NETFLIX UK DARK TOURIST ATTRACTION – THE CRIME THROUGH TIME COLLECTION HERE AT LITTLEDEAN JAIL, FOREST OF DEAN, GLOUCESTERSHIRE …. FEATURING AN EXHIBITION ON CAPITAL PUNISHMENT, ALSO KNOWN AS THE DEATH PENALTY . A CHILLING REMINDER OF THE WORK OF BRITAIN’S HANGMEN AND EXECUTIONERS …

Talk about objects that evoke strong feelings and debate ….  you need look no further than a simple rope which just happens to be the Hangman’s Noose .

Here at The Crime Through Time Collection, Littledean Jail we house and display several original Hangman’s Nooses including the one used by James Berry on ” The Man They Couldn’t Hang ”  John “Babbacombe” Lee.  

We also house and have on display  several official government regulation nooses made by John Edgington , Old Kent Road, London. Some of which have the chamois leather noose and the the gutta percha on the noose ends. The gutta percha was later omitted from the regulation noose ends in 1955.

These noose’s would have possibly  been used for both test drops and executions  by several of Britain’s 20th Century Hangmen and Executioners, and also for executions carried out abroad . These ropes would undoubtedly have been used by the likes of Stephen Wade, Henry Kirk, Robert Lewis Stewart, John Ellis, Albert Pierrepoint and the last hangman in England Harry Allen .

Above : Original oil painting of  3 generations of the Pierrepoint family , who were all Britain’s chief executioners  … Painted by local Gloucestershire artist Paul Bridgman , on display at Littledean Jail.

Sadly official records no longer appear to exist in regards to  where and on whom these official government regulation J Edgington & Co noose’s were used . All we know is that Edgingtons were awarded the Government contract to supply all the execution noose’s from 1888 up until the abolition of the death penalty in 1964.

The only other official documentation or records  that exists in regards to the storage and transportation of  numbered J Edgington nooses is that which is held at HMP Wandsworth , London.

We also feature on display an array of handwritten and signed correspondence from a number of hangmen.

All in all a hopefully  unique,  historical and educational insight into the life and times of Capital Punishment within the UK .

ABOVE AND BELOW: VARIOUS EXAMPLES OF OFFICIAL GOVERNMENT ISSUE HANGMAN NOOSE’S WHICH WERE MADE BY J EDGINGTON & CO , OLD KENT ROAD , LONDON. THESE WERE MANUFACTURED BY THEM FROM 1888 UNTIL THE ABOLITION OF CAPITAL PUNISHMENT IN 1965 .

Official inscription of Government  Hangman nNoose makers  J. Edgington  on brass eyelets .

close-up image of vulcanised rubber noose washer and ” gutta percha ” covering

 

Close up image of Chamois Leather covered noose

 

BELOW IS AN INSIGHT INTO SOME OF VARIOUS HANGMEN RELATED EXHIBIT MATERIAL HERE ON DISPLAY, WHICH INCLUDES  ORIGINAL HANGMAN’S NOOSE’S USED BY GEORGE SMITH POPULARLY KNOWN AS ” THROTTLER SMITH ” AND  JAMES BERRY ON THE “MAN THEY COULD NOT HANG ” – JOHN “BABBACOMBE” LEE . ALSO  HANDWRITTEN  AND SIGNED  LETTERS, BUSINESS  CARDS AND RECEIPTS ETC.

GEORGE SMITH ( 1805-1874 )

George Smith, popularly known as Throttler Smith, was an English hangman from 1840 until 1872. He was born in Rowley Regis in the English West Midlands, where he performed the majority of his executions George Smith, popularly known as Throttler Smith, was an English hangman from 1840 until 1872. He was born in Rowley Regis in the English West Midlands, where he performed the majority of his executionsNOOSE’S USED BY GEORGE SMITH POPULARLY KNOWN AS ” THROTTLER SMITH “NOOSE USED BY GEORGE SMITH POPULARLY KNOWN AS ” THROTTLER SMITH “

WILLIAM CALCRAFT  (1800 -1879 )

William Calcraft 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.

BELOW: Original oil painting by Gloucestershire artist Paul Bridgman of notorious Hangman and Executioner – William Calcraft

BELOW : Original receipt for payment of the sum of £12.12 shillings dated 22 march 1856 for an execution he carried out at Manchester Gaol . It is complete  with a lilac Inland Revenue 1d stamp as well as being receipted as signed for by William Calcraft …. an extremely rare historic item for sure here on display at Littledean Jail

In today’s money this would be equivalent to approx £9000 !!!

WILLIAM MARWOOD ( 1818-1883)

William Marwood was a hangman for the British government. He developed the technique of hanging known as the “long drop”.

ABOVE : Original oil painting of William Marwood by Gloucestershire artist Paul Bridgman here on display at Littledean Jail

BELOW : An original rare official business card from William Marwood , Executioner , which he has also signed on the rear as pictured here below.

JAMES BERRY (1852-1913 )

James Berry was an English executioner from 1884 until 1891. Berry was born in Heckmondwike in the West Riding of Yorkshire, where his father worked as a wool-stapler.

Above & below : An original book about James Berry sent to Joe Mawson back in 2004 with a dedicated inscription for his help having , at the time via Andy Jones of The Crime Through Time Collection provided a copy of the original James Berry calling card for illustrated use within this book

ABOVE : Original and very rare James Berry ” Public Executioner ” business / calling cards

ABOVE: An original oil painting by Gloucestershire artist Paul Bridgman of James Berry , here on display at The Crime Through Time Collection , Littledean jail .

ABOVE AND BELOW: THE ORIGINAL JAMES BERRY HANGMAN’S NOOSE, USED BY HIM IN THE FAILED ATTEMPT TO EXECUTE JOHN ‘BABBACOMBE’ LEE IN EXETER JAIL ON 23 FEBRUARY 1885

DISPLAYED HERE ALONG WITH THE ORIGINAL HANDWRITTEN AND SIGNED AUTHENTICATION LETTER FROM JAMES BERRY DATED 3 JULY 1897 IN RELATION TO THE USE OF THIS NOOSE .

Above & below , an original James Berry Executioner business calling card privately acquired from the estate of former crime ephemera collector Joe Mawson (who passed away at the age of 86) by The Crime Through Time Collection along with an original letter from Scotland Yard’s Black Museum curator Bill Waddell sent from the Metropolitan Police Office dated 20-2-1984, previously sent to Joe Mawson with reference to this extremely rare calling card .

PICTURED HERE BELOW IS AN EXCEPTIONALLY RARE AND MOST CERTAINALY HISTORICALLY UNIQUE ENGRAVED 1861 HALF PENNY COIN PRESENTED BY JAMES BERRY PUBLIC EXECUTIONER TO J.BREEZE, 25 JULY 1886.

THIS PERSONALLY ENGRAVED PRESENTATION COIN IS HERE ON DISPLAY, ALONG WITH AN ARRAY OF INFAMOUS HANGMAN JAMES BERRY & OTHER HANGMEN AND EXECUTIONER MEMORABILIA

JOHN ELLIS (1874 -1932 )

John Ellis was a British executioner for 23 years, from 1901 to 1924. His other occupations were as a Rochdale hairdresser and newsagent.

ABOVE: Original oil painting of John Ellis by Gloucestershire Artist Paul Bridgman , here on display at Littledean Jail

JOHN BILLINGTON HANGMAN AND EXECUTIONER

John Billington came from a family of hangmen. His father, James, was an executioner from 1884 to 1901, and his two older brothers, Thomas and William were employed in the same occupation.

In early 1902, at the age of 21, John attended an execution training course at Newgate Prison. His brother William was England’s primary executioner by this time, and the two became partners. They first worked on 18 March. John was the assistant for 10 of William’s commissions in 1902. He helped perform the last execution at Newgate and the first one at Pentonville.

Billington continued as an assistant through most of 1903. However, with his experience, he was soon promoted. On 2 December 1903, he carried out his commission as a chief executioner in Manchester, with John Ellis as his assistant. Twenty-nine executions took place in England and Ireland in 1903; the Billington brothers participated in 27 of them, including 15 as a two-man team.

John Billington worked both as his brother’s assistant and as a chief executioner for the next two years. On three separate occasions, they carried out executions in different cities on the same day. The last of these was on 17 August 1904, when John executed John Kay at Armley Prison, and William hanged Samuel Holden at Winson Green Prison.

Besides Ellis, John Billington also frequently worked with Henry Pierrepoint. In his career, Billington carried out a total of 26 hangings as an assistant and 16 as a chief executioner. He worked as a hairdresser when not performing executions.

In August 1905, Billington received a commission to hang Thomas Tattersall in Leeds. While preparing the scaffold, he fell through the open trapdoor and cracked his ribs. He died about two months later due to those injuries; the official cause of death was pleurisy.

Billington was 25 years old at the time. He was survived by his wife and one child.

ABOVE : Original oil painting of James Billington by Gloucestershire  artist Paul Bridgman here on display at Littledean Jail

BELOW: Original oil painting of Henry Pierrepoint by Gloucestershire artist Paul Bridgman here on display at Littledean Jail

THOMAS PIERREPOINT (1870 – 1954 )

ABOVE: Thomas Pierrepoint (left) and his nephew, Albert (right)

BELOW: Thomas Pierrepoint , Hangman and Executioner

Thomas Pierrepoint began working as a hangman in 1906 under the influence of his brother, Henry. His career spanned 39 years, and ended in 1946, by which time he was in his mid-seventies. During this time, he is thought to have carried out 294 hangings, 203 of which were civilians executed in England and Wales, whilst the remainder were executions carried out abroad or upon military personnel. Among those he executed was the poisoner Frederick Seddon in 1912.
During World War II he was appointed as executioner by the US Military and was responsible for 13 out of 16 hangings of US soldiers at the Shepton Mallet military prison in Somerset. In this capacity, Pierrepoint carried out executions not only for murder but also rape which, at the time, was a capital crime under US military law although not in British law. In most of these cases he was assisted by his nephew Albert – who was principal hangman for the remaining three executions.
In 1940, his medical fitness for the job was questioned by a medical officer who called him “unsecure” and doubted “whether his sight was good”. The Prison Commission discreetly asked for reports on his performance during executions in the following time, but evidently found no reason to take action, although one report said that Thomas Pierrepoint had “smelled strongly of drink” on two occasions when reporting at the prison. This, however, appears to clash with Thomas Pierrepoint’s instruction to Albert (when the latter acted as his assistant) not to take a drink if on the job and never to accept the drink customarily given to all witnesses at executions in the Republic of Ireland.
Thomas never officially retired, rather his name was removed from the list of executioners and invitations to conduct executions ceased to arrive. He died at his daughter’s home in Bradford on 11 February 1954, aged 83

ABOVE: Original oil painting of Thomas Pierrepoint  by Gloucestershire Artist Paul Bridgman on display at Littledean Jail

 

ALBERT PIERREPOINT  ( 1943 -1992 )

Albert Pierrepoint was a long-serving hangman in England. He executed at least 400 people, including William Joyce and John Amery. In Germany and Austria after the war, he executed some 200 people who had been convicted of war crimes

HARRY ALLEN – THE LAST HANGMAN AND EXECUTIONER IN THE UNITED KINGDOM

ABOVE : Harry Allen, Britain’s last chief executioner, photographed in 1969

 Harry Bernard Allen (5 November 1911 – 14 August 1992) was one of Britain’s last official executioners, officiating between 1941 and 1964. He was chief executioner at 41 executions and acted as assistant executioner at 53 others, at various prisons in England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands and Cyprus. He acted as assistant executioner for 14 years, mostly to Albert Pierrepoint from 1941 to 1955.

ABOVE : Inspection: Hangman Harry Allen, right, examines a noose before an execution he undertook for the British Government in Cyprus

In October 1955 Allen was appointed as Chief Executioner alongside Pierrepoint, although he did not execute anyone in this role until 10 May 1956, when he hanged two EOKA members in Cyprus. Pierrepoint was no longer available because he had resigned in February 1956. Allen’s most controversial hanging came in April 1962, when James Hanratty was hanged for murder, despite efforts to clear his name. Hanratty was proven guilty in 2002 by DNA. Allen also assisted in the execution of Derek Bentley in 1953, and he performed one of the last two executions in Britain, in August 1964.

ABOVE : Original oil painting of hangman and executioner Harry Allen by Gloucestershire Artist Paul Bridgman here on display at Littledean Jail.

NETFLIX UK DARK TOURIST ATTRACTION, LITTLEDEAN JAIL…. IN MEMORY OF ROY “PRETTY BOY ” SHAW ( 11 MARCH 1936 – 14 JULY 2012 ) FORMER UNOFFICIAL, UNLICENSED BRITISH HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION, DANGEROUS CATEGORY ‘A’ PRISON INMATE AND PROPERTY TYCOON. WHETHER LOATHED OR LOVED, HIS CHARISMATIC LIFE AND TIMES REMAIN IMMORTALISED HERE AT THE CRIME THROUGH TIME COLLECTION, LITTLEDEAN JAIL, FOREST OF DEAN, GLOUCESTERSHIRE , UK

Royston Henry Shaw (11 March 1936 – 14 July 2012), also known as Roy “Pretty Boy” Shaw, Roy “Mean Machine” Shaw and Roy West, real estate investor, author and businessman from the East End of London who was formerly a criminal and Category A prisoner. During the 1970s–1980s, Shaw was active in the criminal underworld of London and was frequently associated with the Kray twins. Shaw is best remembered today for his career as a fighter on the unlicensed boxing scene, becoming an arch-rival with Lenny McLean.

THE FORMER GUV’NOR HAS PASSED AWAY BUT HIS MEMORY LIVES ON HERE AT THE CRIME THROUGH TIME COLLECTION AT LITTLEDEAN JAIL

Picture By: Jules Annan Picture Shows:Andy Jones with Roy “Pretty Boy ” Shaw’s boxing trunks and the Belt presented to Roy when he was the undisputed unlicensed British Heavyweight boxing champion between 1975 and 1981 . Roy sadly passed away 14th July 2012 . These items and other Roy Shaw material are on display at the Crime Through Time Collection at Littledean Jail Date 21st July 2012

HAVING HAD THE GREAT HONOUR TO HAVE MET AND KNOWN ROY FOR MORE THAN 30 YEARS AND HAVING ATTENDED A GREAT MANY EVENTS WITH HIM DURING THIS TIME , HE WAS CERTAINLY A VERY TOUGH AND CHARISMATIC PERSON … TO SAY THE LEAST.

UNDOUBTEDLY ONE OF THE TOUGHEST MEN I HAVE EVER MET …. TRUE GENT AND OLD SCHOOL ALTHOUGH AS MANY OF HIS CLOSE FRIENDS AND ACQUAINTANCES WOULD WELL KNOW… ONE YOU WOULD NOT WISH TO ANTAGONISE, UPSET OR CROSS . 

HERE AT LITTLEDEAN JAIL WE HAVE LONG FEATURED A NUMBER OF PERSONAL EXHIBIT ITEMS THAT ONCE BELONGED TO ROY SHAW AND USED BY HIM THROUGHOUT HIS UNLICENSED BOXING CAREER ..

THESE ITEMS WERE KINDLY GIFTED AND PRESENTED TO MYSELF  DURING AN INVITED PRIVATE VISIT TO HIS HOME BACK IN THE YEAR 2000 .

THESE INCLUDE HIS UNDISPUTED , UNOFFICIAL, UNLICENSED BRITISH HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP BELT , HIS BOXING TRUNKS, TRAINING  GLOVES , ORIGINAL FIGHT POSTERS ETC….. HE ALSO CONTRIBUTED A NUMBER OF PERSONALLY SIGNED PHOTO’S  TO BE INCLUDED IN AND AMONGST THIS PERMANENT EXHIBITION AREA HERE AT THE JAIL…

BELOW: ROY SHAW GIFING AND PRESENTING HIS UNOFFICIAL BRITISH HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP BELT ( DATED 1975-1981 ) AND BOXING SHORTS TO ANDY JONES OF THE CRIME THROUGH TIME COLLECTION… AT ROY’S HOME BACK IN THE YEAR 2000

 

 

“LONG WILL HE REMAIN IMMORTALISED HERE AT LITTLEDEAN JAIL” … SAYS ANDY JONES, CRIME THROUGH TIME COLLECTION OWNER

BELOW ARE A COUPLE MORE VIDEO FILM CLIPS RELATING TO ROY SHAW ….ALSO BELOW THESE A FEW MORE GALLERY IMAGES OF ROY SHAW AND SOME OF THE ITEMS ON DISPLAY HERE AT LITTLEDEAN JAIL …. INCLUDING ORIGINAL FIGHT POSTERS ETC……

Picture By: Jules Annan Picture Shows:Andy Jones with Roy “Pretty Boy ” Shaw’s boxing trunks and the Belt presented to Roy when he was the undisputed unlicensed British Heavyweight boxing champion between 1975 and 1981 . Roy sadly passed away 14th July 2012 . These items and other Roy Shaw material are on display at the Crime Through Time Collection at Littledean Jail Date 21st July 2012 Ref: *World Rights Only* *Unbylined uses will incur an additional discretionary fee!*

 

HERE IS A LIST OF PRISONS FREQUENTED BY ROY SHAW

WORMWOOD SCRUBS – 4 times

HUSK BORSTAL

BRISTOL

LEWES YP

MAIDSTONE

CANTERBURY – 2 times

PENTONVILLE – 5 times

BRIXTON – 3 times

WANDSWORTH – 3 times

PARKHURST – 3 times

GRENDON UNDERWOOD

BROADMOOR

GARTREE – 2 times

LEICESTER – 3 times

HULL

DURHAM

BIRMINGHAM

OXFORD

LONGLARTON

COLCHESTER ARMY PRISON

NUT HOUSE IN GERMANY

NUT HOUSE IN ENGLAND

 

ALEX SANDERS HIGH PRIEST “KING OF THE WITCHES ” & HIGH PRIESTESS WIFE MAXINE “QUEEN WITCH ” FEATURED HERE ON DISPLAY IN AND AMONGST THE ” WITCHCRAFT AND THE OCCULT COLLECTION ” AT THE CRIME THROUGH TIME COLLECTION AT LITTLEDEAN JAIL , UK

ABOVE & BELOW : Pictured here are some of our Alexandrian Wiccan Casting Circles which form part of our exhibition area.

Alex Sanders ( 6 June 1926-30 April 1988).  Born Orrell Alexander Carter, who went under the craft name Verbius, was an English occultist and High Priest in the Pagan religion of Wicca, responsible for founding the tradition of Alexandrian Wicca during the 1960s. Raised in a working-class family, he was introduced to esoteric ideas by his mother and grandmother from a young age, and as a young man began working as a medium in the local Spiritualist Churches before going on to study and practice ceremonial magic. In 1963, he was initiated into Gardnerian Wicca before founding his own coven, through which he merged many aspects of ceremonial magic into Wicca. He claimed to have been initiated by his Grandmother as a child, though evidence for this is lacking. Throughout the 1960s, he would court publicity in the press, appearing in a number of documentaries, marrying the far younger Maxine Sanders, and being declared to be the “King of the Witches” by his followers, something that led to other prominent Gardnerian Witches, such as Patricia Crowther and Eleanor Bone, attacking him in the press. In the late 1970s and 1980s, he went on to work with a ceremonial magical group known as the Ordine Della Luna, prior to his death. The tradition he founded with Maxine Sanders became known as Alexandrian Wicca.

Below : An intriguing video footage on the seemingly bizarre life of Alex Sanders

Below : One of the collage features on display within Littledean Jail’s “Witchcraft, Paganism, Wiccan, Satanism, The Occult, The Illuminati and Secret Societies Collection ” .

 

Below : Alex Sanders initiation into the sacred Mysteries

Below : One of the collage features on display within Littledean Jail’s “Witchcraft, Paganism, Wiccan, Satanism, The Occult, The Illuminati and Secret Societies Collection ” .

Above: Original painting by Paul Bridgman on display here at Littledean Jail of Alex Sanders , Maxine Sanders during the initiation of Janet Farrar, the wife of High Priest husband Stewart Farrar.

Above: Original painting of High Priest Stewart Farrar and his High Priestess wife Janet , here on display at Littledean Jail

Below: Baphomet Ouija board on display at Littledean Jail

 

Below: Original paintings by Gloucestershire Artist Paul Bridgman depicting Alex Sanders and his High Priestess wife Maxine,  along with Baphomet… The Horned God , both on display at the jail

 

BELOW: ‘BEAKY BLINDER’ OUR MYSTICAL AND SPIRITUAL RAVEN- GUARDIAN AND KEEPER OF LITTLEDEAN JAIL

Below : Collage of newspaper clippings featuring Alex Sanders on display at Littledean Jail

 

Original painting by Gloucestershire Artist Paul Bridgman depicting Gerald Gardner, and High Priestess’s Monique Wilson and Patricia Crowther  on display at the jail

LP Album cover of Alex Sanders  ” A Witch Is Born ” on display at the Jail

Original painting by Gloucestershire Artist Paul Bridgman depicting Aleister Crowley ,   on display at the jail

Below: Various images and a brief insight into an Alexandrian Casting Circle, Baphomet Horned God, Witchcraft Altar etc , here on display at Littledean Jail, Forest of Dean , Gloucestershire, UK .