalcraft; she died, not from her neck breaking, but by strangulation caused...
otherwise known as Willis, was an English murderer hanged by executioner WilliamCalcraft on 11 October 1870 at Horsemonger Lane Gaol (also known as Surrey County...
by the Sheriffs of London and Middlesex in 1874, in succession to WilliamCalcraft, at a retainer of £20 a year plus £10 per execution. Marwood developed...
houses', also noting that it had an annual pleasure fair on 14 May. WilliamCalcraft, the hangman and a cobbler by trade, was born at Baddow in 1800. Following...
assisting WilliamCalcraft. He officiated at several executions in the prison later in his life, including that of the convicted poisoner William Palmer...
are reported to have witnessed the execution performed by hangman WilliamCalcraft. Notes Beadle & Harrison 2007, p. 74 Parish records, Hythe, St Leonard's...
(executioner: WilliamCalcraft) First public hanging, at the front of the prison Robert Coe, 12 April 1866 (executioner: WilliamCalcraft) Final public...
that of twenty-year-old murderer Michael Johnson, who was hanged by WilliamCalcraft on 29 March 1869. Twenty-nine hangings took place over the next twenty...
of a woman in Britain – Frances Kidder outside Maidstone Prison by WilliamCalcraft for drowning her stepdaughter. 9–13 April – expedition to Abyssinia:...
William Joseph Calcraft (born 22 May 1959) is an Australian former rugby union international. Calcraft, born in Sydney, is a nephew of Wallaby Bill Gunther...
Chesham was found guilty of attempted murder and publicly hanged by WilliamCalcraft on 25 May 1851. Since Sarah's execution, several observers have questioned...
to the scaffold at noon on 21 April 1849 and despatched by hangman WilliamCalcraft in front of thousands of spectators. The castle was bought by the city...
in December 1828. Upon his death in 1829, Foxton's former assistant WilliamCalcraft, succeeded Foxton as Newgate Prison's hangman. H. Bleakley, The Hangmen...
parliamentary time. The first execution under the new law was carried out by WilliamCalcraft on 13 August 1868 at Maidstone Gaol; 18-year-old Thomas Wells was hanged...
record-holder in motor-paced cycling Tommy Hall and the public hangman WilliamCalcraft. In a different way, Frank C. Bostock is remembered, largely due to...
carried out seven hangings as the chief executioner and also assisted WilliamCalcraft on various occasions. His most famous hanging was a triple hanging...
November they are hanged together publicly before a large crowd by WilliamCalcraft outside Horsemonger Lane Gaol for the crime. 13 December – foundation...
Craftsmen initially refused to build the gallows, and an executioner, WilliamCalcraft, had to be brought over from England to carry out the sentence. Kewish...
contrast to the previous night and early morning. The executioner, WilliamCalcraft, was the most famous of the 19th century, but was reportedly nervous...
George Thomas were hanged for the murder by WilliamCalcraft and assistant George Smith, while boatman William Ellis was transported for his involvement...
bombing were unable to disturb the sentence, and Barrett was hanged by WilliamCalcraft on the morning of Tuesday 26 May 1868 outside Newgate Prison. He was...
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