Running from 25th June to 30th September,William Marwood: Cobbler, Preacher, Hangman tells the story of the man who rose from humble beginnings in the Lincolnshire Wolds to become the most well-known executioner of the Victorian age, and pioneer of the “long drop” method of hanging, which he developed here in Lincolnshire.
The exhibition explores Marwood’s complex character and the truth behind his reputation. Visitors can also discover more about crime and punishment in Victorian Britain, and Marwood’s role in some of the most notorious criminal cases that shocked 19th century society.
Drawing on original research by Society members and material from their Town Archive, the exhibition places Marwood within the community where he lived. It reveals the roots of a figure who became a household name in Victorian England, and whose waxwork once graced the Chamber of Horrors at Madame Tussaud’s.
The exhibition is open Thursday to Saturday, 10am–4pm, from 25 June to 30 September at the Joseph Banks Centre in Horncastle. It is free to visit, but all donations towards the upkeep of the Society’s Town Archive are warmly received.
