Stromness Dragon

During the course of researching my book about Otherworldy Orkney, I spent a bit of time loitering in the archives looking at records of trials, and documents pertaining to crimes committed and punishments meted out. Here is a small selection for your delight and delectation………

From 1691-1732 the records of the Kirkwall Town Council are almost free of accounts of executions. The exception was Arthur Mason, a notorious thief and housebreaker, sentenced to die on 29 October 1706. He was to be taken from the Tolbooth to the Loan, ‘between the hours of 2 and 3 in the afternoon, by the hand of the common hangman; having his hands tied behind his back, and there to be hanged upon ane gibbet of gallows till he dyed.’

When a hanging took place in Kirkwall, the gibbet was made anew every time – it did not stand, as in some places, as a permanent warning and reminder to the ne’er-do-wells of the town. Special arrangements were made for timber and iron to make the gibbet, and after its use, it was cut down and burnt. Only the notorious hangman’s ladder was used time and time again.

In 1720 the Sheriff of Caithness appealed to the Kirkwall authorities for a loan of the hangman, Alexander Downie, to execute one William Farquhar. They gave many bonds and guarantees of his return, and the promise of excellent pay – clearly these men were much in demand.

In 1680 the Kirkwall Tolbooth was a rather open prison – complaints were made that the prisoners were keeping women, and servants attended them night and day, even using and keeping cooking pots within the gaol. The regulations were duly tightened – everybody was to leave the prison at 8.00pm, except, of course, the prisoners.

At the beginning of the 19^th century, concern was raised once more about the state of the Kirkwall gaol. The Sheriff Depute of Orkney, James A McConnochie, sent a report to Provost Laing bemoaning ‘ the communication which the prisoners may have with the people on the streets…I myself saw gingerbread handed in…..’ . Spirits and other drink were also transferred. He advised building a wall to screen the windows from the street; the council agreed and this was done.

The punishment of Jean Seatter on 9 March 1697 caused a lot of excitement in Kirkwall. Business stopped, and crowds gathered around the Tolbooth, surging forward to catch a glimpse of the prisoner being led from the damp cells. Jean, a tall young woman with fair hair, was escorted by the magistrates. Her punishment began when she was taken to the rampart of the Brig at about 11 o’clock and stripped to her shift. She received three lashes over her shoulders, with the cord or tow. Three more lashes were inflicted at the Mercat Cross, then a further three at the ‘head of the town’, followed by banishment from Orkney. If anyone harboured her, the fine was 40 shillings for every night she spent under their roof. Jean’s crime was that of theft. She was a servant with the Bailie Moncrieff, at a time of great hunger and famine, when many in Orkney were starving. She stole from her employer a small quantity of bere meal, and more seriously, ‘did cut down and steal away’ 27 pieces of beef which had been hanging in the larder. She attempted to hide the meat whilst the household was in church, but was discovered. Jean pled for mercy, saying that desperation had made her steal to feed her family, but no leniency was shown and the full punishment was carried out.

1843 saw a rare case of bigamy in Orkney. William Sharp married Ann Marwick when he was already married to Mary McFie. He was found guilty and served 12 months in prison.

In 1707, a 15 year old named Adam Farquhar was convicted of striking his mother with a knife. The magistrate described him as a ‘wicked, godless wretch’. His sentenced required that he walked from the Tolbooth to the shore, then to the head of the town. He was to carry a board with the following writing; ‘With this right hand I did most unchristianly beat my mother’. He had to walk accompanied by officers who beat a large drum to draw attention to the ‘unnatural son’. This, alas, did not deflect the lad from the path of wickedness – 14 years later he again hit his mother, this time with a pair of tongs. For this second offence he was ordered to pay a fine of 500 merks and was thereafter banished from the island.

It is believed the last public execution took place in Kirkwall in 1728. A young woman from Shapinsay was convicted of the murder of a child. The bill for the execution included beer for the hangman, diggers for the burial and candles for those visiting the condemned woman the night before she died.

In 1551 an Act of Parliament made it a state offence to profane or swear. The convicted had to sit outside the Cathedral on a Sunday with a board on their legs which read ‘Here sits ane curser’.

Let that be a lesson to you all!

Tags: hanging, Orkney, punishments, St Magnus Cathedral

Trackback URI | Comments RSS