William Calcraft Executioner

In 1800 in Little Baddow in Essex, a sadist was born. His name was William Calcraft and he was to become one of the Uk’s most notorious executioners, favouring the short-drop method of hanging.

Calcraft started his working life as a cobbler and a night watchman at Reid’s Brewery in Clerkenwell before being employed by Newgate Prison in London as a flogger, meting out punishment to juvenile offenders. Calcraft was forced to take this position in exchange for a pardon from the Crown after being charged with a felony. His mentor was none other than the infamous hangman “Old Tom” Thomas Cheshire, who taught Calcraft the ways of the rope. Upon Old Toms death in 1828, Calcraft was offered the position of public executioner by the Corporation of London and Middlesex.

Although Calcraft was predominantely based in the Borough of London and Middlesex, his expertise was also required at various locations around the country, including Leeds, Newcastle, Maidstone, Manchester, Reading, Surrey, Durham, Derby, Bodmin and even as far as Dundee in Scotland.

His method of short-drop hanging was quite a macabre method, sometimes resulting in long drawn out deaths due to the trapdoor only being approximately a three foot drop, not anywhere long enough for death to be instantaneous nor enough to break the prisoners neck, hence death by strangulation and suffocation. At a large amount of Calcrafts executions it has been recorded that Calcraft had to actually go down below the trap and hang onto the prisoners legs in order to make his death quicker. Such was this method disliked by the officials and public alike, Calcraft received death threats before the execution of William Bousfield. This execution was a sham from start to finish. After Calcraft released the trapdoor he ran off, leaving Bousfield dangling, still alive. A few moments on and Bousfield managed to steady himself by resting his feet on the platform, although Calcrafts’ assistant pushed his feet off. This debacle carried on for a number of minutes, with Calcraft in hiding, fearing for his life, until the overseeing Chaplin forced Calcraft to return and complete his duty. Calcraft employed the method of swinging from the hanged mans legs and the force of his weight killed Bousfield by strangulation.

Calcraft was the executioner for a number of well known cases over the years including “The Manchester Martyrs” (William Allen, Michael Larkin and Michael O’Brien all Fenians – early day IRA) All three were hanged together by Calcraft, for the murder of a police officer in 1867. Unfortunately the executions did not go to plan, Allen died instantly from a broken neck, but Larkin and O’Brien weren’t so lucky. The Catholic priest officiating, Father Gadd was quoted as saying:

“The other two ropes, stretched taut and tense by their breathing twitching burdens, were in ominous and distracting movement. The hangman had bungled!…Calcraft then descended into the pit and there finished what he could not accomplish from above. He killed Larkin .”

Father Gadd wouldn’t allow Calcraft to finish off O’Brien in such a masochistic way, holding the mans hand for 45 minutes as he died a slow and agonising death. This is the man said by neighbours to be kind and gentle and an animal lover. Another high profile case he took on was the execution of Mary Ann Cotton in Durham. Cotton was sentenced to death by hanging for multiple murders of various members of her family, husbands and children respectively.

Two prolific cases he was involved in were two hangings at Norwich Castle. William Sheward murdered his first wife Martha Sheward, and got his second wife to write during his trial pretending to be Martha in order to get him pardoned, the jury saw through this guise and sentenced him to death by hanging. Sheward murdered Martha and dismembered her body, distributing various parts around the city and outskirts, including Thorpe, the Catholic Cathedral and Norwich Guildhall (where they are said to still remain buried). Sheward thought he had gotten away with the murder as 18 years had elapsed, and it seemed forgotten, but he decided to confess out of the blue, hence his execution on 20^th April 1869 by Calcraft. Almost twenty years to the day, on April 21^st 1849 Calcraft executed James Rush (who’s death mask remains in the dungeons of Norwich Castle) who was charged with the murder of his landlord and family.

Calcrafts first solo execution was at Lincoln castle and was Thomas Lister, charged with housebreaking, subsequently followed by the execution of highwayman George Wingfield at Lincoln Beastmarket. He is reported to have executed approximately 450 people, 34 of these being women including Esther Hibner accused of neglect of a young girl, and also the high profile case of 17 year old Sarah Thomas, in public, in Bristol, charged with the murder of her mistress who allegedly mistreated her. Calcraft was said to have found this execution particularly disturbing due to Thomas’ youthful age. He was also the officiate for the last public hangings, a woman called Frances Kidder at Maidstone who drowned her step daughter, and Michael Barret who was a Fenian and executed for his part in the Clerkenwell explosion which killed 12 people and injured 100. However, his last London hanging was that of John Godwin at Newgate.

Calcraft retired in 1874 on a pension of 25 shillings (£1.25) per week, before passing away five years later in his home in Essex.

William Calcraft is definitely a colourful character and has been described in many different ways by colleagues and neighbours alike, but no two descriptions remain the same.

From a paranormal perspective our team has been unlucky enough to encounter him on a number of occasions at different locations. Whilst this may seem a strange coincidence there are various links within each location, making his presence appropriate.

Our first place of encounter I didn’t actually realise who it was I was seeing, he had been affectionately christened “Mallam” by the team and I witnessed him pick up a six foot chap, in front of 30 people, and throw him across the kitchen at The Schooner Hotel in Alnmouth. I was then reading a book on Newcastle Murders and turned the page to find “Mallam” staring back at me, only he had been identified as William Calcraft in the book. Whilst it was good to have an ID, it didn’t please him as he hadn’t revealed his identity to anyone who had come across him. When we returned to The Schooner Hotel for another public night, which incidentally was Halloween, we were all congregated at the back of the kitchen when there were screams and a very strong breeze felt, people parted like the Red Sea for Moses and Calcraft came charging through the throng towards me and another investigator and we both saw him and ran to another part of the hotel. Us being seasoned investigators and all that (Scooby Doo has nothing on us!)

Calcraft made various appearances at The Schooner whenever our team frequented, but not of a threatening manner again, more observing. As my future within the field of paranormal changed, I formed my own team with friends of mine and we conducted an overnight investigation at Holy Trinity Church in Hendon Sunderland. Whilst this may seem an unlikely location to come across a hangman, it soon became apparent why he was milling around. Mary Ann Cotton one of his executions was at the location, so he also made his presence known. Nothing of any substance occurred that evening, we were merely aware of their presence.

The other location where I became aware of Calcrafts presence was upon a guided tour of the dungeons at Norwich Castle. I had never visited this location before and knew no history of the place having just relocated to Norfolk. I became aware of him as the guide was telling us about the death masks housed there, when suddenly he sat between me and my partner, and I refused to acknowledge him, and for my insolence I received three scratches across my cheek. I asked the guide if Calcraft has ever conducted executions in Norwich, she wasn’t sure. I left the castle and forgot all about it until I started writing this article and did a bit of research, and found he had.

My opinion is that Calcraft was a slightly sadistic man with psychotic tendencies, but this is merely my opinion and may not be correct. One thing I am certain of is that as an investigator I know there is much more to come from Mr. William Calcraft, executioner for 45 years.