Rebecca Smith hanged in Devizes 1849
The last woman in England to be hanged for Infanticide
The Story of Rebecca Smith
It was on May 17th, 1807 that a baby girl was born. There is nothing unusual about that. However, this baby would go on to become a murderer. She would become the last woman in England to be hanged for the murder of her own infant.
The baby, Rebecca Prior, was born in the Wiltshire village of Bratton, close to the town of Westbury. Her parents were William and Sarah Prior. William was a successful yeoman farmer and her mother was a prominent member of the local Particular Baptists. It would seem that Rebecca had the kind of family to give her a good start in life. A time when poverty was rife and life could be very hard.
Rebecca fell in love with a local man, Philip Smith, an agricultural labourer. Philip had a reputation as a drunkard, something that would have concerned her mother. Her father, William Prior, died in 1830, and might not have been aware of the relationship that would blossom into marriage in May 1831. The couple moved a few miles along the road to live in Westbury. Philip and Rebecca’s first child, Jane, was born the following year, 1832.
Life was hard for farm labourers and their families. For the newlyweds, money would have been in short supply and made worse by a man who drank a lot. Ten more children would follow the birth of Jane, and each one would die fairly soon after birth. The second child, a boy, died of a bowel complaint after 14 weeks, the rest apart from the eleventh died within a day or two of their birth. I will get back to the eleventh child in a moment.
Rebecca’s mother died in 1846 and she inherited £100, a sum that could have made an incredible difference to her life in those days. Did it? No. Her husband squandered the money. She had to become a seasonal crop picker to survive. According to accounts, it’s said that the family lived in a visible state of poverty and ill health.
Rebecca Smith’s final child
The final child to be born, and the eleventh, was Richard. He arrived on May 16th 1849. A healthy baby boy should have been a reason for joy. It wasn’t long after the birth when Rebecca began telling neighbours, “My little baby is wasting away”. That seemed strange to them for they had seen the baby and he looked healthy. Baby Richard was taken ill on June 7th and died a few days later on the 12th.
George Shorland, the local registrar, recorded the cause of death as unknown. The registrar was persuaded by local rumours to order an inquest. Richard’s body was exhumed on June 22nd and on the 24th an autopsy was carried out. Tests showed traces of arsenic in the baby’s stomach. Rebecca’s neighbours claimed she had made a series of attempts to purchase arsenic before and after the birth, finally successfully doing so on the morning of June 7th, when the baby became ill.
Two more of her babies, Sarah and Edward, were exhumed and inquests were held on July 18th. Both bodies contained traces of arsenic.
Rebecca Smith’s Trial August 9th 1849
Rebecca went on trial for the murder of her recently deceased baby, Richard, on August 9th. The jury found her guilty but stated to the Judge, “It is our painful duty to pronounce the prisoner guilty, but we strongly recommend her to mercy”. The Judge inquired on what ground, when the foreman answered, “That she might have time to repent”. The Judge did not agree and sentenced Rebecca to be hanged.
Two petitions to spare the life of Rebecca were made to the Home Secretary. She was a poor and unwell woman. The requests fell on deaf ears and she was condemned to execution.
From within her death cell in Devizes Prison, Rebecca told her story. She said that she had been physically and sexually abused by her drunkard husband. Next, she went on to confess that after the second child died, the following seven she killed with poison. The tenth died of natural causes and the eleventh was Richard for whose murder she would now hang.
In my research, I have found three days given for the hanging, Thursday, August 23rd, and the 24th in The Times report of September 2nd. In Hansard’s Parliamentary record, it states Saturday 25th. Some other accounts say it was a Saturday, and this seems the most reliable. The huge crowd who turned up to watch were most likely available on a Saturday. It’s said that “from nine until eleven o’clock people poured into town in shoals on foot, in wagons, in boats (the Kennet & Avon Canal passes close to the prison (now a housing estate), and by the latter hour the prison yard, the banks of the canal, every tree, hedge and field that could command a view of the drop (hanging) appeared crammed.”
Shortly before 12 noon the bell tolled and Rebecca Smith was ushered from her cell to the gallows outside of Devizes Prison, the chaplain reading out the sermon for the condemned during that solemn walk.
A contemporary account described her demeanour as she awaited death:
“Her conduct was most becoming. Mild and contented in her manner and deportment, it might be thought that she was totally incapable of the unnatural crime of which she was convicted. Free from guile or hypocrisy, she at once unhesitatingly confessed her crime, and acknowledged the justice of the punishment that awaited her, and frequently expressed a hope that others would take warning by her fate. At the same time, she was extremely ignorant, and betrayed a want of any deep feeling.”
The report goes on:
“During this time she did not utter a word, nor did a sigh escape her; but her countenance appeared quite composed, and her step firm. Arrived on the drop, the rope was in a moment round her neck, she clasped and raised her hands together, as if in fervent prayer, and, after a slight struggle, she was launched into eternity.
The orderly manner in which the whole proceedings were conducted, reflects much credit to the prison.”
This account was syndicated and published in several newspapers.
It’s a very sad tale. A young girl falling for a man who would mistreat her. She was unable to cope and turned to killing her babies, probably thinking they would be better dead than alive. Who knows how the first and surviving child, Jane, was treated? It was a tough life. It may have been with relief when Rebecca was found guilty and escaped the grasp of her husband and poor life.
Sadly, today, many young ladies are attracted to men who might seem fun, even charming, and yet prove to be a source of misery. This is a tale repeated through time. True, Rebecca was the murderer of her children and has the unenviable record of being the last woman hanged in England for Infanticide. Her circumstances and her actions from the moment she fell in love with Philip Smith proved to be disastrous, and for which we may have great sympathy as some did at the time.
Let me know in the comments below your thoughts.
