Horrific tales from history | Botched executions

Happy New Year, we hope 2023 will be kinder to you than history was to the poor souls we’ll be discussing today. There have been many horrific tales through history, from gruesome medical practices to bizarre punishments and even some very questionable cleaning habits but today, we’ll be diving into the world of executions with some of the worst in British history. Not only did these people get sentenced to death, which was bad enough, but their executions were botched.

Settle down and enjoy this horrific tale of executions that were badly executed….

Executions, some of which were public spectacles, were a huge part of the British justice system for generations. Not only reserved for traitors, but also as the price to pay for robbery, murder and even being in debt. While you might expect that many executions were quick, which is a small mercy, some did not go quite as planned.

Thomas Cromwell, 28^th July 1540.
Thomas Cromwell, one time right hand man to King Henry VIII fell out of favour with the king following his marriage to his fourth wife, Anne of Cleeves. Cromwell suggested the match and initially, Henry was keen but after meeting, it turned out that he actually didn’t like her that much. The pair did make it down the aisle but the marriage was never consummated. This spelled the beginning for the end for Cromwell who slowly fell out of favour until he was arrested on charges of treason and heresy, likely influenced by the Duke of Norfolk. Cromwell was sent to the Tower of London, but wasn’t sentenced until after Henry and Anne’s annulment, just in case Cromwell had to be a witness. Being a lawyer, Cromwell wasn’t permitted to have a trial, in case he managed to talk his way out of the charges, so his enemies asked for an attainder instead and a bill requesting his death was passed in parliament. Cromwell pleaded with the King to pardon him, the only thing that would save his life, but it is believed that Henry didn’t actually think it would happen. He was executed in July 1540 on Tower Green where it is said it took three attempts for the executioner to behead him. His head was then displayed on London Bridge with other traitors.

Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury, 27^th May 1541.
Another for Henry VIII. Margaret Pole was born in Somerset and was the only surviving daughter of George Plantagenet, which meant she was one of the last remaining members of the York family. She was appointed as a lady in waiting to Catherine of Aragon after her marriage to Henry VIII and her favour with the royal court would vary over the years. She was a supporter of Mary Tudor retaining her titles and had a land dispute with the king which saw her banned from court. She returned following the marriage of the king to Anne Boleyn but not long after, she became embroiled in a plot to bring Catholicism back to England. In 1539, she was among several people arrested for treason, which lead them to lose their titles. Margaret was held in the Tower of London for nearly three years. She was told an hour before her execution that she was to die. She was attended by an inexperienced executioner who reportedly hacked at her 11 times before finally managing to decapitate her.

Mary,  Queen of Scots, 8th February 1587.
Another Tudor execution but this time under Elizabeth I rather than her father. Mary Queen of Scots was queen of both France and Scotland until being forced to abdicated in 1567. She had a difficult reign and there has been much debate over whether she orchestrated her own downfall or if circumstances were against her. After being accused of killing her husband and being held against her will by one of the Scottish nobles, Mary fled to England where she begged for help from her cousin, Elizabeth I. Elizabeth was wary of Mary, who, along with her son, had a strong claim to the English throne and being a catholic, had many supporters in England.

She remained under house arrest in England for several years before being implicated in a plot to overthrow Elizabeth I. She was moved to Fotheringhay Castle where she was put on trial and convicted of treason. Elizabeth hesitated to sign the death warrant and even denied knowing that she had signed it after. Whatever the real story, Mary was executed at the castle on the morning of 8^th February. She spent her last few hours in prayer and distributing her belongings among her household before being led out to an executioners’ block. It wasn’t a quick one for Mary however, the first blow missed hitting the back of her head instead, the second hit her neck but didn’t decapitate her. It took a further blow to do the deed.

Lord William Russell, 21^st July 1683.
Lord Russell was a leading member of parliament leading the Country Party, a forerunner to the Whigs which would rise in prominence during the Georgian era. He laid the groundwork for the exclusion of catholic monarchs from the line of succession which would have caused issues for James II, who had converted to Catholicism. He was allegedly part of the Rye House Plot to get rid of James II and his brother, King Charles II which led to him being arrested for treason. He spent some time in the Tower of London before being executed on 21^st July 1683 at Lincoln’s Inn Fields. No one is really sure what happened, but the execution was said to have been conducted poorly, so much so that the executioner would write a letter of apology afterwards. The real kicker though, William III would later posthumously pardon Lord Russell as there was no real evidence of him being directly involved with the plot. Funnily enough though, several people have been convicted of libel after publishing works about his ghost.

James Scott, 1^st Duke of Monmouth, 15^th July 1685
The same executioner who so poorly ended Lord Russell’s life was up to the same shenanigans when it came to the Duke of Monmouth. James Scott the First Duke of Monmouth was the eldest illegitimate child of Charles II. He attempted to depose his uncle King James II and led a rebellion through Somerset, however, it failed and he was captured. James II took some delight in this, allowing his nephew an audience despite having no intention of pardoning him, something that went against tradition. Numerous pleas were made to spare Monmouth’s life, even his stepmother, Charles II’s wife, stepped in on his behalf. Monmouth is said to have asked to be done in one blow as he had heard that this particular executioner, Jack Ketch, struggled with that. Ketch ended up having to inflict several, leading Monmouth to even move and look up at him. In the end it took 8 blows of the axe and a knife to finish the job.

William Duell, 24^th November 1740
This one makes the list because it was so botched, he survived. William Duell was a criminal, having been convicted of sexual assault at the age of 17. He was detained at Tyburn Prison in London and on 24^th November 1740 was hung along with 4 others. After being wheeled into the Anatomy Theatre where he was intended to be practice for young surgeons, they noticed that he was still alive. He was taken to Newgate Prison and made a full recovery. The authorities decided rather than try again that they would change his sentence to penal transportation and he was sent off to the colonies for the rest of his life. It is believed that he lived well into his 80s in America.

Mary Ann Cotton, 24^th March 1873
Known as the Black Widow, Mary Ann Cotton was an English serial killer who killed at least 11 of her children and 3 husbands for insurance money. She was born in County Durham and trained as a dressmaker, also working as a nurse and a housekeeper during her lifetime. It is believed that she had around 21 victims in total, poisoning them with arsenic. Her crime spree came to an end after her stepson died and an examination found arsenic in his system. The authorities then looked into the suspicious deaths of other family members, she was tried and convicted of the murder of Charles Edward Cotton, but it was believed that she was responsible for many others. She was hung at Durham Gaol however, the rope was tied too short which dragged out the execution.