The Pierrepoints, Britain's Hangmen

The Pierrepoint family Henry, Thomas and Albert were Great Britain's number 1 principle Executioners for many years.
In his nine-year term of office Henry carried out 105 capital punishments.
Thomas Pierrepoint began working as a hangman in 1906 under the influence of his brother, Henry. His career spanned 39+ years, and ended in 1946,
Albert Pierrepoint was an English hangman who worked on around 435 and 600 capital punishments in a 25-year career that ended in 1956
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Kevin McCleod
Huntley film archive
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[@dancingdingo]

Timothy Spall did an excellent portrayal of him in the film.

[@tabsntoot]

A good effort but the real Albert was a bit more rough and ready and not quite as sulky and dower

[@Dessan01]

It was a really entertaining film, but I doubt there was much of the real Pierrepoint in the character Spall portrayed. I think more accurate would have been Clive Revill's portrayal in "Let him have it!" Indeed Revill was asked to reprise the roll before Spall was cast, however he had no interest in doing so.

[@stevewooly6168]

Very informative, but as a proud Australian I have to correct you on your English, people are hanged not hung, pheasants are hung pictures are hung and even juries and parliaments can be hung, but people are most definitely HANGED

[@timmiller1954]

Great but you don't seem how to know how to use punctuation.

[@Theroadlesstaken]

I know it’s hanged & not hung. But for some reason hanged doesn’t sound like the proper terminology to me. I don’t know why.

[@majorlaff8682]

@@Theroadlesstaken It's hanged because it is a complete and completed action, just like murdered and killed.I hung my jacket on the peg yesterday and it's still there, along with my hat and scarf that I hung there at the same time. However, hanged people have had their rope necklace removed and are on their way to their maker. Mostly, the past tense of hang is hung but too many people get hung up about hung and hanged. Can't hang around any longer. I'm off to hang out with some friends. If you're contemplating suicide, please don't. Hang in there and it'll be okay. Oops ...

[@Heygoodlooking-lk9kg]

​@@timmiller1954I'm a brit and I see very little wrong with the punctuation, would you care to correct it for me?

[@Steven_Rowe]

​@Heygoodlooking-lk9kg . Im not great on punctuation or grammar, but the original post criticising the grammar does not even end with a full stop after the end of the sentence.

[@geoffreylee5199]

The last hanging in Canada was in 1962, when two guys from Detroit came to Toronto to enforce their boss’ order. They were immediately caught, and visited the Toronto Don Gaol and the deed was done back to back. Canada eliminated the DS in 1976.

[@ahdoodeclair]

Capital punishment in Britain was not "abolished in 1965". It was suspended in 1965 and abolished for murder in 1969 in Great Britain, and in 1973 in Northern Ireland. It stayed on the books for treason and a couple of other offences until 1998 when it was finally abolished for all crimes so that the UK could join the EU.The last executions, however were in 1964.

[@juniverse6686]

I really appreciate this detailed information , thank you for your input.

[@garethaethwy]

It wasn't abolished so the UK could join the EU, because we were already in the EU. Abolition took place by substituting discretionary life sentences for the 2 remaining offences carrying capital punish. Shortly afterwards the UK ratified the 6th Protocol to the ECHR which abolished capital punishment for crimes not committed during time of war, followed in 2003 by the 13th Protocol, which abolished it in all cases, but by which time there were no crimes left which carried the death sentence.

[@jamesgraham6122]

I'm surprised that after ten months no one has felt the need to comment. It's clear that Albert Pierrpoint had sincere reservations regarding the death penalty, and rightly so. In my view, the death penalty was employed as punishment too widely and without sufficient regard for the nature of the crime. Someone killing their spouse in a rage of anger having discovered them involved 'in flagrante delicto' , is highly unlikely to kill again, as such, a a lengthy sentence would prove sufficient.. on the other hand, killers such as Fred and Rose West, or the moors murders, few, if any, would pity the passing of such monsters..

[@throttlegalsmagazineaustra7361]

It's not clear at all. Pierrepoint was encouraged to renounce his support of the death penalty in order to match modern attitudes at the time of his book release. He later rescinded this announcement and remained a death penalty exponent for the remainder of his life.

[@Dessan01]

Yeah - it's possible Pierrepoint did have reservations later in life (apparently he was riddled with guilt as a very old man when he died in a nursing home - when you are close to your own judgment, this is natural I would say) but I think he "altered" his belief as a line to sell the autobiography. It is true however Ruth Ellis did affect him to a degree - her sister was pestered by Pierrepoint for a period, when he would come and visit her, ask for forgiveness and spent a lot of time at Ruth's grave.

[@jamescrydeman540]

I dunno how you value things.

[@Diamondmine212]

Albert when he retired was a pub landlord in Lancashire. He was always said to be a cheerful, friendly man and was well like by all his customers and friends .During the war the American army was executing so many prisoners at one stage( servicemen ) that they requested help from our home office so they sent Albert, when he arrived at their prison he saw the the executed prisoners had just been put on the floor of the next room , he was furious and ordered the guards to find the men coffins , he told them they’d paid for their crime , they were due to have their bodies treated with respect whether they liked it or not. He retired immediately when he arrived at a prison and on seeing the prisoner saw it was a relative .

[@laurencesmith2199]

I bought Albert's last motor , a 145 Volvo estate . I bought if from his grandson who inherited it when Albert snuffed , it was an old green log book , only 2 owners . The 1st obviously was Albert , the 2nd was Miguel Martin , who then admitted he was the grandson , who'd changed his name and was moving to Spain intending to stay there forever .

[@juniverse6686]

That's so interesting, thank you I really enjoy hearing people's real life stories and experiences.

[@tabsntoot]

thats cool

[@littlebigman5791]

It can't have been alberts grandson. Impossible. Albert and Annie , never had children

[@undercovercameras]

when you bought the car did it come with a tow rope just in case of a break down

[@TinaButcher-r6m]

How did he have a grandson when he had no children?

[@Ivan-Archer]

I abhor the death penalty but if I’m honest I would probably push the lever myself if the offender had murdered a loved one. That’s why the law is there, to protect me from people like them and them from people like me.

[@user-xh3lz9xt4l]

The Execution room at Durham is still in the prison which just happens to be the visitors cafeteria.

[@1339LARS]

Top notch, thank you!!!! //Lars

[@user-xh3lz9xt4l]

Is the Pierrepoint School in Farnham in Surrey related to the Pierrepoint family.

[@jamescrydeman540]

I have read three books, all about these three gentlemen and I wonder if everybody read them if the debate about capital punishment for capital crimes would be different. Knowing in detail how the system worked and other details not commonly known to the public i think would adjust many opinions, not necessarily change them but be better informed. To know in greater detail how and why you might hold that opinion.

[@RVEEATOR]

Albert ended up, or at least spent time in, Mundesley Hospital in Norfolk (not far from Cromer). This is presently a privately funded psychiatric hospital.

[@stevegregory2867]

My father had told me that his uncle was assistant to Mr Albert Pierrepont. I myself was in an angling club that had a member who had the same surname of Albert.Often wondered to myself if there was a connection.

[@matthewspicer1068]

What was your dad's uncle's surname .... Matthew:)

[@Dessan01]

@@matthewspicer1068 If this is true, there are only a few of people it could have been - Syd Dernley (who was frankly should never have been allowed the post, as it's fairly clear now he got some kind of sexual satisfaction from his work - he was eventually removed from the list after his conviction for publishing "obscene material"). Harry Allen or Harry Kirk.

[@matthewspicer1068]

The correct figure for the executions carried out by Albert Pierrepoint is 433 plus one where he observed as part of his training - within that total were 16 [Sixteen] females .... Matthew:)

[@gazed1435]

Albert's mum Mary Buxton was my Grandmothers sister

[@philipinchina]

That comment of Cream's is interesting. He has been proved not to have been Jack the ripper. Some people think he was trying to buy time. Anyway it didn't do him any good.

[@juniverse6686]

not the way the Pierrepoint's worked though was it, they were there to do a job, it didn't matter what anyone said, when at the gallows, unless it was someone with the authority to stop it, they were going to continue.

[@philipstanley8142]

Albert never researched the details of the crime. He considered himself an instrument of the state. The judge and jury had made the decision as their part of the judicial process.

[@jameshogan6142]

@@juniverse6686 Yes asking Pierrepoint to hang on a minute would get short shrift.

[@ahdoodeclair]

There is an interesting statistic regarding capital punishment in some "civilised" countries. In the 25 year period from 1940 to 1964, Australia hanged 19 people. That is fewer than one a year. At the same time Britain hanged or shot (2 occasions) 315 people, more than one a month, while the USA executed 2500 people, about two a week. Britain's population is about three times that of Australia while the USA has five times the population of Britain so the numbers are not proportional to population.

[@SirD83]

No mention of Bentley One Albert didn’t want to do, didn’t think he would hang.

[@juniverse6686]

That's a sad case, I can't blame him for not wanting to hang the young Bentley. He didn't deserve to hang

[@SirD83]

@@juniverse6686 exactly, but Albert had a strict policy, never turn a job down.

[@leesloan8216]

Albert never read about the cases, as he did not want to be prejudiced in his views prior to hanging, so in the case of Bentley and others he wouldn't have thought twice, just another job.

[@mandolinic]

The Bentley case was a complete travesty of justice. Sadly, it's just one of many injustices. When I was a child, I was repeatedly told that the British judicial system is the best in the world. What a fucking lie that is.

[@johncahalane7327]

I believe that each of the three Pierrepont's were totally different characters and that Albert Pierrepont was closer to his uncle than his father, some of the executioners named in this article probably did suffer some from of mental illness maybe as a result of their work, alcohol also played a part with Billington but Ellis had the added pressure of having a death sentence hanging over him by Irish Republicans which put a major strain on him and with other events brought about his attempted suicide which was a crime then ,he killed himself in 1932 the year Albert Pierrepont began his career, there were 29 executions in both Free State and Republic of Ireland 1923 to the last, Michael Manning in April 1954 by Albert Pierrepont, his uncle Tom performed most, it's disputed if Albert Pierrepont performed 3 or 4 executions, two are marked as executioner unknown, someone from England in 1934 ... did perform one execution, the rest 5 to my knowledge were performed by Irish Free State Army firing squad during World War II ..The Pierrepont's unlike John Ellis were never an issue with the IRA because they were never involved in political executions during The Anglo Irish War 1919 -1922 ..

[@edcjohnson9795]

There is a place for capital punishment in today's world. Though it could be argued that some offenders didn't deserve the death penalty due to circumstance or state of mind, horrific murders were very seldom. In recent years the number of brutal murders have esculated massively. We are all aware of at least a few murders were so horrific that capital punishment would be acceptable. The Moors Murderers Peter Sutcliffe Harrold Shipman Denis Nilsen Fred & Rose West Ian Huntley Roy Whiting Michael Adebolajo Michael Adebowale To name but a few.

[@TinaButcher-r6m]

Statistics show the opposite of your claim, the only thing that's changed is detection techniques

[@fossy4321]

Why does the video keep showing an American style noose which I don't think was used in the UK., certainly not by any of the hangmen in the video. they all used a hemp rope with a woven in steel loop, and a covering of soft calf leather for the section around the victims neck.

[@Nick-hy4sk]

What about Tim Evans..how.did he feel when he found out he had murdered an innocent man

[@alanvt1]

Harsh but fair!

[@paulvaughan3699]

I had a dream a while ago that the beast of belsen was killed by Barry from auf weidersen pet. Watching this has explained things thank-you 😊

[@NeilObrien63]

Can someone tell me what R stands for.

[@juniverse6686]

a word that youtube doesn't like rhymes with grape

[@NeilObrien63]

My thick, thanks for reply..

[@juniverse6686]

your very welcome

[@trevorgill1678]

Albert never had children so no grandson.

[@martiniv8924]

You would have to be a ‘special’ person to want to be an executioner 🤔

[@stevepeters5541]

Could you pull the lever 😮 someone had to do it he was good at is job

[@tabsntoot]

the trapdoor went boom !and he went in a blur when the man went down you could hear it throughout the prison and if the assistant didn’t get of the trap quick he may even go down himself . Read that in syd dernleys book he was assistant to pierepoint

[@jameshogan6142]

@@tabsntoot I have also that it could be heard throughout the prison but if that is so then surely the condemned man would hear it also but yet Albert said in his talk that they brought him to the chapel or the exercise ground where he wouldn't hear it.

[@alanvt1]

Well! I have it on good authority, that all thats felt is a tingling sensation behind the neck

[@becky2235]

How people could kill others ill never know unless its self defence or war ill never know

[@mitseraffej5812]

Not that I believe in superstitious crap but isn’t there a Christian Commandment “ Though shall not kill”.

[@jec1ny]

It's a poor translation. The correct rendering is "Thou shalt not murder." The Bible has a rather long list of crimes that are considered to be capital.

[@johnsavage5815]

looked at dispassionately the Pierrepoints were psychopaths.

[@juniverse6686]

As we know the DP is still being carried out in other countries, physiologically it would be interesting to look at how it affects the administrator.

[@charlesciminera5881]

​@@juniverse6686most countries have abolished the dp even russia has suspended it china,saudia arabia iran and america still employs it yeah good company

[@colinstewart1432]

That's not true. Read his book " Executioner, Pierrepont" And you'll see why.

[@throttlegalsmagazineaustra7361]

Looked at with any common sense it can be seen according to the law of the time the job had to be performed and it had to be done quickly, humanely and with dignity. The Pierrepoints personified this in spades. Your problem is you want to judge history with your modern squeaky clean hands and conscience.

[@stuartwilliams7912]

It also says an eye for an eye.

[@throttlegalsmagazineaustra7361]

The anecdote about William Joyce complaining about his nose itching is pure fiction. Never happened. James Corbett wasn't a "regular" at his pub, he was an occasional drinker there. Singing was common in pubs at that time. They did indeed call each other Tish and Tosh, but Pierrepoint never knew his real name until the day he executed him.

[@juniverse6686]

In Albert’s own words He was one of my regulars ( came in every Saturday night), although He didn’t know his real name until the execution, he always greeted me (Albert) with “Hallo Tosh” and I used to answer “Hallo Tish” . It was a catchphrase of the time. He was everybody’s friend, he was lively and easy going. Almost as soon as he got his beer he would start to sing. He often brought a woman with him on a Saturday night. On the night the murder was committed he and the woman left the pub and he called out to Albert goodnight Tosh and Albert responded with goodnight Tish. Although the Nose itch maybe a rumour where John Christie is concerned, whoever started it added a nice touch IMO.

[@jameshogan6142]

@@juniverse6686 Albert should have replied my trigger finger (or lever pushing hand even) is itchier.