'That you, be taken to the place from whence you came and from thence be drawn on a hurdle to the place of execution, where you shall be hanged by the neck, not till you are dead; that you be taken down, while yet alive, and your bowels taken out and burnt before your face - that your head be then cut off, and your body cut in quarters, to be at the King's disposal. And God Almighty have mercy upon your soul.'
This was the grim sentence read out to condemned prisoners up until the 1820's, clearly explaining to the wretched inmate the fate that awaited him. It had been the sentence of the court for well over five hundred years, first used in the reign of Edward III (1327-1377) in the 14th century. However a form of it was known to exist as early as 1283, when Dafydd, the last native Prince of Wales, was executed.
By the 1820's reforms were being made and dissection of the body after the execution was discontinued, the wording on passing sentence of death to the accused was changed to the following:
'The sentence of the court upon you is, that you be taken from this place to a lawful prison and thence to a place of execution and that you be hanged by the neck until you are dead; and that your body be afterwards buried within the prescints of the prison in which you shall be confined before your execution. And may the Lord have mercy on your soul. Amen.'
Monday, 8 February 2010
Records Of Executions In Carmarthen
On 22nd May 1739, a man by the name of Edwards from the village of Llandefeilog, was hanged at Pensarn for the crime of pilfering. On the following day, 23rd, May Elinor Williams, alias Hadley, a servant at Job's Well, was hanged on the common below the Royal Oak Gate, for murdering her child. Buried near Carmarthen railway station her body is reported have been placed in the gibbet before burial.
On that same day, two young lads were executed for stealing cider from Mr Evan Thomas, landlord of the Greyhound Inn, Carmarthen.
It was in the year 1742 that a girl aged just 8 years old, was tried at Carmarthen Assizes. She had been charged with the murder of her brother and sister, ages 6 & 4 respectively. It appeared the children were frightened by stories making the rounds about the cruelty inflicted by the Spaniards and the expected Spanish invasion. During the night, a violent thunderstorm erupted and the children believed it was the invading Spaniards.
The young children begged their sister to kill them. She carried out the killings with a blade used to trim hedging. She then attempted to use the blade on herself. Records show this child was acquitted at her trial.
In 1745, Robin Lewis Richard of Abergwili, was hanged for the murder of William Owen of Carmarthen. Two years later in 1747, Captain Owens, a noted smuggler, was hung for the murder of a dance instructor.
The year of 1750 announced the hanging of Joseph Jenkins, 'a noted swearer was comitted to the town gaol for the murder of his wife.' Once convicted he was hanged on the common near the Royal Oak Gate.
St Peter's Register records the murder as '1750 December 11th'.
On 28th March 1770, nine men were condemned to death at Hereford, before Mr Justice Yates and Baron Perrott, for the murder of William Powell of Glanareth, Llangadock, in his parlour on the 8th January. On the 22nd March, all nine men had been removed from Carmarthen Gaol and taken to Hereford by Habeas Corpus. Of the nine who had been tried, William Spiggott, (alias Spicket), William Morris, David Morris, David Morgan, (alias Lacey), William Walter Evan, Charles David Morgan and David Llewellyn, of Llandovery, were found guilty and were all hanged in Hereford on 30th March.
William Spiggott and William Walter Evan were later hanged in chains. William Thomas (alias Blink John Spiggott) and William Charles were both acquitted, but William Thomas returned to live in Carmarthen and was hanged at Pensarn for horse stealing. Walter Evan had turned King's evidence but it didn't stop him from being hanged later for further crimes.
Charles David Morgan was betrayed by footprints and blood in the snow which were traced to him, typically he accused several of his accomplices. The evidence was given in Welsh, where it was claimed that William Williams was the instigator and ringleader of the gang. He was never brought before the court because he fled to France.
William Powell had been murdered because William Williams wanted to marry Powell's wife. Of the twenty wounds inflicted on William Powell, it was proved by the prosecution that any one of eight would have caused death. At his funeral, his casket was covered in a scarlet cloth to show that he had been murdered.
Records also proved that William Powell's wife had planned her husbands murder, and the wife of William Williams was also aware that her husband was trying to kill her. On one occasion he had attempted to hang her while on another he put white powder into her tea. It was only that her child had said that Williams had put some sugar from his pocket into the cup that saved her. The tea was later given to the dog and days later it was dead.
As to what became of Williams in France, he was taken prisoner by a French privateer, but again managed to escape and fled to St Omer were he became a school teacher. However he drowned when he took a party of school children on a cruise. In his parents at Boulogne, they discovered a pocket book with a blood spot and an entry on the page 8th January, 1770 read 'my finger bled today how singular.' The story ends with the story of a man who had been interpreter at the court, who was fired at as he went home by a man disguised in an ass's skin who had jumped from the hedge. No record mentions a conviction for this crime.
1788 kept the hangman busy at Pensarn with several executions. One of these was Will Mani, for murdering a woman on Pembrey Mountain. The cuff from his coat was found in his victim's hand and was identified by a tailor and convicted Mani. He was hanged then gibbeted on the hill at Pensarn.
Gutto (Grifeith) Rowley was charged with murdering a tithe collector. He escaped to Bristol and worked in a sugar warehouse for about 6 years and it was only while attempting to rob a pig drover from Llanddarog on Bristol Bridge that he was recognised and arrested. Years later his son was hanged for being involved in the robbery of his aunt and her attempted murder.
In 1789, John Nash began constructing the new County Gaol. After its completion in 1792 all the prisoners were transferred from the town gaol to this new County Gaol, which stood on the gate between King Street and Market Street (Nott Square).
The next hanging to take place was that of shoemaker Sioni'r Cornell, who in 1797 murdered his father at Llanfihangel, Abercowin. He swung at Pensarn. On 4th August, 1802 records show that a person had been placed in the pillory.
In 1810, the Borough Gaol was built and on 27th August, all the town prisoners were sent to this new gaol. A dungeon was discovered at the County Gaol in June 1814, deep underground it was described as having a stout wooden pillar in the middle of the room. It was assumed at the time that condemned inmates were secured to the pillar prior to execution.
Three men were arrested on 2nd November 1834 for robbing a warehouse, and sentenced to transportation to the colonies. Whilst awaiting transportation they attemted to escape from Carmarthen Gaol but failed and were promptly despatched to the colonies.
4th of January, 1866, was the date when two prisoners, Owen Pritchard (29) and John Reid (16) escaped from Carmarthen Gaol. They used a piece of wood to make a hole into each other's cell and then broke into the chimney flue to gain access to the prison yard. Then with their bed sheets and a weighted pillow case they scaled the prison wall.
Pritchard was captured the next day, having been chased by a policeman. In Spurrell's own words: 'he was a desperate character; and when taken was bare footed, and armed with a pointed hedge-stake, to which he made significant reference; two sharp raps on the head showed him that his observations were duly appreciated'.
In 1832 a noted character from Pembrokeshire drove a cart of smuggled spirits through the town, and was pursued by a group of excise men, who had lain in ambush near the Royal Oak Gate. Putting his horse into gallop, he outdistanced his hunters, escaped with his cart over the bridge and deposited his load in safety close to Llanarthney.
He later drowned near Pembroke, after having run into the water in endeavouring to escape from the officers of a revenue cutter who were attempting to catch him. He used to keep casks of spirits under a stone in the floor of his pigsty. On one occasion, not having time to stash them in the usual place, customs officers visited him but he was able to keep the officers at bay with a hot poker, while his son wrecked the casks and emptied the alcohol into the drain.
On that same day, two young lads were executed for stealing cider from Mr Evan Thomas, landlord of the Greyhound Inn, Carmarthen.
It was in the year 1742 that a girl aged just 8 years old, was tried at Carmarthen Assizes. She had been charged with the murder of her brother and sister, ages 6 & 4 respectively. It appeared the children were frightened by stories making the rounds about the cruelty inflicted by the Spaniards and the expected Spanish invasion. During the night, a violent thunderstorm erupted and the children believed it was the invading Spaniards.
The young children begged their sister to kill them. She carried out the killings with a blade used to trim hedging. She then attempted to use the blade on herself. Records show this child was acquitted at her trial.
In 1745, Robin Lewis Richard of Abergwili, was hanged for the murder of William Owen of Carmarthen. Two years later in 1747, Captain Owens, a noted smuggler, was hung for the murder of a dance instructor.
The year of 1750 announced the hanging of Joseph Jenkins, 'a noted swearer was comitted to the town gaol for the murder of his wife.' Once convicted he was hanged on the common near the Royal Oak Gate.
St Peter's Register records the murder as '1750 December 11th'.
On 28th March 1770, nine men were condemned to death at Hereford, before Mr Justice Yates and Baron Perrott, for the murder of William Powell of Glanareth, Llangadock, in his parlour on the 8th January. On the 22nd March, all nine men had been removed from Carmarthen Gaol and taken to Hereford by Habeas Corpus. Of the nine who had been tried, William Spiggott, (alias Spicket), William Morris, David Morris, David Morgan, (alias Lacey), William Walter Evan, Charles David Morgan and David Llewellyn, of Llandovery, were found guilty and were all hanged in Hereford on 30th March.
William Spiggott and William Walter Evan were later hanged in chains. William Thomas (alias Blink John Spiggott) and William Charles were both acquitted, but William Thomas returned to live in Carmarthen and was hanged at Pensarn for horse stealing. Walter Evan had turned King's evidence but it didn't stop him from being hanged later for further crimes.
Charles David Morgan was betrayed by footprints and blood in the snow which were traced to him, typically he accused several of his accomplices. The evidence was given in Welsh, where it was claimed that William Williams was the instigator and ringleader of the gang. He was never brought before the court because he fled to France.
William Powell had been murdered because William Williams wanted to marry Powell's wife. Of the twenty wounds inflicted on William Powell, it was proved by the prosecution that any one of eight would have caused death. At his funeral, his casket was covered in a scarlet cloth to show that he had been murdered.
Records also proved that William Powell's wife had planned her husbands murder, and the wife of William Williams was also aware that her husband was trying to kill her. On one occasion he had attempted to hang her while on another he put white powder into her tea. It was only that her child had said that Williams had put some sugar from his pocket into the cup that saved her. The tea was later given to the dog and days later it was dead.
As to what became of Williams in France, he was taken prisoner by a French privateer, but again managed to escape and fled to St Omer were he became a school teacher. However he drowned when he took a party of school children on a cruise. In his parents at Boulogne, they discovered a pocket book with a blood spot and an entry on the page 8th January, 1770 read 'my finger bled today how singular.' The story ends with the story of a man who had been interpreter at the court, who was fired at as he went home by a man disguised in an ass's skin who had jumped from the hedge. No record mentions a conviction for this crime.
1788 kept the hangman busy at Pensarn with several executions. One of these was Will Mani, for murdering a woman on Pembrey Mountain. The cuff from his coat was found in his victim's hand and was identified by a tailor and convicted Mani. He was hanged then gibbeted on the hill at Pensarn.
Gutto (Grifeith) Rowley was charged with murdering a tithe collector. He escaped to Bristol and worked in a sugar warehouse for about 6 years and it was only while attempting to rob a pig drover from Llanddarog on Bristol Bridge that he was recognised and arrested. Years later his son was hanged for being involved in the robbery of his aunt and her attempted murder.
In 1789, John Nash began constructing the new County Gaol. After its completion in 1792 all the prisoners were transferred from the town gaol to this new County Gaol, which stood on the gate between King Street and Market Street (Nott Square).
The next hanging to take place was that of shoemaker Sioni'r Cornell, who in 1797 murdered his father at Llanfihangel, Abercowin. He swung at Pensarn. On 4th August, 1802 records show that a person had been placed in the pillory.
In 1810, the Borough Gaol was built and on 27th August, all the town prisoners were sent to this new gaol. A dungeon was discovered at the County Gaol in June 1814, deep underground it was described as having a stout wooden pillar in the middle of the room. It was assumed at the time that condemned inmates were secured to the pillar prior to execution.
Three men were arrested on 2nd November 1834 for robbing a warehouse, and sentenced to transportation to the colonies. Whilst awaiting transportation they attemted to escape from Carmarthen Gaol but failed and were promptly despatched to the colonies.
4th of January, 1866, was the date when two prisoners, Owen Pritchard (29) and John Reid (16) escaped from Carmarthen Gaol. They used a piece of wood to make a hole into each other's cell and then broke into the chimney flue to gain access to the prison yard. Then with their bed sheets and a weighted pillow case they scaled the prison wall.
Pritchard was captured the next day, having been chased by a policeman. In Spurrell's own words: 'he was a desperate character; and when taken was bare footed, and armed with a pointed hedge-stake, to which he made significant reference; two sharp raps on the head showed him that his observations were duly appreciated'.
In 1832 a noted character from Pembrokeshire drove a cart of smuggled spirits through the town, and was pursued by a group of excise men, who had lain in ambush near the Royal Oak Gate. Putting his horse into gallop, he outdistanced his hunters, escaped with his cart over the bridge and deposited his load in safety close to Llanarthney.
He later drowned near Pembroke, after having run into the water in endeavouring to escape from the officers of a revenue cutter who were attempting to catch him. He used to keep casks of spirits under a stone in the floor of his pigsty. On one occasion, not having time to stash them in the usual place, customs officers visited him but he was able to keep the officers at bay with a hot poker, while his son wrecked the casks and emptied the alcohol into the drain.
Carmarthen And Its Neighbourhoods
William Spurrell was educated at Queen Elizabeth Grammar school. At 16 he became apprentice at a Carmarthen printers. After a few years he left for London and was involved in the printing of the first editions of Charles Dickens' Pickwick Papers and Nicholas Nickelby. When he returned home to Carmrthen in 1839 he opened his own printing company that was a huge success for a hundred years in Carmarthenshire.
We are truly indebted to him because it is from his publication in 1879, 'Carmarthen and its Neighbourhood' that the town of Carmarthen has kept a truthful and accurate recording of its colourful past. Visitors and locals will find places of interest (both old & new) in Spurrell's book.
From his work we have an account of conditions in and around Carmarthen from amazingly as far back as AD 52 to 1879. And it was during the later period that many a public hanging took place. Carmarthen had established itself as a place where serious crime was almost unheard of but the town's poor did indulge in theft, if only to eat and survive.
By direct result the penalties for these crimes were high; hard labour, transportation or hanging. William Spurrell wrote a lot about the past but it is in his recordings of the hangings in Carmarthenshire that his accounts have proved invaluable to historians and ghouls.
Many of these stories would have gone untold were it not for Spurrell's collected work. Please note that no actual dates can be attributed to the early events because memory often forgets the date, just recounting the occasion.
The esteemed publisher recalled that a Welsh Bard had been locked in the town's pillory four times. His crime was 'Doing something against the government.' Another occasion of interest was when an old man was due to hang at Pensarn for stealing a horse. It appears that no one in the town would stand as hangman. A prisoner in the gaol sentenced to 14 years transportation, volunteered for the wretched duty on condition that he recieved a lesser sentence. The old man duly went to the Pensarn gallows and the prisoner, come executioner, got his wish. He was transported for only 7 years and not 14. In a final twist, the gallows was stolen during the night after the execution and the timber it is said was used to make a bed!
Spurrell's book also records the removal of the old gate at each end of King Street, and the Dark Gate, and all the poor debtors lowering their bags on cord, asking for aid in their accustomed phrase, 'remember the poor debtors.'
It was in the Market place in Carmarthen on 26th February 1555 that is recorded that David Grifeith Leyson, High Sherife of Carmarthenshire personally handed over the custody of Bishop Ferrar, in St Peter's Church, to Morgan his successor, who committed him to the keeping of Owen Jones.
On 30th March, being the Saturday next before Passion Sunday. 'This yeare Bishopp Fferrar the martyr was burnt in the market place where the Conduit Is'.
David Grifeith Leyson, LL.D. of Carmarthen Priory, Principle of St Edward's Hall Oxford, a justice of the peace, and high sherife for Carmarthenshire, who had turned Papist in Queen Mary's reign, 'would not suffer him to speak at the stake. Leyson died soon after, and when he would have spoken, could not.'
Richard Jones (or Johnes) of Cwmgwili, son of Sir Thomas Jones of Abermarlais, first M.P. for Pembrokeshire, called to console Bishop Ferrar under sentence.
It is in the year 1568 that the first executions are recorded by Spurrell. The first was that of David William Parry, a High Sheriff and Bishop Ferrar's brother's eldest son. He and Sir Gelly Meyrick and others were considered traitors to Queen Elizabeth 1 and were duly hanged.
In 1633 Father Arthur, an Irishman, believed to be a Jesuit, was hung, drawn and quartered for conspiring the Kings death; his offence was to curse the king.
In 1665 Nicholas Williams, Rhydodyn sheriff,
In his sherifeship, a woman, viz, gwraig Wil Coch, was burnt, and one of her daughters and a servant man hanged for killing her husband, and another daughter condemned, and after a long confinement was discharged.
We are truly indebted to him because it is from his publication in 1879, 'Carmarthen and its Neighbourhood' that the town of Carmarthen has kept a truthful and accurate recording of its colourful past. Visitors and locals will find places of interest (both old & new) in Spurrell's book.
From his work we have an account of conditions in and around Carmarthen from amazingly as far back as AD 52 to 1879. And it was during the later period that many a public hanging took place. Carmarthen had established itself as a place where serious crime was almost unheard of but the town's poor did indulge in theft, if only to eat and survive.
By direct result the penalties for these crimes were high; hard labour, transportation or hanging. William Spurrell wrote a lot about the past but it is in his recordings of the hangings in Carmarthenshire that his accounts have proved invaluable to historians and ghouls.
Many of these stories would have gone untold were it not for Spurrell's collected work. Please note that no actual dates can be attributed to the early events because memory often forgets the date, just recounting the occasion.
The esteemed publisher recalled that a Welsh Bard had been locked in the town's pillory four times. His crime was 'Doing something against the government.' Another occasion of interest was when an old man was due to hang at Pensarn for stealing a horse. It appears that no one in the town would stand as hangman. A prisoner in the gaol sentenced to 14 years transportation, volunteered for the wretched duty on condition that he recieved a lesser sentence. The old man duly went to the Pensarn gallows and the prisoner, come executioner, got his wish. He was transported for only 7 years and not 14. In a final twist, the gallows was stolen during the night after the execution and the timber it is said was used to make a bed!
Spurrell's book also records the removal of the old gate at each end of King Street, and the Dark Gate, and all the poor debtors lowering their bags on cord, asking for aid in their accustomed phrase, 'remember the poor debtors.'
It was in the Market place in Carmarthen on 26th February 1555 that is recorded that David Grifeith Leyson, High Sherife of Carmarthenshire personally handed over the custody of Bishop Ferrar, in St Peter's Church, to Morgan his successor, who committed him to the keeping of Owen Jones.
On 30th March, being the Saturday next before Passion Sunday. 'This yeare Bishopp Fferrar the martyr was burnt in the market place where the Conduit Is'.
David Grifeith Leyson, LL.D. of Carmarthen Priory, Principle of St Edward's Hall Oxford, a justice of the peace, and high sherife for Carmarthenshire, who had turned Papist in Queen Mary's reign, 'would not suffer him to speak at the stake. Leyson died soon after, and when he would have spoken, could not.'
Richard Jones (or Johnes) of Cwmgwili, son of Sir Thomas Jones of Abermarlais, first M.P. for Pembrokeshire, called to console Bishop Ferrar under sentence.
It is in the year 1568 that the first executions are recorded by Spurrell. The first was that of David William Parry, a High Sheriff and Bishop Ferrar's brother's eldest son. He and Sir Gelly Meyrick and others were considered traitors to Queen Elizabeth 1 and were duly hanged.
In 1633 Father Arthur, an Irishman, believed to be a Jesuit, was hung, drawn and quartered for conspiring the Kings death; his offence was to curse the king.
In 1665 Nicholas Williams, Rhydodyn sheriff,
In his sherifeship, a woman, viz, gwraig Wil Coch, was burnt, and one of her daughters and a servant man hanged for killing her husband, and another daughter condemned, and after a long confinement was discharged.
Sunday, 7 February 2010
The Pillory at Carmarthen
A wooden frame with holes for the head and arms, in which a criminal was mocked in public, stood in Carmarthen for many a year.Thomas Evans (or Tomos Glyn Cothi), the noted Unitarian preacher, was the last man to use it in 1813. He was a man unafraid to speak out and dared to rebel against the order of the day and would lash out for the principle of freedom and equality among his fellow man.
Thomas Evans was made of stronger stuff than most of his contemporaries, speaking out for the French Revolution and the French wars and for the rights of the poor in the courts. He was suspected of Jacobinism and his views and statements were scrutinised.
It was in 1802 that he was sent to gaol for two years and placed in the pillory for publicly singing 'The Hymn To Liberty,' from an adaptation of 'The Marseillaise Hymn.' Thomas insisted on buying a new waistcoat and overcoat for his stint at the pillory and his daughter stood by him while he was in it. When one woman in the crowd hurled a rotten egg at him, the crowd far from cheering actually turned on the woman. Whatever the authorities thought of him, Tomos Glyn Cothi had found sympathetic supporters among the people of Carmarthen.
When serving his time in gaol, he is noted to have written an Welsh/English dictionary, published in 1817. After his time in prison he went to live in Aberdare and died aged 68 as the minister of Hen Dy-Cwrdd on 29th January 1833.
Thomas Evans was made of stronger stuff than most of his contemporaries, speaking out for the French Revolution and the French wars and for the rights of the poor in the courts. He was suspected of Jacobinism and his views and statements were scrutinised.
It was in 1802 that he was sent to gaol for two years and placed in the pillory for publicly singing 'The Hymn To Liberty,' from an adaptation of 'The Marseillaise Hymn.' Thomas insisted on buying a new waistcoat and overcoat for his stint at the pillory and his daughter stood by him while he was in it. When one woman in the crowd hurled a rotten egg at him, the crowd far from cheering actually turned on the woman. Whatever the authorities thought of him, Tomos Glyn Cothi had found sympathetic supporters among the people of Carmarthen.
When serving his time in gaol, he is noted to have written an Welsh/English dictionary, published in 1817. After his time in prison he went to live in Aberdare and died aged 68 as the minister of Hen Dy-Cwrdd on 29th January 1833.
Executions In Carmarthen
Inbetween 1752 and 1836 the death sentence was carried out on the second day following sentencing unless it was a Sunday (in which case the sentence took place on Monday). Exceptions to the rule were that the judge could respite the death sentence while the condemned sought a reprieve. In some cases, the gallows were built on the very spot where the crime had actually been committed, so that erecting the gallows could delay proceedings. No execution took place on Good Friday. It was customery for the body to be dissected before burial or grimly hung in chains for public display.
It was quite usual for hangings to be carried out in public. In Carmarthen were two locations where executions were carried out; Babel Hill in Pensarn was the place for County executions, and another for town executions was near the Royal Oak Common in Johnstown. By the end of the 18th century it became evident that the lengthy procession to the gallows (roughly one mile) allowed for no crowd control and the condemned suffered additional stress of having to walk the distance to his/her death with crowds shouting and jeering.
The last man to suffer the death walk from Carmarthen Gaol to Pensarn was Rees Thomas Rees in 1817. A better, safer spot had to be found, and so a new public gallows was built inside the front wall of the County Gaol facing Spillman Street.
The last public execution at Carmarthen Gaol was that of David Evans in 1829. Crowds who arrived to see it stretched all along Spillman Street, and following custom, the dissected body was put on public display before burial within the prison grounds. It would be nearly 60 years (1888) before Carmarthen was to hold another execution, which by then was not a public spectacle.
It was quite usual for hangings to be carried out in public. In Carmarthen were two locations where executions were carried out; Babel Hill in Pensarn was the place for County executions, and another for town executions was near the Royal Oak Common in Johnstown. By the end of the 18th century it became evident that the lengthy procession to the gallows (roughly one mile) allowed for no crowd control and the condemned suffered additional stress of having to walk the distance to his/her death with crowds shouting and jeering.
The last man to suffer the death walk from Carmarthen Gaol to Pensarn was Rees Thomas Rees in 1817. A better, safer spot had to be found, and so a new public gallows was built inside the front wall of the County Gaol facing Spillman Street.
The last public execution at Carmarthen Gaol was that of David Evans in 1829. Crowds who arrived to see it stretched all along Spillman Street, and following custom, the dissected body was put on public display before burial within the prison grounds. It would be nearly 60 years (1888) before Carmarthen was to hold another execution, which by then was not a public spectacle.
The Neck Verse
During the 17th and early early 18th centuries there was a way for murderers to cheat death with what became known as the 'Neck Verse'. If murderers could prove that they had been ordained as priests, then they could not be sent for trial in the secular courts and were set free. It was then possible for the murderer to be sent for trial in an ecclesiastical court.
In medieval times all that was required to prove ordination was to prove literacy, and all that was required to prove literacy was to read, write or recite one verse of Psalm 51v1. Many murderers learnt the verse by heart to save their necks, before the ecclesiastical court:
Psalm 51v1
Have mercy on me, O God,
According to your unfailing love;
According to your great compassion
Blot out my transgressions.
Wash away all my iniquity
And cleanse me from my sin.
In medieval times all that was required to prove ordination was to prove literacy, and all that was required to prove literacy was to read, write or recite one verse of Psalm 51v1. Many murderers learnt the verse by heart to save their necks, before the ecclesiastical court:
Psalm 51v1
Have mercy on me, O God,
According to your unfailing love;
According to your great compassion
Blot out my transgressions.
Wash away all my iniquity
And cleanse me from my sin.
Saturday, 6 February 2010
Carmarthen's Two Gaols
It was in 1774 that John Howard (the famous penal reformer) first visited Carmarthen and discovered the town boasted not one but two gaols. One was located in the remains of the castle while the other (Borough) gaol was at the East Gate, known as the Prisoners Gate, which was in the area between King Street and Nott Square.
It was in Prisoners Gate that the towns debtors were locked up and passers by could see baskets hanging from the barred windows with pleas coming from within, 'remember the poor debtors'.
Howard found that conditions in both gaols were the same and described them as being squalid and dilapidated. He also found both buildings were in poor conditions structurally, virtually no sanitation and accomodation being little more than small, damp, mud-floored cells with no drinking water. The condemned dungeon was bitterly cold and damp with water running down the walls.
Interestingly the gaolers lived far from the gaols and received no pay, existing on the discharge fee and other tolls extracted from prisoners or their families/friends.
Inmates were not allowed any furniture, not even a stool. Men, women and children were crowded together in cells but after rapes becoming increasingly worse the women and children were separated from the men but still doors between them remained unlocked.
The windows had no glass, with no fuel permitted even in the coldest months of winter and little food. It was worse if prisoners had no family to provide sustenance because then they had to depend on charity and the mercy of the 'Poor Law Guardians' for bread and medicines. Not even water was in reach to the miserable inmates and could only be obtained when the Head Gaoler was present. And this was not always possible because he lived away from Carmarthen and thus could not help even in emergency.
Gaolers had no scruples about oppressing those individuals who were entrusted with their mercy. Disease was common due to terrible sanitation and personal cleanliness never entered anyone's thoughts.
Segregation of class was unheard of and both old and young were herded together irrespective of their crime. Doctors only visited when absolutely necessary and care for spiritual welfare was never seen to.
These conditions were part of every gaol in the 18th century and Carmarthen was no exception. On John Howard's return to the town around 14 years later in 1788 he found to his horror that conditions had not improved in either gaol. If anything things had got worse and as a result he was able to report to Parliment: 'That the Justices, Gentlemen, Clergy and Freeholders of Carmarthenshire, together with the Mayor, Justices, Burgesses and inhabitants of Carmarthen begged that a Parlamentary Bill be brought in for the demolishing of the two gaols and that a new single gaol be built to serve the Borough and County.'
Plans were submitted to Parliment for the reconstruction of Carmarthen Gaol which were approved and authorised. With the building of the new gaol, the East Gate was closed. However it was still felt that the town needed a town gaol and in 1803 the Borough Order Book reported that on 14th January the Corporation subscribed £400 towards the construction of a new small town gaol (or 'Lock-Up'), known as 'The Roundhouse'. It was completed in 1810 on the 'Old Bowling Green', later the John Street and Cambrian Place area.
Debt were the primary offences but Carmarthen had a reputation for drunkenness and brawls were frequent. However it never appeared to have a high crime rate and even with poor housing conditions, murder, theft and house-breakings were uncommon. So it was debt that many were held for.
At the County Gaol, prisoners were worked on the tread wheel (which supplied water to the building), in stone breaking for the surrounding roads, brick cleaning, cooking, sewing, clog making, cleaning and mending. At the Borough Gaol there was very little employment. Debtors were left to waste their days away and it was considered inferior to the County Gaol. It was described as having four rooms and a yard but no day room. The average number of debtors was seven, but frequently there were between twelve and eighteen locked up at the same time.
As for the inmates of the County Gaol, there were eight cells with a day room and a yard for exercise. Women and children had the same but the yard had been converted into a garden for the gaoler.
Following the intervention of John Howard, work on the new Carmarthen Gaol began in 1789 and completed in 1792. John Nash recieved the commission as the chief architect to build the new gaol; he later became famous for his design of Buckingham Palace and Brighton Pavillion.
It was in Prisoners Gate that the towns debtors were locked up and passers by could see baskets hanging from the barred windows with pleas coming from within, 'remember the poor debtors'.
Howard found that conditions in both gaols were the same and described them as being squalid and dilapidated. He also found both buildings were in poor conditions structurally, virtually no sanitation and accomodation being little more than small, damp, mud-floored cells with no drinking water. The condemned dungeon was bitterly cold and damp with water running down the walls.
Interestingly the gaolers lived far from the gaols and received no pay, existing on the discharge fee and other tolls extracted from prisoners or their families/friends.
Inmates were not allowed any furniture, not even a stool. Men, women and children were crowded together in cells but after rapes becoming increasingly worse the women and children were separated from the men but still doors between them remained unlocked.
The windows had no glass, with no fuel permitted even in the coldest months of winter and little food. It was worse if prisoners had no family to provide sustenance because then they had to depend on charity and the mercy of the 'Poor Law Guardians' for bread and medicines. Not even water was in reach to the miserable inmates and could only be obtained when the Head Gaoler was present. And this was not always possible because he lived away from Carmarthen and thus could not help even in emergency.
Gaolers had no scruples about oppressing those individuals who were entrusted with their mercy. Disease was common due to terrible sanitation and personal cleanliness never entered anyone's thoughts.
Segregation of class was unheard of and both old and young were herded together irrespective of their crime. Doctors only visited when absolutely necessary and care for spiritual welfare was never seen to.
These conditions were part of every gaol in the 18th century and Carmarthen was no exception. On John Howard's return to the town around 14 years later in 1788 he found to his horror that conditions had not improved in either gaol. If anything things had got worse and as a result he was able to report to Parliment: 'That the Justices, Gentlemen, Clergy and Freeholders of Carmarthenshire, together with the Mayor, Justices, Burgesses and inhabitants of Carmarthen begged that a Parlamentary Bill be brought in for the demolishing of the two gaols and that a new single gaol be built to serve the Borough and County.'
Plans were submitted to Parliment for the reconstruction of Carmarthen Gaol which were approved and authorised. With the building of the new gaol, the East Gate was closed. However it was still felt that the town needed a town gaol and in 1803 the Borough Order Book reported that on 14th January the Corporation subscribed £400 towards the construction of a new small town gaol (or 'Lock-Up'), known as 'The Roundhouse'. It was completed in 1810 on the 'Old Bowling Green', later the John Street and Cambrian Place area.
Debt were the primary offences but Carmarthen had a reputation for drunkenness and brawls were frequent. However it never appeared to have a high crime rate and even with poor housing conditions, murder, theft and house-breakings were uncommon. So it was debt that many were held for.
At the County Gaol, prisoners were worked on the tread wheel (which supplied water to the building), in stone breaking for the surrounding roads, brick cleaning, cooking, sewing, clog making, cleaning and mending. At the Borough Gaol there was very little employment. Debtors were left to waste their days away and it was considered inferior to the County Gaol. It was described as having four rooms and a yard but no day room. The average number of debtors was seven, but frequently there were between twelve and eighteen locked up at the same time.
As for the inmates of the County Gaol, there were eight cells with a day room and a yard for exercise. Women and children had the same but the yard had been converted into a garden for the gaoler.
Following the intervention of John Howard, work on the new Carmarthen Gaol began in 1789 and completed in 1792. John Nash recieved the commission as the chief architect to build the new gaol; he later became famous for his design of Buckingham Palace and Brighton Pavillion.
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