Hanged at Leeds

For decades, the high walls of Leeds' Armley Gaol have contained many infamous criminals. Until hanging was abolished in the 1960s Armley was also the main centre of execution for convicted killers from all parts of Yorkshire and the east coast. The history of execution at Leeds began in September 1 [...]
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For decades, the high walls of Leeds' Armley Gaol have contained many infamous criminals. Until hanging was abolished in the 1960s Armley was also the main centre of execution for convicted killers from all parts of Yorkshire and the east coast. The history of execution at Leeds began in September 1864 when two men were hanged side by side outside the front gates. Over the next hundred years, a further ninety-one men and women paid the ultimate penalty here. They include notorious cat burglar and killer Charles Peace; Emily Swann and her lover John Gallagher, hanged together for the murder of her husband; two young army deserters executed for the brutal slaying of a Pontefract shopkeeper; along with gangland thugs from Sheffield, spurned lovers, cut-throat murderers and many more. Steve Fielding has fully researched all these cases, and they are collected here in one volume for the first time.Infamous executioners also played a part in the gaol's history: Thomas Askern, sacked after the rope broke during an execution; William Marwood, the pioneer of the 'long drop'; and, Doncaster businessman Steve Wade, who was chief executioner at the gaol in the post-war years; as well as John Ellis and the Billington and Pierrepoint families. Fully illustrated with photographs, drawings, news cuttings and rare documents, "Hanged at Leeds" is bound to appeal to anyone interested in the shadier side of Yorkshire's history.