Olde Yorkshire Punishments

This fascinating volume explores the darkest aspects of crime and punishment in Yorkshire over the centuries – a history by turns gruesome, intriguing and strange. From the stocks, joug and branding iron to the prison cell, galley – and noose – every punishment that could befall the criminals of Yorkshire is included in this volume. Some are horrific; some, like the nailing of ears to the pillory, bizarre; and some, like the little girl who died in 1856 ‘through fear of whipping by the school mistress’, heartbreakingly sad.

Containing notorious villains such as Charlie Peace and Eugene Aram, true-life cases, underworld institutions such as ‘flash houses’, and the extraordinary histories of executioners such as ‘Mutton’ Currey of York, who once was so intoxicated that he tried to hang the officiating priest instead of the condemned, this book has much to surprise and entertain the reader. With sections on Church scandals, why bull baiting was a legal requirement and the use of the Sharp Maiden – the guillotine – it will delight anyone with an interest in Yorkshire’s penal history.