THE HALIFAX GIBBET.

 

 

 

 

 

The privilege of a gibbet is believed to have been vested in Halifax around the time of the Norman conquest in 1066, although the earliest reference to it dates from 1280. At that time, there were said to be one hundred other places in Yorkshire that similarly enjoyed this distinctive honour. In the case of Halifax however its notoriety stemmed from the fact that the custom of the gibbot law continued long after it had been abandoned elsewhere. The laws of Halifax were administered from the Moot Hall ( demolished in 1957 ) which stood on a site near the parish church in Nelson Street. It was from here that the lords of the manor held court and imposed fines and punishment for a wide variety of offences. Early records show that John De Warren, Earl of Surry, held court here in 1286. In the same year, the earls of Warren were granted by the crown the Royalty to execute thieves and other criminals, from which the Halifax Gibbet Law developed. It was in that first year that John of Dalton was decapitated, the first known victim of the Halifax Gibbet, although formal records of victims did not begin until 1541. By todays standard, the use of the gibbet was harsh, often being deployed for the punishment of both minor and major offences. Local gibbet law dictated that if a felon be taken within the liberty of Halifax, either hand - habend ( caught with the stolen goods in his hand or in the act of stealing ), back - berand ( caught carrying stolen goods on his back ) or confessand ( having confessed to the crime ), to the value of thirteen pence half-penny, he shall after three markets, be taken to the gibbet and there have his head cut off from his body. While the sum may sound paltry by todays standards, English common law at that time permitted the death penalty for thefts to the value of twelve pence and above. Markets occurred on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, the main market was held on Saturdays. These were busy affairs and the spectacle of a decapitation, all beheadings took place at the Saturday market, added to the numbers attending. A curious note on the act of beheading is recorded by the Halifax historian Wright, in which he tells of a country woman on horseback who passed the gibbet while an execution was taking place. At her sides were large wicker baskets, and when the head of the victim was dispatched, the force of the descending axe caused it to bounce a considerable distance into one of the hampers, or, as others say, seized her apron with its teeth, and there stuck for some time. The axe which decapitated the victims head weighed seven pounds twelve ounces. The axe was drawn up to the top of the gibbet by a cord and pulley. At the end of the cord was a pin, which being fixed to the block, kept it suspended till the moment of execution, when the culprit, having placed his head on the block, the pin was withdrawn, the axe fell suddenly and violently on the criminals neck and his head was instantly severed from his body. Between 1541 and 1650, the official records show that some 53 recorded persons ( men and women ) were executed by the Halifax Gibbet. John Taylor wrote a poem in 1622.

 

`At Halifax, the law so sharpe doth deale,

that who so more than thirteen pence doth steale,

they have a Jyn ( engine ) that wondrous quicke and well

send thieves all headless unto heav`n or hell.

 

 

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