William Calcraft

William Calcraft was a prominent English executioner during the 19th century.

An executioner is an official responsible for carrying out legal death sentences. Calcraft had a career that lasted approximately 45 years. It is estimated that he performed roughly 450 executions during his tenure. This made him one of the most prolific executioners in British history. His work occurred during a major transition in how the law handled capital punishment.

Before entering this profession, Calcraft lived a very different life in England. He was born in Baddow, near Chelmsford, in 1800. His primary trade was as a cobbler, which is a person who repairs shoes. He also worked as a nightwatchman at Reid's brewery in Clerkenwell, London. While selling meat pies near Newgate Prison, he met John Foxton. Foxton had served as the City of London's hangman for 40 years. After Foxton died in 1829, the government appointed Calcraft as his successor.

Calcraft's official role involved several specific duties and payments. He was sworn in as the Executioner for the City of London and Middlesex on April 4, 1829. He received a weekly salary of one guinea. He also earned an additional guinea for every individual execution he performed. His income was supplemented by an allowance for tools like birch rods and cats o' nine tails. He even sold sections of the rope used in his work. These rope segments were sold for prices ranging from five shillings to one pound per inch.

Calcraft was known for using a specific technique called the short-drop method. In this process, the prisoner's arms were pinioned to their sides with leather straps. Their heads were covered with a white cap, or hood, to hide their faces from the crowd. The hood also prevented the prisoner from seeing the lever being pulled. The short-drop method involved a fall of only about one foot. This short distance often failed to break the person's neck immediately. Consequently, death frequently occurred slowly through strangulation over several minutes.

Because of this method, many people considered Calcraft to be incompetent. To try and hasten death, he would sometimes pull on the victim's legs. He was also known to climb onto the shoulders of the condemned. Some historians suggest he did this to entertain the massive crowds. Public executions often drew huge numbers of people to watch. For example, the execution of Franz Müller in 1864 was witnessed by 50,000 spectators.

Calcraft's career spanned a significant change in British law. Until 1868, most executions in London were public events. They often took place on temporary gallows built in front of prisons. However, the Capital Punishment Amendment Act of 1868 changed this requirement. The law mandated that all executions must be conducted privately inside a prison. Calcraft participated in both sides of this transition. He carried out the last public execution on May 26, 1868, involving Michael Barrett. He also performed the first private execution on August 13, 1868, involving Thomas Wells.

Throughout his long career, Calcraft executed many different types of people. He is estimated to have hanged 35 women during his time in office. In 1849, he performed a rare execution of a married couple. Marie and Frederick Manning were the first husband and wife to be hanged together since 1700. As Calcraft aged, the press noted a decline in his abilities. In 1869, at age 69, a newspaper reported his work was slow and bungling. He eventually retired in 1874 and received a pension of 25 shillings a week.

In his later years, Calcraft's appearance and reputation changed significantly. While he was described as genial when he was younger, he became a surly figure. He was often seen in scruffy black clothing with a long beard and hair. He died in Hoxton on December 13, 1879, at the age of 79.

His life remains a documented part of the history of the British justice system. His career illustrates the shift from public spectacle to private legal procedure.