Behind Locked Doors at the Old Bailey

7/27/2019 Behind Locked Doors at the Old Bailey

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Behind locked doors at the Old Bailey: Exclusive

pictures reveal 363-year-old 'dead man's walk'where Britain's most evil killers were led to thegallows

Criminals would walk through covered archway to the noose

Crowds would gather to pelt condemned with rotten food and rocks

Behind the scenes pictures show the grim pathway in London court

By Anna Edwards

PUBLISHED: 11:03 GMT, 14 June 2013 | UPDATED: 15:31 GMT, 14 June 2013

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High Bailiff of Southwark, Charles Henty stands next to Dead Man's Walk

For hundreds of years the Old Bailey's 'Dead Man's Walk' struck fear into the hearts of murderers, rapists and

other wretched criminals.

And now these behind the scenes pictures capture why the path in the world's most famous criminal court

would terrify even the most hardened crook.

The Central Criminal Court in London is where hundreds met their death and many trod the 'dead man's walk'

after a judge ordered their execution.

The condemned would take their last steps between the prison and the court, to an open square outside

Newgate Prison, which conveniently stood next to the Old Bailey, where they would be publicly hanged.

The High Bailiff of Southwark Charles Henty, the man running the smooth operation of the Old Bailey,

described the last walk of many an evil criminal.

He said: 'The prisoner would walk south along the path, which was covered by arches that had doorways in

them.

'At the end you would turn west, and this is called 'the birdcage' because at the top would be an open space,

covered with a net, and it would be a prisoner's last chance to see natural daylight.

'After that they would walk through an exit and have a hood place on your head as you stepped onto the


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scaffold.

'There you would be hanged and meet your maker.

'Occasionally they would also cut the prisoner's head off and show it to the crowd.'

Although a public hanging was meant to deter citizens from crime, macabre crowds would gather to watch the

gruesome spectacle.


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The condemned would walk south along the path before stepping onto the scaffold,

where a hood would be placed over their head and they would be hung


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Before prisoners walked onto the scaffold, they would walk under 'the birdcage' - a space

where they would see natural light for the last time

Chaotic crowds assembled to hurl abuse at the walking dead, who would be showered with rotten food and

rocks.

The wealthy could afford to rent 'window boxes' in the galleries that overlooked the gallows, so they could see

the hanging without being crushed and enjoy a better view.

Such was the popularity of seeing criminals hang, 28 people died in a crush in 1807 after a crowd grew out of

control.

Mr Henty said: 'The hangings were very popular with the public.

'But crowd control was problematic.'


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The condemned cell is where many men would spend their last hours before meeting

their maker

The condemned cell held a variety of prisoners, before they began their journey to the

scaffold. The last woman to be hung outside the Old Bailey was Catherine Wilson, whose

sentence prompted a crowd of 20,000 people


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A grim holding cell, where prisoners were kept in cramped conditions where they

awaited their grisly end


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The oldest rooms in the court date back to the 1907 period, containing the condemned

man's cell and outside Dead Man's Walk

By 1868, the constant swell of baying crowds and subsequent disorder led to public executions being stopped,

and instead the condemned would hang inside Newgate Prison.

The last person to be executed at the Old Bailey was George Woolfe, for the murder of his girlfriend Charlotte

Cheeseman on May 6, 1902.

And the last person to be publicly executed was Michael Barrett, who was led to the gallows on May 26, 1868outside the Old Bailey.

The last woman to be publicly executed was Catherine Wilson, who the judge in her trial branded as 'the

greatest criminal who ever lived', Murderpedia reported.

She was a nurse who is thought to have poisoned up to seven of her patients after convincing them to leave

their money to her in their wills.

The new courthouse was designed by Edward Mountford in a Baorque style, and opened

by King Edward VII in 1907


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The Grand Hall inside he famous court. The design mirrors the nearby dome of St Paul's

Cathedral


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Charles Henty, the Under-Sheriff and Secondary of London who runs The Old Bailey,

says many visitors find the building imposing and sombre

Found guilty of only one murder, her public hanging outside the Old Bailey attracted a crowd of up to 20,000

people in 1862, and her death was the last hanging of a female that the public ever saw.

The huge surge of people gathering outside to heckle and abuse those who were about to be hanged forced

the prison to build a tunnel linking a nearby church and the court, Mr Henty said.

'It meant that the priest could get to the prisoner and read them their last rites without having to push through

the crowd,' he said.

Charles Henty, whose title also includes Secondary of London and Under Sheriff, said that thousands have

died outside the imposing court.


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The Old Bailey is composed of a labyrinth of dark, eery tunnels beneath its courtrooms

The river Fleet can be seen running below the Old Bailey, which has seen hundreds of


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people be executed outside its imposing building

The building is steeped in a rich and gruesome history. Mr Henty says visitors find the

court a sombre and imposing place - but staff try to put people at their ease

He said: 'I gather there were about 559 people put to death here 1783-1799, and 621 hangings at Newgate

1800-1899, 543 of the latter were in public.

'But by the 19th century execution was turning against public opinion, people began to write that it wasn'tseemly, and this was not how a civilised society should operate.'

These photographs show the labyrinth of dingy corridors and cramped cells that many would have seen as

they waited for judgement.

The original Old Bailey courthouse was built in 1539 but the grisly history of the court goes back much further

as the site had been occupied by the notorious Newgate gaol from medieval times, Old Bailey Online said.


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The Lower Hall. The City of London plans to spend 37million renovating the antiquated

facilities in the historic court

Antiquated: The old boiler room at the Central Criminal Court, which has heard the trials

of Oscar Wilde and the Yorkshire Ripper


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The boiler room at the Old Bailey, which will undergo an 11-year refurbishment

THE FINAL JOURNEYS THROUGH DEAD MAN'S WALK

In 1902 George Woolfe, 21, met his maker after a gruesome attack on his girlfriend, Charlotte Cheeseman,

after growing tired of her.

In her book, The Old Bailey: Eight Centuries of Crime, Cruelty and Corruption, Theresa Murphy writes how the

killer stabbed his lover 17 times, beat and kicked her, and then dumped her body in a ditch on a cold January

night in 1902.

A boy found the factory worker's body in Tottenham Marshes, and police eventually found her killer in

February.

Woolfe was the last man to be hanged at the Old Bailey, and he was executed on May 6, 1902.

The last woman to hang was Charlotte Wilson, who was hanged for one murder in 1862, but is believed to

have killed up to six others.

She was a nurse who would care for wealthy patients, and convince them to leave her money in their will.

Then she is accused of poisoning them, and benefiting from their deaths when she received her inheritance.

She was caught by police after attempting to poison a woman with sulphuric acid, and was condemned to a

public hanging in October 1862.

Sources: Murder UK and Random House

The courthouse is located just off of Newgate Street and prisoners would await their trial under the shadow of

the courthouse, as the notorious Newgate Prison was conveniently located next to the Old Bailey.

Thankfully for present day criminals, the Execution Room that was contained within the ramp from Newgate

Street into the cell complex was demolished as part of the renovations between 1902 and 1907 before the

current court was opened.

The grim confines of Newgate prison was demolished in 1904, and in its place is a complex of 74 cells that is

contained within the current building.


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For many criminals, the noose was where they met their end, as flouting common law was originally

punishable by hanging.

But from the middle of the eighteenth century, the law began to curb the use of the death penalty - to the relief

of many a felon.

However, just because someone avoided the rope, they were still handed a variety of violent punishments.

Many defendants received more than one punishment and it typically involved a mixture of spending time in

the pillory, imprisonment, whipping, fines and providing sureties for good behaviour.The court has been rebuilt several times between 1674 and 1913, and the latest courthouse was designed by

Edward Mountford and opened by King Edward VII in 1907, the City of London said.

The medieval courthouse was built to make the accused confront the witness testifying them.

In the early 19th century, before gas lighting became popular, a mirrored reflector was placed above the dock,

in order to reflect light from the windows onto the defendant's face.

The sombre courtroom of the Old Bailey is where many met their death after a trial here


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Baying crowds would gather to watch people be hung outside the London court - and

people grew so riotous that public executions were stopped in the 19th century


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The current court was opened in 1907 by King Edward VII - and although the Dead Man's

Walk is no longer in use, it is still imposing and intimidating

Central Criminal Court: The Old Bailey has retained its splendour, despite its grisly past

This was meant to highlight the accused's facial expression, so a judge and jury could examine the truth of

their accounts, Old Bailey Online reported.

The court earned its distinctive name after the street in which it was located, which follows the line of the

original fortified wall, or 'bailey', of the City.

Famous trials held here include that of William Penn and William Mead for 'preaching to an unlawful assembly'

in 1670.

More recent trials include those of Oscar Wilde, Dr Crippen, William Joyce ('Lord Haw Haw') and Peter

Sutcliffe, the Yorkshire Ripper.

The Old Bailey has seen many notorious criminals stand in its docks - including East End gangsters Ronnie

and Reggie Kray.


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Ronnie (left) and Reggie Kray spent 39 days on trial at the Old Bailey after the criminals

were caught by police


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Peter Sutcliffe, the Yorkshire Ripper, was sentenced to life imprisonment at the Old

Bailey, while author Oscar Wilde (right) went on trial at the court for gross indecency at

the court

After years spent wreaking havoc, violence and crime across the capital, the Kray twins were arrested on May

9, 1968.

Once they were detained in police custody, witnesses slowly started to develop the confidence to give

evidence of the truth to the police team.

The subsequent trial lasted 39 days at the Old Bailey and the Kray twins were sentenced to life imprisonment

Now the ancient court, after years of surviving on antiquated facilities, will undergo a makeover.

The City of London Corporation, which owns the building, along with the Ministry of Justice, is embarking on a

37m modernisation plan to overhaul antiquated facilities.

Mr Henty said: 'This is a very grand and imposing building, so it does have still have a gravitas, and it can be a

very sombre and intimidating place for visitors.

'The refurbishment will take about 11 years, and will be replacing older facilities behind the scenes.

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Comments (104)

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Absolutely fascinating article and pictures - thank you. Can we please have more like these.

- Loveday , Weybridge, 15/6/2013 21:49

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Report abuse

Reopen it.

- JJ Horn , Sheffield, United Kingdom, 15/6/2013 08:33


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Maybe they ARE renovating. It looks as if the builders are in judging by the photos of the old boiler room and condemned cell. Is the

notice above the door showing the escape route or depicting "the one that got away"?

- Himmy , San Vicente de Tagua-Tagua, Chile, 15/6/2013 04:08

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Report abuse

Trevki , London ......... How many innocent people have taken that walk? The more important question is how many killers have killed

again after being released from a custodial sentence since hanging was abolished? I will bet its many many more than innocents

hanged. -

- Peter Marton , Middlesbrough, 15/6/2013 02:29

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Many people say Wei should bring back hanging I disagree much to cruel to the convicted person to go through I think you cannot

beat a firing squad...

- handsomfella , gillingham, United Kingdom, 15/6/2013 02:24


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It's a shame the gallows aren't still in use going by some of the terrible crimes and judicial sentences in this country.

- Goodluck247 , North London, United Kingdom, 15/6/2013 00:47


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How many innocent people have taken that walk?

- Trevki , London, United Kingdom, 15/6/2013 00:14


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interesting article, thankyou...also the prison cells look more suitable than now a days

- JGod , Devon, United Kingdom, 14/6/2013 23:35


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Of course most DM commentators would be in favour of this, no surprises there! They wouldn't be very bothered if it was an innocent

person, either.

- SW66Bristol , Bristol, United Kingdom, 14/6/2013 23:31


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Should bring it back in to use

- Sick of Injustice , Bath, United Kingdom, 14/6/2013 23:04


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Behind Locked Doors at the Old Bailey