389:" 31. Wednesday at 11. Stephen College, born at Watford in Hertfordshire, nephew to Edmund College of St. Peter's in the Bayly, suffered death by hanging in the castle yard Oxon, and when he had hanged about half an hour was cut down by Catch or Ketch, and quartered, under the gallows, his entrails were burnt in a fire made by the gallows. He spoke and prayed more than half an hour, his body was, after quartering, put into a coffin, and the same day was conveyed to London, and buried privately the Thursday following at night in St. Gregory's church near St. Paul's."
967:
40:
182:
Ketch was paid by
Russell beforehand, as it was customary for those sentenced to death by beheading (which in those days was "reserved for aristocrats") "to tip the public executioner in advance. It was hoped this would encourage him to do a swift and efficient job, hopefully despatching the victim
173:
On that occasion, Ketch wielded the instrument of death either with such sadistically nuanced skill or with such lack of simple dexterity – nobody could tell which – that the victim suffered horrifically under blow after blow, each excruciating but not in itself lethal. Even among the
217:
He would not make use of a cap or other circumstance, but lying down, bid the fellow to do his office better than to the late Lord
Russell, and gave him gold; but the wretch made five chops before he had his head off; which so incensed the people, that had he not been guarded and got away, they
380:"On the top of the sheet is a woodcut, in which is represented Edward Coleman drawn in a sledge to the place of execution, exclaiming, 'I am sick of a traytorous disease,' while Jack Ketch, with a hatchet in one hand and a rope in the other, is saying, 'Here's your cure, sir.' "
187:
to use me so inhumanely?'" However, in the pamphlet allegedly authored by him, Ketch "repudiated the charge" that
Russell had paid him twenty guineas the night before the execution (although he stated it was "true I receav'd 10. Guenies" from him on the
142:, to whom he had been apprenticed. He is first mentioned in the Proceedings of the Old Bailey for 14 January 1676, although no printed notice of the new hangman occurred until 2 December 1678, when a broadside appeared called
235:, and Ketch was reinstated. Ketch died in November 1686. Ketch's "wife is reported to have said, “That any bungler might put a man to death, but that her husband only knew how to make a Gentleman die sweetly.”"
163:
was hanged in the Castle Yard, Oxford, "and when he had hanged about half an hour, was cut down by Catch or Ketch, and quartered under the gallows, his entrails were burnt in a fire made by the gallows".
178:, in which he excused his performance with the claim that Lord Russell had failed to "dispose himself as was most suitable" and that he was therefore distracted while taking aim on his neck.
183:
in one clean blow." In spite of this, Ketch allegedly "did such a bad job that, after the axe hit the side of
Russell's head, Russell looked up at him and said, 'You dog, did I give you ten
620:
Athenae
Oxonienses: An exact history of all the writers and bishops who have had their education in the University of Oxford. To which are added the Fasti, or Annals of the said University
352:, when Mr. Jorkin warns the directors of the Amalgamated Mercantile Society to watch out for Scrooge and Marley, as "They'd skin Jack Ketch alive and he'd never know they'd done it."
174:
bloodthirsty throngs that habitually attended
English beheadings, the gory and agonizing display had created such outrage that Ketch felt moved to write and publish a pamphlet titled
495:
255:
758:"The apologie of John Ketch, Esq., the executioner of London, in vindication of himself as to the execution of the late Lord Russel, on July 21, 1683"
327:
series (though the last volume is set in 1714, well after the death of the historical Jack Ketch.) Ketch makes a brief appearance in issue #10 of
144:
The
Plotters Ballad, being Jack Ketch's incomparable Receipt for the Cure of Traytorous Recusants and Wholesome Physick for a Popish Contagion.
989:
200:
as "questionable", since we have "no accurate notion of who wrote" it. He argues that "it may well have been what we would now call a '
152:, that the hangman was confined for a time in the Marshalsea prison, "whereby his hopeful harvest was like to have been blasted."
123:. Ketch's notoriety stems from "barbarity at the execution of Lord Russell, the Duke of Monmouth, and other political offenders".
648:
Great
Bastards of History: True and Riveting Accounts of the Most Famous Illegitimate Children Who Went on to Achieve Greatness
930:
893:
796:
719:
688:
656:
532:
478:
451:
231:, formerly a butcher, took his place. However, on 28 May, following his conviction for robbery, Rose himself was hanged at
96:. He became famous through the way he performed his duties during the tumults of the 1680s, when he was often mentioned in
949:
192:), that Russell had insulted him, or that he had struck Russell's shoulder rather than his head. Although biographer
116:
196:
believed that the pamphlet was "probably written by Ketch himself", author
Stephen Wade describes the provenance of
602:
317:
757:
1045:
108:
499:
971:
596:
293:
189:
148:
In 1679, there appears from another pamphlet purporting to be written by Ketch himself, and entitled
359:
aired an episode titled "Jack Ketch" starring
British actor Charles Laughton on September 22, 1952.
227:
In January 1686, Ketch was committed to Bridewell Prison for "affronting" a sheriff. His assistant,
829:
243:
In 1836, a fictitious autobiography of Ketch, with illustrations from designs by Meadows entitled
126:
Because of his botched executions, the name "Jack Ketch" is used as a proverbial name for death,
112:
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8:
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20:
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323:
156:
921:(2, illustrated, revised, reprint ed.). Cambridge University Press. p.
595:
338:
332:
328:
306:
270:
160:
815:
The diary of John Evelyn, Esq., F. R. S.: from 1641 to 1705-6 : with memoir
281:
261:
232:
251:
was furnished by Tom Hood for the Duke of Devonshire's library at Chatsworth.
1039:
978:
618:
184:
349:
275:
201:
997:
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228:
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39:
993:. Vol. 15 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 761.
1012:
738:
707:
591:
193:
139:
97:
45:
982:
211:
966:
606:. Vol. 31. London: Smith, Elder & Co. pp. 71–2.
127:
208:
by fabricating a biography of a notorious public figure."
942:
The Tragical Comedy or Comical Tragedy of Punch and Judy
714:. Preston, Lancashire: Young Legal Eagles. p. 92.
496:"[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----worldwide"
940:
Piccini, Giovanni (1976) . Collier, John Payne (ed.).
556:"Killing > murder, 14th January 1676 (t16760114-7)"
865:
712:
Bizarre Laws & Curious Customs of the UK: Vol. I
305:" (1951). More recently, Jack Ketch plays a role in
48:, by Jack Ketch, on 15 July 1685, on a playing card.
683:. Cham, Switzerland: Springer Nature. p. 144.
321:, the first and last volumes, respectively, in his
914:
435:
433:
44:James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth's execution, on
828:
473:. Sterling Publishing Company, Inc. p. 782.
249:Life of Jack Ketch with Cuts of his own Execution
1037:
104:. He is thought to have been appointed in 1663.
791:. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Books. p. 27.
430:
138:Ketch took office in 1663, succeeding the late
944:. Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd. p. 53.
805:
840:
745:. London: Smith, Elder, & Co. p. 71.
344:He is mentioned briefly in the 1951 movie of
212:James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth's execution
638:
439:
877:
836:. Hertford: The Ballad Society. p. 86.
743:Dictionary of National Biography: Vol. XXXI
167:
811:
586:
584:
582:
580:
578:
576:
260:The Tragical Comedy or Comical Tragedy of
38:
846:
84:(died November 1686), generally known as
977:
644:
514:
493:
460:
443:Capital punishment: a reference handbook
107:He executed the death sentences against
100:accounts that circulated throughout the
939:
883:
782:
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702:
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254:Jack Ketch is one of the characters in
247:, was published. Another book entitled
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871:
733:
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155:A short entry in the autobiography of
678:
520:
466:
812:Evelyn, John; Bray, William (1889).
786:
775:
706:
697:
616:
524:1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue
737:
728:
590:
494:Halperin, Rick (12 February 2006).
13:
527:. BiblioBazaar, LLC. p. 178.
411:"Jack Ketch (English executioner)"
269:, in 1828. He is mentioned in the
14:
1062:
959:
888:. Premier Classics. p. 119.
755:
645:Fiorillo, Juré (1 January 2010).
521:Grose, Captain (September 2008).
159:for 31 August 1681 describes how
150:The Man of Destiny's Hard Fortune
117:James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth
965:
834:The Roxburghe Ballads: Volume IV
789:Britain's Most Notorious Hangmen
603:Dictionary of National Biography
850:The autobiography of Jack Ketch
822:
749:
672:
383:
355:The long-running radio program
245:The autobiography of Jack Ketch
16:English executioner (died 1686)
917:The Cambridge guide to theatre
762:University of Michigan Library
548:
487:
440:Kronenwetter, Michael (2001).
403:
374:
218:would have torn him to pieces.
198:The Apology of John Ketch Esq.
133:
1:
906:
560:Old Bailey Proceedings Online
470:Cassell's dictionary of slang
119:, on 15 July 1685, after the
109:William Russell, Lord Russell
853:. Carey, Lea & Blanchard
7:
847:Whitehead, Charles (1835).
10:
1067:
1019:British office of hangman
651:. Fair Winds. p. 82.
238:
88:, was an infamous English
18:
1024:
1017:
1009:
884:Dickens, Charles (1837).
830:Woodfall Ebsworth, Joseph
446:. ABC-CLIO. p. 172.
341:Rivers of London series.
337:and in the first book of
309:'s 2003 and 2004 volumes
71:
63:
53:
37:
30:
818:. F. Warne. p. 481.
679:Misra, Amalendu (2022).
617:Wood, Anthony Ă (1813).
467:Green, Jonathon (2005).
362:
168:Lord Russell's execution
990:Encyclopædia Britannica
913:Banham, Martin (1995).
318:The System of the World
301:science fiction story "
19:For the racehorse, see
787:Wade, Stephen (2009).
220:
180:
623:. Rivington. p.
331:'s comic book series
215:
171:
115:on 21 July 1683, and
1046:English executioners
974:at Wikimedia Commons
223:Later life and death
204:' out to make a few
113:Lincoln's Inn Fields
984:"Ketch, John"
886:The Pickwick Papers
597:"Ketch, John"
416:Britannica.com Inc.
303:The Marching Morons
288:The Pickwick Papers
267:John Payne Collier
130:and executioners.
121:Monmouth Rebellion
102:Kingdom of England
21:Jack Ketch (horse)
1034:
1033:
1025:Succeeded by
970:Media related to
932:978-0-521-43437-9
895:978-0-307-29175-2
798:978-1-84563-082-9
721:978-1-7397488-3-8
690:978-3-030-96142-8
658:978-1-59233-401-8
534:978-0-559-13810-2
480:978-0-304-36636-1
453:978-1-57607-432-9
346:A Christmas Carol
324:The Baroque Cycle
294:David Copperfield
92:employed by King
79:
78:
75:c.1663–1686
72:Years active
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1010:Preceded by
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502:on 20 July 2011
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339:Ben Aaronovitch
329:Bill Willingham
307:Neal Stephenson
299:C. M. Kornbluth
271:Charles Dickens
265:as dictated to
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981:, ed. (1911).
979:Chisholm, Hugh
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960:External links
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855:. Retrieved
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765:. Retrieved
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681:On Beheading
680:
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662:. Retrieved
647:
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628:. Retrieved
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563:. Retrieved
559:
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538:. Retrieved
523:
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504:. Retrieved
500:the original
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350:Alistair Sim
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1051:1686 deaths
1028:Paskah Rose
1002:Everything2
872:Banham 1995
739:Lee, Sidney
708:Lord, Monty
592:Lee, Sidney
312:Quicksilver
297:and in the
229:Paskah Rose
134:Appointment
90:executioner
1040:Categories
1022:1663–1686
1013:Edward Dun
998:Jack Ketch
972:Jack Ketch
907:References
420:Retrieved
258:(d. 1835)
194:Sidney Lee
140:Edward Dun
98:broadsheet
94:Charles II
86:Jack Ketch
82:John Ketch
58:John Ketch
46:Tower Hill
32:Jack Ketch
857:23 August
767:21 August
664:23 August
630:23 August
565:9 October
540:23 August
506:23 August
422:24 August
397:Citations
368:Footnotes
832:(1883).
741:(1892).
710:(2023).
357:Suspense
190:scaffold
176:Apologie
273:novels
239:Fiction
185:guineas
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929:
892:
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477:
450:
334:Fables
233:Tyburn
206:groats
363:Notes
348:with
315:and
128:Satan
111:, in
946:ISBN
927:ISBN
890:ISBN
859:2010
793:ISBN
769:2024
716:ISBN
685:ISBN
666:2010
653:ISBN
632:2010
567:2011
542:2010
529:ISBN
508:2010
475:ISBN
448:ISBN
424:2010
291:and
64:Died
54:Born
923:888
1042::
1000:,
987:.
925:.
777:^
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625:92
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558:.
432:^
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23:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
