The Gaol and The Gallows Flashcards
What is Oxford’s link with coffee?
Oxford was home to the first coffee-house in England. Opened by a Turkish Jew in 1651, these coffee-houses were home to weekly debating clubs where chatter amongst its visitors was encouraged. These came to symbolise the new world of the late 17th and 18th centuries and truly signified the end of the sectarian darkness of the civil war years
What kind of people ended up being imprisoned in the castle after the English Civil War?
Despite the dark days of the civil war era having ended, the sick and poor were still sliding into destitution as a result of a lack of safeguards and medicine that they could access. In a tough spot, these individuals were forced to resort to undertake criminal activity or borrow money that they could not later repay which led to their arrest. Consequently, many of the prisoners were either pickpockets or innocent poor folk trying to survive life without the money to buy essential food and medicine. Family members often accompanied convicts into prison even bringing their own furniture into prison with them
Did Oxford Castle’s prison’s conditions improve after the English Civil War?
Not until the 18th century was over. Despite the improvements in areas of public life and there being calls from citizens for the light of reason to be shone in some of the darkest corners of British society, such as the country’s jails, conditions remained medieval and squalid. Rats and other vermin were reported in the men’s dungeon and the cells and staircases were littered with the smell of sewage
Did Oxford Castle’s prison’s conditions improve after the English Civil War?
Not until the 18th century was over. Despite the improvements in areas of public life and there being calls from citizens for the light of reason to be shone in some of the darkest corners of British society, such as the country’s jails, conditions remained medieval and squalid
What did the poor conditions of the Castle’s prison cause?
With sanitation being primitive, there were repeated outbreaks of disease at the prison in the 18th century, including one notable episode of Smallpox where pustules would leave permanent scars on victims
What did prisoners have to do in the 18th century?
They were responsible for their own upkeep and many needed to rely on friends and family for essential needs. Those who could not contact their friends or family would starve in jail
What was a poignant letter in the 17th century surrounding the conditions of the prison?
A prisoner called Sarah Pearpoint, who was found guilty of theft in 1692 wrote a letter to the magistrates begging them to allow her some money to feed and clothe herself. In response, written in the margin of her letter was the word ‘Nothing’ that being the magistrates’ pitiless response to her desperate cry for help
Who was Mary Blandy?
Mary Blandy, a middle-class woman aged 31, was found guilty of poisoning her father and town clerk of Henley-on-Thames Francis Blandy in April 1752 where she was hanged in Oxford. When she was in prison, it was a rather large news story as it was extremely uncommon for a middle-class woman to be arrested
How did the Mary Blandy Trial first arise?
Francis Blandy was seeking marriage prospects for his daughter and became concerned about her not fulfilling her purpose of becoming a married woman so he used his vast wealth as an incentive for men to marry her and he broadcast his proposal in an attempt to find a relevant suitor
What was peculiar about Mary Blandy’s husband?
Captain William Henry Cranstoun, a Scottish army officer from an aristocratic background, already had a wife back in his native Scotland. Upon Mary’s father finding out, he evicted Cranstoun out of Oxford and forbade Mary to see him. However, Mary had fallen in love with Cranstoun and they still intended to get married. In an attempt to get their wedding plans back on track, Cranstoun sent Mary a quantity of white powder instructing her to stir it into her father’s food
What was the white powder that Cranstoun had given Mary?
Cranstoun stated that it was a love philtre which would cause Francis to feel love and affection towards Cranstoun and, thus, would also allow him to grant permission for the two to marry. Yet, as Mary later discovered, the powder was no love potion. As Francis began to fall ill, she learnt that it was arsenic
How did Mary get convicted of her father’s death?
Servants had witnessed her tampering with his food and she eventually confessed to her actions bedside as she watched her father suffer a painful and gruesome death. The Henley establishment were originally reluctant to arrest her as they refused to believe that a member of their own class would commit such a sin. However, after Mary attempted to flee but was confronted by an angry mob, she was put under arrest for the crime of parricide, a term used to refer to the deliberate killing of a direct relative. Her arrest was partially due to her being kept safe from the mob seeking to attack her
What was irregular about Mary Blandy’s Trial?
Due to her social class, she was allowed to have tea and invite friends to tea whilst placed under arrest and even had a maid look after her whilst she remained under arrest, not in the jail, but rather in the Governor’s house. Her ankles remained discretely shackled
When and where was Mary Blandy hung to death?
In the castle courtyard on 6th April 1752
What did Mary request before she was hanged?
Mary requested that she should not be hung too high as to prevent unsavoury characters from looking up a woman’s skirt. However, this request proved pointless as after being hung, she was not carried out in a coffin or a hearse but rather her corpse was carried over the shoulders of one of the sheriff’s men, with her legs bared to the world
