malice whatever. On Saturday morning I had been employed in digging some
ground, and with my spade in my hand I went to the green-house to give
it some air, and there I left my spade. I then went for some
refreshment, at eleven o'clock in the morning, as was usual, and, on
going into the kitchen, I saw the footman, of whom I asked how long it
was since Mr. Chivers went out. I went into the garden, and to the
green-house, into which I let a little more air, and, with my spade in
my hand, I looked at a vine. I saw Mr. Chivers, told him that I had
finished my digging, and said I was very sorry to have left so good a
place, and now to be turned off. A few words passed between Mr. Chivers
and me; and the last expression he used was, 'You scoundrel, I will
break your skull.' He shook his cane over me; he made an attempt to
strike at me, when I, turning aside, escaped; he again endeavoured to
strike, and I avoided the blow. After this he followed me up with his
cane, and I then had, as I before said, a spade in my hand. I raised the
spade, and to my surprise struck him.
"Immediately afterwards I went into the green-house, with the full
intention of taking away my own life, but I had not sufficient courage
to do it. I then went into the kitchen, and called Henry, who said 'What
is the matter?' and I replied, 'Good Lord, I have struck my master, and
he fell!' I went out towards Clapham, and the first persons I saw were a
butler and a gardener. I went to the garden of Mr. Robert Thornton, and
asked for Mr. Dixon, who is one of the gardeners. They said he was
cutting a vine; but they went to him, and Mr. Dixon sent me word that I
might come to him. I then informed Mr. Dixon of what had happened, and
upon his advice surrendered myself into custody."
Witnesses having been called, who gave the prisoner an excellent
character, the jury found him guilty, and he was sentenced to be
executed on the following Monday in the usual form. He was, however,
twice respited, and eventually ordered to be transported for life.
JOHN HOLLOWAY AND OWEN HAGGERTY,
EXECUTED FOR MURDER.
The fatal accident which happened on the spot and at the moment of the
execution of these men, by which more than forty people lost their
lives, and many more were terribly bruised, will cause their memory, as
well as their crimes, to remain a dreadful warning to many generations.
Their whole case was attended with singular and awful circumstances. Of
their guilt many entertained doubts, which are not yet entirely removed,
although no further discovery has been made respecting the horrid deed;
and as lately as the year 1813, a man named Ward was indicted for the
same murder, but acquitted. Their conviction rested, certainly, upon the
evidence of a wretch as base as themselves, who stated himself to have
been their accomplice; but the public indignation against them was
excited to such a pitch, that it is scarcely to be wondered at that a
jury pronounced them guilty.
On the 6th of November, 1802, Mr. John Cole Steele, who kept the
Lavender Warehouse in Catharine-street, Strand, was murdered, with much
barbarity, on Hounslow Heath, and his pockets rifled of their contents.
The murderers escaped; and, though rewards were offered for their
apprehension, no discovery was made.
Every search had been made by the officers of the police after them;
several loose characters had been apprehended on suspicion, but
discharged on examination; and all hopes had been given up of tracing
the murderers, when a circumstance occurred, about four years
afterwards, which led to the apprehension of John Holloway and Owen
Haggerty.--A man of the name of Benjamin Hanfield, who had been
convicted, at the Old Bailey, of grand larceny, in stealing a pair of
shoes, was sentenced to seven years' transportation, and was conveyed on
board a hulk at Portsmouth, to await his departure for New South Wales;
but having been taken with a severe illness, and being tortured in his
mind by the apparent recollection of a murder, about which he constantly
raved, he said he wished to make a discovery before he died. A messenger
was immediately despatched to the police magistrates at Bow-street, to
communicate the circumstance, and an officer was sent to bring him
before them. When he was brought on shore, they were obliged to wait
several days, during which his illness would not permit his removal. On
his arrival in town, he made a full disclosure of the circumstances
attending the murder of Mr. Steele, and the magistrates having sent him,
in custody of an officer, to Hounslow Heath, he there pointed out the
fatal spot where the murder was perpetrated. As his evidence implicated
Haggerty and Holloway, measures were taken to apprehend them, and, after
a long search, they were taken into custody. Several private
examinations of all the parties took place. Hanfield was admitted king's
evidence, and the public once more cherished a hope that the murderers
would meet the punishment they deserved.
Monday, February 9, 1807, being the day appointed for the final
examination of the prisoners, they were brought before Mr. Moser, at
Worship-street Police-office.
There was a great body of evidence adduced, none of which tended
materially to criminate the prisoners, except that of Hanfield, the
accomplice, who, under the promise of pardon, had turned king's
evidence. The prisoners denied having any knowledge whatever of the
crime laid to their charge, and heartily hoped that punishment would
come to the guilty; but, the magistrates, after maturely considering the
whole of the proofs adduced, thought proper to commit them for trial at
the next sessions at the Old Bailey, and bound over no less than
twenty-four persons to appear and give evidence on the trial.
Such was the eager curiosity of the public to know the issue of this
trial, which came on February 20, before Sir Simon Le Blanc, knight,
that the whole Court and area of the Old Bailey were greatly
crowded.--When put to the bar, Holloway appeared to be about forty years
of age, of great muscular strength, tall, and of savage, brutal, and
ferocious countenance, with large thick lips, depressed nose, and high
cheek bones. Haggerty was a small man, twenty-four years of age.
Evidence was then adduced to show, that Mr. Steele, besides his
residence in Catherine-street, had a house and grounds at Feltham, where
he cultivated lavender and distilled it for sale in London. On the 5th
of November, 1802, he left Catherine-street, giving his family to
understand that he should return on the following evening, and on the
same night he arrived at Feltham. On the next afternoon (Saturday) he
quitted Feltham at about seven o'clock, on his way back to London, but
he was never seen alive by any member of his family afterwards. His
continued absence creating alarm, some persons were employed to search
for him, and at length his body was found lying at the bottom of a
ditch, near a clump of trees, at a short distance from the barracks on
Hounslow Heath. From the wounds which appeared about his person, it was
evident that his death had been caused by violence, and Mr. Frogley, a
surgeon, being called in, it was found that his skull was severely
fractured, and that he was otherwise wounded in a most dreadful manner.
It was found also that he had been robbed of any money which he might
have had about him, as well as of his hat and boots: an old pair of
shoes and a common felt hat being left in their stead, close to the spot
where the body was found. Notwithstanding the most strenuous exertions
were subsequently made by the police to discover the perpetrators of
this most barbarous murder, no trace was found until the confession of
the accomplice Hanfield, when Vickery, the officer, was despatched to
Portsmouth to bring that person to London. On his way over Hounslow
Heath, he pointed out the exact spot where the body was found, as that
at which the murder was perpetrated, and in consequence of his
information Holloway was apprehended at Brentford, during the election,
and Haggerty was taken into custody on board the Shannon frigate, in the
Channel, where he was serving as a marine. They were both taken to the
police-office and confronted, but they denied all knowledge of each
other, and of Hanfield, and they both gave accounts of themselves as to
their condition and situation at the time of the murder, which, however,
turned out to be untrue. While confined in the lock-up, attached to the
office, Bishop, the officer, secreted himself in the privy adjoining,
where he could hear all their conversation, and he heard them make use
of expressions, which left no doubt of their being acquainted, or of
their having been at Hounslow on the night of the murder.
The king's pardon, under the great seal, to Hanfield _alias_ Enfield,
remitting his sentence of transportation for seven years, for a larceny
of which he had been convicted, and restoring him to his competency as a
witness, having then been read, that witness was called, and made the
following statement on oath:--"I have known Haggerty eight or nine
years, and Holloway six or seven. We were accustomed to meet at the
Black Horse, and Turk's Head, public-houses, in Dyot-street. I was in
their company in the month of November 1802. Holloway, just before the
murder, called me out from the Turk's Head, and asked me if I had any
objection to be in a good thing? I replied I had not. He said it was a
'_Low Toby_' meaning it was a footpad robbery. I asked when and where,
and he said he would let me know. We parted, and two days after we met
again, and Saturday, the 6th of November, was appointed. I asked who was
to go with us? He replied that Haggerty had agreed to make one. We all
three met on the Saturday at the Black Horse, when Holloway said, 'Our
business is to _sarve_ a gentleman on Hounslow Heath, who, I understand,
travels that road with property.' We then drank for about three or four
hours, and about the middle of the day we set off for Hounslow. We
stopped at the Bell public-house, and took some porter. We proceeded
from thence upon the road towards Belfont, and expressed our hope that
we should get a good booty. We stopped near the eleventh mile-stone, and
secreted ourselves in a clump of trees. While there, the moon got up,
and Holloway said we had come too soon. After loitering about a
considerable time, Holloway said he heard a footstep, and we proceeded
towards Belfont. We presently saw a man coming towards us, and, on
approaching him, we ordered him to stop, which he immediately did.
Holloway went round him, and told him to deliver. He said we should have
his money, and hoped we would not ill-use him. The deceased put his hand
in his pocket, and gave Haggerty his money. I demanded his pocket-book.
He replied that he had none.--Holloway insisted that he had a book, and
if he did not deliver it he would knock him down. I then laid hold of
his legs. Holloway stood at his head, and said if he cried out he would
knock out his brains. The deceased again said he hoped we would not
ill-use him. Haggerty proceeded to search him, when the deceased made
some resistance, and struggled so much, that we got across the road. He
cried out severely; and, as a carriage was coming up, Holloway said,
with a terrible oath, 'Take care, I will silence him;' and immediately
struck him several violent blows on the head and body. The deceased
heaved a deep groan, and stretched himself out lifeless. I felt alarmed,
and said, 'John, you have killed the man.' Holloway replied that it was
a lie, for he was only stunned. I said I would stay no longer, and
immediately set off towards London, leaving Holloway and Haggerty with
the body. I came to Hounslow, and stopped at the end of the town for
near an hour. Holloway and Haggerty then came up, and said they had done
the trick, and as a token, put the deceased's hat into my hand.--The hat
Holloway went down in was like a soldier's hat. I told Holloway it was a
cruel piece of business, and that I was sorry I had any hand in it. We
all turned down a lane, and returned to London. As we came along I asked
Holloway if he had got the pocket-book. He replied it was no matter,
for, as I had refused to share the danger, I should not share the booty.
We came to the Black Horse in Dyot-street, had half a pint of gin, and
parted. Haggerty went down in shoes, but I don't know if he came back in
them. The next day I observed Holloway had a hat upon his head which was
too small for him. I asked him if it was the same he got the preceding
night. He said it was. We met again on the Monday, when I told Holloway
that he acted imprudently in wearing the hat, as it might lead to a
discovery. He put the hat into my hand, and I observed the name of
Steele in it. I repeated my fears.--At night Holloway brought the hat in
a handkerchief, and we went to Westminster-bridge, filled the hat with
stones, and, having tied the lining over it, threw it into the Thames."
The witness, being cross-examined by the counsel for the prisoners,
said he had made no other minutes of the transactions he had been
detailing than what his conscience took cognisance of. It was accident
that led to this disclosure. He was talking with other prisoners in
Newgate of particular robberies that had taken place; and the Hounslow
robbery and murder being stated amongst others, he inadvertently said,
that there were only three persons who knew of that transaction. The
remark was circulated and observed upon, and a rumour ran through the
prison that he was about to turn "_nose_" and he was obliged to hold his
tongue, lest he should be ill-used.--When at Portsmouth, on board the
hulks, the compunctions of conscience came upon him, and he was obliged
to dissipate his thoughts by drinking, to prevent him from divulging all
he knew. He admitted that he had led a vicious life, that he had been
concerned in several robberies, and had entered and deserted from
several regiments. He had served in the East and West London militias,
had enlisted into the ninth and fourteenth light dragoons, and had been
in the army of reserve. He added that he was ashamed and sorry at what
he had been, and would endeavour to mend his life in future.
Evidence, in corroboration of his statement, with regard to the hat and
boots fitting Holloway, was also given by Mr. Steele's tradespeople, and
the prosecution being closed, the prisoners were called upon to make
their defence.
Haggerty protested that he was completely innocent of the charge, and
was totally unacquainted with the witness, Hanfield. He denied ever
having been at Hounslow, and endeavoured to point out some
inconsistencies in the evidence which had been adduced.
Holloway declared that he was equally innocent; but admitted that he had
been at Hounslow more than once; and that he might have been in the
company of the prisoner Haggerty and Hanfield, although he said that he
was not acquainted with either of them.
Mr. Justice Le Blanc summed up the evidence in a very clear and
perspicuous manner, and the jury having retired for about a quarter of
an hour, returned with a verdict of Guilty against both the prisoners.
The recorder immediately passed sentence in the most solemn and
impressive manner, and the unhappy men were ordered for execution on the
following Monday morning, February the 23rd, 1807.
They went from the bar reiterating protestations of their innocence, and
apparently careless of the miserable and ignominious fate that awaited
them.
After conviction Haggerty and Holloway conducted themselves with the
most decided indifference. On Saturday, February 21, the cell-door, No.
1, in which they were both confined, was opened about half-past two.
They were reading in two prayer-books by candle-light, as the cell was
very dark. On Sunday, neither of them attended the condemned sermon, and
several magistrates interrogated them; but they still persisted in their
innocence.
During the whole of Sunday night the convicts were engaged in prayer.
They never slept, but broke the awful stillness of midnight by frequent
reciprocal protestations of innocence. At five they were called,
dressed, and shaved, and about seven were brought into the press-yard.
There was some difficulty in knocking off the irons of Haggerty, and he
voluntarily assisted, though he seemed much dejected. A message was
then delivered to the sheriffs, that Holloway wanted to speak with them
in private. This excited very sanguine expectations of confession; but
the sheriffs, on their return, intimated to the gentlemen in the
press-yard, that Holloway wanted to address them publicly; and therefore
requested they would form themselves into a circle, from the centre of
which Holloway delivered, in the most solemn manner, the following
energetic address:--"Gentlemen, I am quite innocent of this affair. I
never was with Hanfield, nor do I know the spot. I will kneel and swear
it." He then knelt down and imprecated curses on his head if he were
guilty, and he concluded by saying, "By God, I am innocent."
Owen Haggerty first ascended the scaffold. His arms were pinioned, and
the halter had been already placed round his neck: he wore a white cap,
and a light olive shag great-coat: he looked downwards, and was silent.
He was attended by a Roman Catholic clergyman, who read to him, and to
whom the unfortunate culprit seemed to pay great attention; he made no
public acknowledgment of guilt. After the executioner had tied the fatal
noose, he brought up Holloway, who wore a smock frock and jacket, as it
had been stated by the approver that he did at the time of the murder:
he had also a white cap on, was pinioned, and had a halter round his
neck: he had his hat in his hand; and mounting the scaffold, he jumped
and made an awkward bow, and said, "I am innocent, innocent, by God!" He
then turned round, and, bowing, made use of the same expressions,
"Innocent, innocent, innocent! Gentlemen!--No verdict! No verdict! No
verdict! Gentlemen. Innocent! innocent!" At this moment, and while in
the act of saying something more, the executioner proceeded to do his
office, by placing the cap over his face; to which he, with apparent
reluctance, complied; at the same time uttering some words which were
not heard. As soon as the rope was fixed round his neck, he continued
quiet. He was attended in his devotions by an assistant at Rowland
Hill's Chapel.
The last that mounted the scaffold was Elizabeth Godfrey. She had been a
woman of the town, aged 34, and had been capitally convicted of the
wilful murder of Richard Prince, in Mary-le-bone parish, on the 25th of
December 1806, by giving him a mortal wound with a pocket-knife in the
left eye, of which wound he languished and died. Immediately on
receiving sentence, this woman's firmness and recollection seemed to
fail her, and she appeared bordering upon a state of frenzy. At the
place of execution she was dressed in white, with a close cap, and long
sleeves, and was attended by the Rev. Mr. Ford, the Ordinary of Newgate;
but her feelings appeared to be so much overpowered, that
notwithstanding she bore the appearance of resignation in her
countenance, her whole frame was so shaken by the terror of her
situation, that she was incapable of any actual devotion.
They were all launched off together, at about a quarter after eight. It
was a long time before the body of the poor female seemed to have gone
through its last suffering.
The crowd which assembled to witness this execution was unparalleled,
being, according to the best calculation, near 40,000; and the fatal
catastrophe, which happened in consequence, will cause the day long to
be remembered. By eight o'clock, not an inch of ground was unoccupied in
view of the platform, and the pressure of the crowd was so great, that
before the malefactors appeared, numbers of persons were crying out in
vain to escape from it. The attempt only tended to increase the
confusion, and several females of low stature, who had been so imprudent
as to venture among the mob, were in a dismal situation: their cries
were dreadful. Some, who could be no longer supported by the men, were
suffered to fall, and were trampled to death, and this was also the case
with several boys. In all parts there were continual cries of "Murder!
murder!" particularly from the female part of the spectators and
children, some of whom were seen expiring without the possibility of
obtaining the least assistance, every one being employed in endeavours
to preserve his own life. The most affecting scene of distress was seen
at Green Arbour Lane, nearly opposite the Debtor's-door. The terrible
occurrence which took place near this spot was attributed to the
circumstance of two pie-men attending there to dispose of their pies,
and it appears that one of them having his basket overthrown, which
stood upon a sort of stool upon four legs, some of the mob, not being
aware of what had happened, and at the same time being severely pressed,
fell over the basket and the man, at the moment he was picking it up,
together with its contents. Those who fell were never more suffered to
rise, and were soon numbered with the dead.
At this fatal place a man of the name of Herrington was thrown down, who
had in his hand his youngest son, a fine boy, about twelve years of age.
The youth was soon trampled to death; but the father recovered, though
much bruised, and was amongst the wounded in St. Bartholomew's Hospital.
A woman, who was so imprudent as to bring with her a child at the
breast, was one of the number killed: whilst in the act of falling, she
forced the child into the arms of the man nearest to her, requesting
him, for God's sake, to save its life; but the man, finding it required
all his exertions to preserve himself, threw the infant from him. It was
fortunately caught at a distance by another man, who, finding it
difficult to ensure its safety or his own, got rid of it in a similar
way. The child was then again caught by a person, who contrived to
struggle with it to a cart, under which he deposited it until the danger
was over, and the mob had dispersed.
In other parts, the pressure was so great that a horrible scene of
confusion ensued, and seven persons lost their lives by suffocation
alone. A cart which was overloaded with spectators broke down, and some
of the persons falling from the vehicle, were trampled under foot and
never recovered.
During the hour for which the malefactors hung, little assistance could
be afforded to the unhappy sufferers; but after the bodies were cut
down, and the gallows removed to the Old Bailey yard, the marshals and
constables cleared the street, and then, shocking to relate, there lay
near one hundred persons dead, or in a state of insensibility, strewed
round the street. Twenty-seven dead bodies were taken to St.
Bartholomew's Hospital; four to St. Sepulchre's church; one to the Swan
on Snow-hill, one to a public-house opposite St. Andrew's church,
Holborn; one, an apprentice, to his master's, Mr. Broadwood, pianoforte
maker, Golden-square; a mother was seen carrying away the body of her
dead boy; and the body of Mr. Harrison, a respectable gentleman, was
taken to his house at Holloway. There was a sailor-boy killed opposite
Newgate by suffocation: he carried a small bag, in which he had some
bread and cheese, from which it was concluded that he had come some
distance to witness the execution.