| Date | 20 February 2015 |
|---|---|
| Source | Slough Observer |
| Reference | VP-0080 |
| Volume | Views of the Past |
| Collection | Views of the Past |
Transcript
A place for execution
THE old market place at Windsor was used for a number of purposes, apart from simply selling or bidding for produce.
The market place was the scene of public executions. As early as 1649 a fake scaffold was put up in the Market Place to lull King Charles I into a false state of security — he was, however, to be executed in London in 1649. The only known execution took place on March 7, 1764 at the Market Place in Windsor.
After an eight-hour trial at the assizes at Reading, Thomas Watkins, a gardener of the parish of New Windsor, was found guilty of murdering a servant girl in the employ of two spinsters known as the Misses Hammersley.
The murder took place one month earlier in February 1764. The Misses Hammersley were known to be a wealthy pair of sisters and were a sitting target in terms of their possessions.
Watkins took advantage of this and broke into their home and stole a number of objects. The thief was apprehended by a maid servant in the next room and as a result of this the servant was murdered before he left the house.
The Misses Hammersley found the victim in the house, having been fatally assaulted during the burglary. A reward of £50 was issued for the arrest of Thomas Watkins, who was later apprehended and committed to Reading Jail.
During his eight-hour trial, Watkins asserted his innocence throughout and even took time to cross-examine the witnesses in great detail. There was no absolute proof that he had committed the murder but a great number of concurring circumstances demonstrated his guilt to the jury. The jury took hardly any time to deliberate and found him guilty and he was sentenced to death. He was then transported in a post chaise from Reading to Windsor, where the crime had been committed, and was accompanied by the executioner, under-sheriff and his javelin-man (escort from the Court of Assize).
He was then publicly executed in Windsor market place and his body was then transported to Gallows Lane, Old Windsor, to be displayed as was the custom of the time.
GUILDHALL: The old market place at Windsor c. 1764 – the location of a public hanging.
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