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Thomas Leyland  My interst in Thomas, comes from the fact that he once owned the Mansion, Walton Hall in what is now Walton Hall Park. Thomas was to buy the mansion from the Atherton family, John Atherton was another well known slave trader.
Thomas was to begin slaving after winning what was then a great sum of 20,000 pounds in a goverment run lottery, which is also how he came to be known as Lucky Leyland, I believe that one of the slaving ships he had ownership of was indeed called the Lottery, another of his ships being called The Enterprise. One of the names given to slaveships, posibily for a obvious reason, was the Guinea men, a name also given to the slave trade was the Guinea Trade. 
Thomas Leyland like many other in the slave trade was to rise to a position of local prominance in Liverpool, becoming ba bailiff in 1796 ans also serving as major of liverpool in 1798, 1814 and 1820. like many other slave traders moved from slaving into other areas of profit on the back of the money made from slaving. It has been eximated that in a good year a slaving ship would make a 240,000 pound profit. In 1826 Thomas leylands personal fortune is extimated at 750.000 pounds, by todays standards a fortune that could well have seen Thomas listed in the Times list of one of the worlds richest men. A Thomas Molyneux is shown as being a partner in one venture with a association with the slave trading firm of Thomas Leyland & Co which it is beleived started no later than 1802, he is shown as having a quarter share in the sixth voyage of The Lottery, Captain Charles Kneal. The 305 slaves were taken from Africa to Jamaica, the slaves along with the other cargoes, yeilded a net profit for Thomas Molyneux share of 짙4,755 when the final balance of the account was struck in 1811. It was not unusual for slave ships to have many partners to share in the risks as it was not unknown for ships to be lost completely because of the many hazards of sea, including French Pirates, sickness and slave rebelions resulting in the loss of part or all of the cargoes of human slaves. The fact that these ships had a higher death rate of the crew than the slaves, usually meant the the ships crews were more usually made up of the worse kind of salors rather than good crews, all adding to the risk, a risk that was small in comparison to the profits to be made. One of the reasons that Liverpool became the major slaving port of the time was that its position made it less likely to come under the threat of the French | http://uk.msnusers.com/Waltonthesearchforlocalhistory/Documents/2c8.jpg History of the land (under construction) The earliest evidence of settlements in the area is the megalithic tomb found in Calder Stones, a find which is even older than Stonehenge itself. Given the importance placed on Stonehenge it is surprising that so little importance in the find is taken. Much of the stone of the tomb was dug up to use as building materials. at the centre of the tomb there were a dozen or more sandstone blocks, some of the stones were carved with spiral and cup markings, these are the only examples that have been found in England. The stones were still to be seen sticking out of the ground in the 16th century. In 1840 the stones were moved when a road was widened, after which they were to lay in a farmers field being used as rubbing posts for the farmers cows, until joseph Walker set six of them in a circle in this front garden as garden ornaments. It was not untill 1954 that Liverpool corporation claimed them and placed them into a green house inside what is now Calderstones Park, they are still there today. It is hard to imagine the later find of stonehenge just being placed in a green house in a park after the cows had got fed up with them. 
The Cows Scratching Post 
2000 BC the area was forest and marsh land that streched along a lake that ran from what is now Bootle to Warrington ( I wonder if it was this lake that was to later open up because of the earthquake in Roman times, about 400 AD, to become the River Mersey ) . A primeval Forest of pine, birch and oak trees sreching out from what is now Freshfield to the Wiral Body Snatching in Walton In October 1826, a smell from three casks on Liverpool docks awaiting shipment to Edinburgh gave alarm to local dockers and they called the police. In the casks parts of eleven bodies were found the bodies had been salted in a effort to preserve the parts, the smell was because the parts had been only partly salted, nobody knows how many casks had previously been fully salted. The casks were traced back to a cellar in Hope Street, were a further 19 bodies were found. It was discovered that these had been taken from the workhouse graveyard, the discovery closed down this corpse-exporting businness , but it is anybodies guess at how many other export businnesses there were, two men were convicted because of the hope street discovery, they werr fined and jailed. It was only a year that another money making export businesses was discovered, bodies were being dug up from Walton Churchyard and taken to Seel Street, where a William Gill sold them to local doctors. Gill who was described himself as a respectable teacher of anatomy was arrested and convicted, his fine was only 짙30 which Gill paid straight away probably from money made from the sale of the bodies in the first place. Part of Gills defence included a call for the law to be changed so that corpses for medical dissection could be provided The a lack of bodies for medical students was seen at the time as one of the biggest problems holding up medical improvements In the early 1820s, bodies were often imported to Liverpool from Dublin, and taken to dissecting rooms in Pomona Street and Seel Street. Port officials would often seize the bodies at the docks leading to a bizarre corpse-smuggling practice. In 1823 a local surgeon in a letter to the local newspaper defended this practice. The following year two local men were convicted of digging up bodies from churchyards. William Rathbone, a well respected surgeon in Liverpool, added to the controversy by suggesting that their fines be paid by the Liverpool Literary and Philosophical Society. He called for a change in the law to allow unclaimed bodies from workhouses, prisons, and hospitals to be available for anatomical dissection. Attitudes like this spread panic in the general public. They did not want the bodies of their relatives dug up from graves to be cut up in hospitals by medical students. In 1828 in Edinburgh William Burke and William Hare murdered a number of people to sell the bodies to the physician Robert Knox. Burke and Hare were eventually arrested in November 1828, with very little evidence Hare was offered his freedom if he testified against Burke which he did. Burke was convicted and hanged on 28th January 1829 before huge crowds in Edinburgh. These events led to a deep and lasting distrust of doctors. It generated a lot of publicity and made the public very aware of how anatomical dissection was practised in medical schools. It also showed that most doctors and medical students were not concerned about the origins of the material they used. Public concern lead to the 1832 Anatomy Act which sought to regulate dissection and allow the bodies of paupers to be made available to Doctors for dissection. With the almost immediate subsequent outbreak of cholera, this lenience was a powerful force to fuel the fear of "Burking", Walton Hall Mansion 
The Picture of the hall in its last days is out of copy right There is evidence that a hall may have stood in the park back to at least 1300, there is also some evidence to sugest a long dispute between the De Waltons And The Fazakerly Family.In the August of 1412, Robert de Fazakerley, in warlike array attacked with a group numbering around a hundred Walton Manor and "dispossessed John de Walton his wife and children and taking away his chattels there". It was a Under direction from parliament that Sir Thomas Gerrard was commissioned to remove Robert Fazakerly from Walton Hall. The Sheriff informed Robert Fazakerly unless he left the De Waltons to live in peace in their Manor that he would be fined 짙100 It was not until 1426/7 that dispute was finally settled, when Robert Fazakerley was awarded one third of the Manor when he married Ellen de Walton. The modern Coat of Arms was also formed then with the quartering of both of the families coats of arms. The coats of arms were quartered with the Waltons three black and silver swans being given the second and third segments.  
In 1700 the estate was owned by Robert Brere who left it to his son. In about 1745 Thomas Moss took title to the estate but he quickly moved it on to John Atherton a year later, not sure why , mabe we had property speculation even back then. John Atherton left the estate to his son John Joseph, in 1802 with the family moving from the area to Ludlow the estate was sold to Tomas Leyland. When he died in 1827 his widow continued to live in the manor until 1839 when his nephew Richard took over the estate. Because he was not married the estate passed to his sister Dorathy. Dorathy married John Naylor, it was from the Naylor family that a small part of the estate was sold to Liverpool Council to build Stanley Park. The Naylors continued to live in Walton manor which stood in the part of park nearest Walton hall avenue until late in the last century when it was pulled down because of its run down state. The hall was reached by passing through large wrought iron gates, and down a half mile long Rhododendrons lined path. The Mansion also included a walled garden. The first part of the estate was bought by the council in 1907, with a further 120 acres being bought in 1913 for 51,000 pounds to form the present park. During the first world war the estate was used as a munitions depot, part of the park is still localy known as the army field. The land came back to the council in 1924, who then spent 40,000 pounds converting it to the present day park. The park was formaly opened by King George V on the 18th of July 1934, the East Lancashire Road And the Mersey tunnel were opened on the same day Walton Hall Park (under construction) Walton Hall Park stands in the grounds of what was the home of Walton Mansion which in turn was part of the Walton Estate, the size of which you can begin to understand when you see that Stanley Park was once part of the Walton estate. It was John Naylor, a descendent through marriage of Thomas Leyland who sold 95 acres of the Walton estate that became the large part of Stanley Park Walton Hall Park dates back to 1199, when Henry de Walton was steward of the West Derby Hundred, but it was not until 1934 that King George V opened the 130-acre park to the public, on the same day as he opened the Mersey Tunnel. There is evidence that a hall may have stood in the park back to at least 1300, there is also some evidence to sugest a long dispute between the De Waltons And The Fazakerly Family.In the August of 1412, Robert de Fazakerley, in warlike array attacked with a group numbering around a hundred Walton Manor and "dispossessed John de Walton his wife and children and taking away his chattels there". It was a Under direction from parliament that Sir Thomas Gerrard was commissioned to remove Robert Fazakerly from Walton Hall. The Sheriff informed Robert Fazakerly unless he left the De Waltons to live in peace in their Manor that he would be fined 짙100 It was not until 1426/7 that dispute was finally settled, when Robert Fazakerley was awarded one third of the Manor when he married Ellen de Walton. The modern Coat of Arms was also formed then with the quartering of both of the families coats of arms. The coats of arms were quartered with the Waltons three black and silver swans being given the second and third segments. In 1700 the estate was owned by Robert Brere who left it to his son. In about 1745 Thomas Moss took title to the estate but he quickly moved it on to John Atherton a year later, not sure why , mabe we had property speculation even back then. John Atherton left the estate to his son John Joseph, in 1802 with the family moving from the area to Ludlow the estate was sold to Tomas Leyland. When he died in 1827 his widow continued to live in the manor until 1839 when his nephew Richard took over the estate. Because he was not married the estate passed to his sister Dorathy. Dorathy married John Naylor, it was from the Naylor family that a small part of the estate was sold to Liverpool Council to build Stanley Park. The Naylors continued to live in Walton manor which stood in the part of park nearest Walton hall avenue until late in the last century when it was pulled down because of its run down state. The hall was reached by passing through large wrought iron gates, and down a half mile long Rhododendrons lined path. The Mansion also included a walled garden. The first part of the estate was bought by the council in 1907, with a further 120 acres being bought in 1913 for 51,000 pounds to form the present park. During the first world war the estate was used as a munitions depot, part of the park is still localy known as the army field. The land came back to the council in 1924, who then spent 40,000 pounds converting it to the present day park. The park was formaly opened by King George V on the 18th of July 1934, the East Lancashire Road And the Mersey tunnel were opened on the same day Peter Griffiths 19th November 48 Griffiths 22 was hung Albert Pierrepoint's Griffiths, he was ex guardsman who after an evening of heavy drinking, abducted, sexually assaulted and murdered 3 year old June Devaney who was a patient at Queen's Park Hospital in Blackburn. He had killed poor little June in the hospital grounds by swinging her by one leg and smashing her head against a wall. The police investigation at the time fingerprinted nearly 47,000 men in Blackburn, the largest number ever to have been fingerprinted at that time. Included in this huge number were the prints of Griffiths, which matched prints found on a bottle under June's bed at the hospital. He made a confession to the police when he was arrested. George Semini 27th January 49 Hung for stabbing Joseph Gibbons Outside the Talbot Dance Hall, Newcastle-under-Lyme on the10th October, 1948 George Kelly 28th March 50 Cameo Cinema murder in Webster Road Liverpool of its manager, Mr. Leonard Thomas and his assistant John Catterall, who were shot by an intruder, six shots were fired. A informer named George Kelly, nicknamed the "Little Caesar of Lime Street" and Charles Connolly as the murderers Both names were already known to the police and the two were arrested. Connolly was said to be the look out and Kelly the shooting, The jury could not agree on a verdict so a second trial was ordered. This resulted in Connolly being freed from the murder charge at the direction of the judge and jailed for 10 years for his part in the robbery. The second jury convicted Kelly and he was returned to Walton to await execution. This was carried out by Albert Pierrepoint on Tuesday the 28th of March 1950. However the case has recently been reopened by the Criminal Cases Review Commission and has in February 2001 been referred back to the Court of Appeal. On the 10th of June 2003 the Court of Appeal found in favour of Kelly. He was cleared by three Appeal Court judges (Lord Justice Rix, Mr Justice Douglas Brown and Mr Justice Davis) after it was revealed that his defence team at the trial was never told that another man, Donald Johnson, had confessed to the murders. There remains a strong suspicion that Kelly was framed by the police as he had a criminal record already. Edward Devlin and 25th April 52 ( See Below, Double Hanging ) Alfred Burns 25th April 52 This was to be the last double execution at Walton, the hanging was peformed by Albert Pierrepoint, who was assisted by Syd Dernley, Robert Leslie Stewart and Harry Smith. Devlin was 22 and Burns 21 they were convicted of the murder of 54 year old Alice Rimmer. Devlin and Burns had allegedly broken into Alice's house in Liverpool She was savagely beaten about the head and died from her injuries. Burns and Devlin were a couple of tearaways from Manchester, with already significant criminal records and a reputation for being "hard". They were soon arrested and charged with the crime. Their defence was that they had been robbing a factory in their home town on the night of the murder, with another professional criminal who appeared at their trial in February 1952 to corroborate their story. This alibi was not accepted by the jury and both were convicted. There was considerable disquiet about the safety of this convictions, a appeal was made which was dismissed, and a review of the case undertaken by an eminent Q. C., at the behest of the Home Secretary, something that was most unusual. All of which failed to save them. Dernley recorded that both prisoners looked pale and terrified as they were prepared and brought to the gallows and a far cry from the hard image they liked to portray. Neither confessed while awaiting execution and the controversy surrounding the case still remains. John Todd 19th May 53 Known locally as The Old Curiosity Shop murder, the murder of a 82 George Walker On 9th January 1953 was to attract national headlines. The murder took place at 98 Warbreck Moor, were the ground floor was used as a bric-a-brac shop known locally as the Old Curiosity Shop. Todd killed Walker who he worked for by repeatedly striking him with an axe, he then took Walker's silver pocket watch and left the premises, his crepe shoes leaving a trail of bloody footprints. The alarm was raised 24 hours later when one of Walker's dogs barked at the door of a Marion Owen’s home in a near by street, The police were called and found Walkers body was found in the hallway. Todd was hanged after the Home Secretary refused calls from his defense team for an enquiry into his sanity. Milton Taylor 22nd June 54 Taylor strangled his girlfriend Marie Bradshore aged 25 on the 21st of Febuary 1954 William Salt 29th March 55 Drowned Denis John Shenton 16th december 1954 Richard Gowler 21st June 55 Growler 43, hung for stabbing to death Mary Catherine Boothroyd aged 53 Norman Green 27th July 55 Green 25 was hanged by Albert Pierrepoint for stabbing two young boys to death and attempting to stab a third. His first victim was 7 year old William Mitchell who had been playing near the canal at Wigan when he was stabbed in the chest survived. His next victim sadly didn't. He was 11 year old William Harmer, who suffered 11 stab wounds, all inflicted with a small penknife, at Wigan on the 27th of August 1954. Green struck again on Easter Monday, the 11th of April 1955, when he killed 10 year old Norman Yates in the same way, Peter Allen 13th August 64 Robert Stewart shared the distinction of carrying out one of the two last hangings in Britain when he executed Peter Anthony Allen 21 at Walton prison Liverpool at 8.00 a.m, his partner in crime Gwynne Owen Evans ( real name John Robson Walby ) 24 was hung at the same time 8.00am at Strangeways Prison by a Harry Allen for the killing of John West 53 of 28 King's Avenue, Seaton, Workington. Evans had worked with John West and had decided to go and see him to borrow some money, Allen went with evans. A argument broken out and they then beat and stabbed Mr. West to death. Neither would to being the one who had struck the fatal knife blow, but in law they would both be seen to be equally guilty. These hangings ended capital punishment in Britain. Rice Lane Cemetery The prisoners hung at Walton were buried in the unconsecrated part of Rice Lane cemetery immediately opposite Walton prison. The cemetery also tells of some of the history of Walton’s poor, as many of the graves are take up with those who died in Walton Workhouse, later to be called Walton Hospital. Although many of the graves tell of the deaths of all ages of people, there is also a large number of children and babies buried there from the workhouse as well.  To Go To Back To Page One of Hanged At Walton To Go To Back To Page Two of Hanged At Walton
Herbert Salisbury 11th May 20 ( See below , double hanging ) William Waddington 11th May 20 The double execution of Salisbury and Willington was for two completely unrelated murders. They were hung by Ellis, who was assisted by Robert Baxter.. Salisbury had shot his girlfriend and pleaded guilty, Willington had been convicted of the brutal murder of a seven year old girl. James Ellor 11th August 20 Ellor 35, hung for battering to death his wife Ada Ellor 42 on the 27th March, 1920 at 8 Travis Street, Hyde Frederick Wood 10th April 23 Wood 29, hung for strangling Margaret Gilchrist White 50, at 96 Acre Lane, Cheadle Hulme on the 18th December, 1922 James Winstanley 5th August 25 Winstanley 29, hung for strangling his girlfriend Edith Horrocks-Wilkinson 27 on the Towpath of the Leeds/Liverpool canal, Shevington on the 7th May, 1925 Lock Ah Tam 23rd March 26 Lock Ah Tam, 54 was executed by William Willis, Tam had been a successful and well respected man who ran the European branch of Jack Ah Tai organisation for Chinese dock workers, He was married with three children and had a reputation as a peacemaker. In February 1918 he was attacked and hit over the head by a group of drunken Russian sailors. This blow to the head, although not at the time serious enough to warrant hospital treatment, was to alter Tam's personality completely - he began to drink heavily and have violent mood swings. His life deteriorated rapidly until on the night of the 2nd of December 1925 he shot dead his wife and his two daughters at their home, after a party. The defence was of insanity due brought on by the blow to the head seven years earlier failed because he had telephoned the police immediately afterwards. Tears were seen running down the face of Mr. Justice McKinnon as he sentenced Tam to die. James Leah 16th November 26 William Robertson 6th December 27 Albert Absalom 25th July 28 Joseph Clarke 12th March 20 John Maguire 26th November 29 Richard Hetherington 20th June 33 Jan Mohamed 8th June 38 Samuel Morgan 9th April 41 David Williams 25th March 42 Douglas Edmondson 24th June 42 Ronald Roberts 10th February 43 Roberts 28, hung for battering and stabbing Nellie Pearson 37 at 2G Brig Street, Barrow-in-Furness on the 5th October, 1942 Thomas James 29th December 43 James 26 hung for stabbing and stragling Gwendoline Sweeney 28 at 4 Kitchen Street, Liverpool on the 17th of August, 1943 John Gorden Davidson 12th July 44 Davidson 19, hung for strangling Gladys May Appleton 27, on the grounds of The Elms, Cowley Hill Lane,St Helens, 19th March, 1944 Thomas Hendren 17th July 46 Hendren 31, stabbed and stragled his girl friend Ella Valentine Staunton 41 at 7 Tempest Hey, Liverpool on the 20th May, 1945 Walter Clayton 7th August 46 Clayton 22 was hung for stabbing to death his girlfriend Joyce Jacques at the Foreshore of Morecambe on Friday, 12th April, 1946 Arthur Rushton 19th November 46 Rushton was hung for stabbing his girlfriend Catherine Cooper 18 Price Street, Birkenhead on the 2nd of September, 1946 Stanley Sheminant 3rd January 47 Sheminant 28, was hung for battering to death a Harry Berrisford 20 at 6 Cromwell Street, Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent. To Go To Back To Page One of Hanged At Walton To Go To Page Three of Hanged At Walton HANGED AT WALTON GAOL There were 60 men and 2 women hanged at Walton Gaol between 1887 and 1964 6 men and 2 women in the nineteenth century and 54 men in the twentieth century, these included 8 double hangings. Elizabeth Berry 14th of March 1887 Mrs Berry was 31 when she became the first person to be hanged at Walton for the murder by poisoning, of her 11 year old daughter for a life insurance of just 짙10. although it was not proceeded with, she was at the time also accused of murdering her husband. Strangely It was a James Berry who carried out the first hanging at Walton, this was not to be the only strange coincidences. Mr Berry and Mrs Berry had previously met at a police ball in Manchester a few years earlier and had danced together. Patrick Gibbons 17th of August 1892 For the murder of his mother Margaret Walber 2nd of April 1894, Margaret who was 53 year was hung for the murder of her husband. William Miller 4th of June of 1895. Miller lodged along with a 15 year old John Needham with a Edward Moyse, Miller staged brake into the house at 26 Redcross Street, and battered Edward to death with a poker before turning John. John survived the attack and raise the alarm and told the police whothe attacker was, seems that just 짙8 was taken from the house James Bergin 27th December 1900 Bergin had shot his girlfriend, Margaret Morrison, in a fit of jealous rage when she refused to see him in October 1900. John Harrison 27th December 1901 Harrison 31 Strangled his Girlfriend who was also this bigamous wife, Alice Ann Wright at Rose Cottage, Bickerstaffe on the 27th July, 1901 Thomas Marsland 20th May 02 Marsland 21, battered and cut the throat of his wife Elizabeth Marsland 23, at 1 Horsedge Fold, Oldham on the 4th April, 1902 Gustav Rau and 2nd June 03 ( See below, double hanging ) Willem Schmidt/Smith 2nd June 03 Rau and Schmidt were to be the first double execution at Walton, they were found guillty, along with Otto Monsson who was reprieved following the jury's recommendation to mercy and because of his age, of mutiny and murder on the high seas, for the killing of Alexander Shaw, the captain of the ship Veronica and six members of his crew. The murders were alleged to have taken place aboard the Veronica in December 1902, at sea off South America. They were only tried on the charge of murdering the captain, the other charges being held in reserve if they were acquitted of this one.The killings came to light when five men were picked up by a British freighter, the SS Brunswick, off the coast of Brazil after they abandoned the ship after a fire on board. John Billington was to carry out this first double execution at Walton. Henry Bertram Starr 29th December 03 Starr 31, hung for stabbing to death this wife Mary Hannah Starr at Lord Street, Blackpool on the 24th November, 1903 William Kirwan 31st May 04 Kirwan 39, shot his Sister-in-Law at Great Newton Street, Liverpool on the 26th February, 1904 ( Plus below, double hanging ) Ping Lun 31st May 04 The second double hanging at Walton, Kirwan and Ping Lun were hung side by side for two unrelated shooting murders. Lun 43, shot John Go Hing on the 20th March, 1904 at 22a Frederick Street, Liverpool. Hing died on the Wednesday, 23rd March. They were hung by Henry Pierrepoint who was assisted by William Billington Charles Patterson 7th August 07 Patterson 37, cut the troat of his girlfriend Lillian Jane Charlton 39, at 86 Crondall Street, Moss Side, Manchester, on the 29th June, 1907 See Lee 30th March 09 Lee 38, shot Yun Yap 40, at 13 Dickinson Street,Off ( Upper Frederick Street, Liverpool ), on the 4th December, 1908, Yap Died on the 7th December 1908 at 18 York Street, Liverpool Henry Thompson 22nd November 10 Thompson 54, hung for stangling this wife Mary Thompson 48 on the 31st July, 1910 Michael Fagan 6th December 11 Fagan 27, battered 2 year old Lucy Kennedy at 128 Arlington Street, Liverpool on the Saturday, 9th September, 1911, Lucy died of her injuries on the 11th September 1911 Joseph Fletcher15th December 11 Fletcher 40, battered his wife Caroline Fletcher 38 at 76 Bostock Street, Liverpool, on the 2nd September, 1911 George Ball 26th February 14 Ball 22, was hanged on the 26 February 1914 for the battering to death his employer, Christina Bradfield 40, Bradfield was sewn inside a sack and was then discarded into the water of the canal. It was found the following day because it was obstructing one of the lock gates, when examined Bradfield was found to have been battered with several savage blows from a blunt instrument. Joseph Spooner 14th May 14 Spooner 42, hung for cutting the thoat of his 3 year old daughter Elizabeth Alice Spooner, Elizabeth died on the 27th February, 1914 after having her thoat cut 26th February at the rear of 64 Oliver Street, Liverpool
John Thornley 1st December 15 ( See below double hanging ) Young Hill 1st December 15 The third double hanging of John Thornley and Young Hill, was carried out by John Ellis. 26 year old Thornley had cut the throat of his girlfriend, Frances Johnson, after she broke off their engagement. He left a note by her body admitting to the crime. Hill was a Negro sailor working on a cargo, the ship called the SS Antillian, his job was to look after the mules. Hill cut the throat of fellow crew member, James Crawford. after a argument over the cleanliness of some water in a bucket. There was only one condemned cell at Walton and this was allocated to Hill. Thornley was accommodated in the hospital wing prior to being moved to a cell closer to the gallows on the eve of his execution. Ellis made the usual preparations on the Sunday evening, setting a drop of seven feet for Thornley who weighed 11 stones and six feet six inches for Hill who was stone heavier. Ellis pinioned Thornley first and then Hill before they were led to the gallows by two pairs of warders. Thornley was first on the trap doors and was immediately hooded and noosed a site Hill was completely unnerved by this site when brought in and began to faint. Ellis was able to release the trap before Hill completely collapsed and they both plummeted down together. William Hodgson 16th August 17 Hodgson 34, hung for battering to death his wife Margaret Alderson Hodgson 37, and his daughter Margaret Hodgsonaged 3 on the 16th April, 1917 at 16 Central Park Avenue, Wallasey, Liverpool John Crossland 22nd July 19 Crossland 34, hung for batting to death his wife Ellen Crossland 35 on the 8th May, 1919 at 22 Prince Albert Street, Blackburn to go to Page Two of of Hanged at Walton to go to Page Three of Hanged at Walton Hangmen of Walton. Reader Warning Frank Details Of Hanging Included Here, Please Do not read On If You Feel This Will Upset You . 5 . . 4 . . 3 . . 2 . . 1 . Between 1887 and 1964, 60 men and 2 women were to be hung at Walton, 8 of them were double executions. It was James Berry who carried out the first execution at Walton, it was to be a hanging with a numbe r of strange coincidences. It was a 31 year old lady called Elizabeth Berry, who was executed on the 14th of March 1887 for poisining her 11 year old daughter for a life insurance of just 짙10. One of the coincidences was that Mr Berry and Mrs Berry had previously met at a police ball in Manchester a few years earlier and had danced together. When Mr Berry visited Mrs Berry in the condemned cell he assured her of a quick and painless death. In has been reported that Mrs Berry fainted on the gallows and so presumably did not feel anything. The only other woman to be hanged at Walton was a 53 year old Margaret Walber who was hanged by James Billington on the 2nd of April 1894, for the murder of her husband. Berry's last execution in Liverpool on the 20th of August 1891, was to be a John Conway at Kirkdale, this hanging was to be a very distressing occation for all concerned. Conway was to be nearly decapitated by the force of the drop, Berry blamed this on the interference of the prison doctor in determining the length of the rope used. Berry, who was seen as Britains top hangman resigned soon afterwards. It was Marwood who is said to have perfected the Long Drop method, with this method six feet or more of rope would be used. When the trap door opened the prisoner fall would be very quick, the suddeness of the drop only added to the weight of the prisioner being hung. bringing about a broken neck, and it was hoped instantaneous death. Marwood developed a table for the length of rope to be used, the height and weight of the prisioner being used to calculate the length of rope needed to cause the break The length of rope for the drop, plus the weight of the prisioner was used to produce a blow of 1260 foot pounds. Hemp has always been the preferred rope as it is both soft and strong with a smooth surface for the sliping of the knot. Prisioner's Body Weight Rope Length 14.0 Stone (196 lbs) 8ft 0in 13.5 Stone (189 lbs) 8ft 2in 13.0 Stone (182 lbs) 8ft 4in 12.5 Stone (175 lbs) 8ft 6in 12.0 Stone (168 lbs) 8ft 8in 11.5 Stone (161 lbs) 8ft 10in 11.0 Stone (154 lbs) 9ft 0in 10.5 Stone (147 lbs) 9ft 2in 10.0 Stone (140 lbs) 9ft 4in 9.5 Stone (133 lbs) 9ft 6in 9.0 Stone (126 lbs) 9ft 8in 8.5 Stone (119 lbs) 9ft 10in 8.0 Stone (112 lbs) 10ft 0in Before the long drop method the length of a hanging rope was only about two or three feet long, this meant that when the trap door opened from under a condemned prisioner the neck was not always broken. This sometimes mearnt that a prisioner may have had to be left to strangle to death, this sometimes took up to twenty minutes. Because of this posibility it became tradition to leave the body to hang for a full hour. Even so it has been reported that at some public hangings some prisoners hung strangling for so long that the audience called for a reprieve, because of the horror of the situation this was sometimes granted. Such prisoners were then sometimes jailed for life or transported to Australia. After Berry the Billington family carried out the next 15 executions, Henry Pierrepoint hung the next two, John Ellis the next 14 between 1910 and 1923, William Willis the next two. The Pierrepoints, Thomas and his nephew Albert hung all but but one. The last being done by Robert Stewart. The Gallows Walton and Kirkdale prisons both had execution sheds and shared the same gallows for a few year, the gallows being carried between them when needed. A Lieutenant Colonel Alton Beamish was to designed a new standard gallows after the the hanging of a John Lee when the trap doors failed to open, this was at Exeter in 1885, these gallows were then used throughout the country. The gallows had two uprights and cross beam of 8 inch thick oak. This beam was also long enough to hang three prisoners at a time, the beem was set over a 12 foot long by 4 foot wide hole with two trap doors, doors were made from three inch thick oak that were released by a metal lever set into the floor of the execution chamber. The new design was concidered a success because it made the process much faster. Matthew Chadwick was to be the first person to die on this new style step free gallows on the 15th of April, 1890, at Kirkdale. The gallows were to remained at Walton and continu to be used until 1964 Walton Gaol Walton was Liverpool's second prison built in 1850 in the Panopticon principle. Designed Charles Peirce and J. Weightman , it had an initial capacity of 1,000 inmates, and took both male and female prisoners in its day it was one of the largest and most modern prisons in England, in its day  In 1892 Liverpools second prison, Kirkdale Gaol, closed , Kirkdales Prisoners were simply marched from one prison to the other. Liverpool became an Assize town in 1835 and in 1854 its famous St. George's Hall opened, becoming the venue for many famous trials. The gallows at Walton. Strangely, for a few years both Walton and Kirkdale prisons had execution sheds and it would seem, shared the same gallows which was transported between them.
After the failure of the trap doors to open at the hanging of John Lee at Exeter in 1885, the Home Office commissioned Lieutenant Colonel Alton Beamish to design a standard gallows for use throughout the country. This consisted of two uprights with a cross beam in 8 inch section oak. The beam was long enough to execute three prisoners side by side and was set over a 12 foot long by 4 foot wide two leaf trap set level with the surrounding floor. The trap doors were made from three inch thick oak and were released by a metal lever set into the floor of the execution chamber. This was a great improvement over some of the older designs and considerably speeded up the execution process. The first person to die on the new style "step free" gallows was Matthew William Chadwick on the 15th of April, 1890, at Kirkdale. It is widely reported that 26 year old American born Florence Maybrick, who had been condemned for poisoning her husband, heard the gallows being erected and tested at Walton in 1889 and was greatly distressed by the sounds. However she never got to see it as she was reprieved four days before her execution date. From 1892 the gallows remained at Walton and later a standard execution facility was constructed within one of the wings containing a permanent gallows which was to remain in use until 1964. Blow the Man Down Traditional - Lyrics from Iron Men & Wooden Ships, by Frank Shay
Oh, blow the man down, bullies, blow the man down,
Way ay - blow the man down,
O Blow the man down in Liverpool town.
Give me some time to blow the man down.
As I was walking down Paradise Street,
Way ay - blow the man down,
A brass-bound policeman I happened to meet.
Give me some time to blow the man down.
Says he, "You're a Black-Baller by the cut of your hair."
"I know you're a Black-Baller by the clothes that you wear."
"O Policeman, O Policeman, you do me great wrong."
"I'm a Flying Fish Sailor just home from Hong Kong."
They gave me three months in Walton Gaol,
For booting and kicking and blowing him down.
Thomas Leyland My interst in Thomas, comes from the fact that he once owned the Mansion, Walton Hall in what is now Walton Hall Park. Thomas was to buy the mansion from the Atherton family, John Atherton was another well known slave trader. Thomas was to begin slaving after winning what was then a great sum of 20,000 pounds in a goverment run lottery, which is also how he came to be known as Lucky Leyland, I believe that one of the slaving ships he had ownership of was indeed called the Lottery, another of his ships being called The Enterprise. One of the names given to slaveships, posibily for a obvious reason, was the Guinea men, a name also given to the slave trade was the Guinea Trade. 
Thomas Leyland like many other in the slave trade was to rise to a position of local prominance in Liverpool, becoming ba bailiff in 1796 ans also serving as major of liverpool in 1798, 1814 and 1820. like many other slave traders moved from slaving into other areas of profit on the back of the money made from slaving. It has been eximated that in a good year a slaving ship would make a 240,000 pound profit. In 1826 Thomas leylands personal fortune is extimated at 750.000 pounds, by todays standards a fortune that could well have seen Thomas listed in the Times list of one of the worlds richest men. A Thomas Molyneux is shown as being a partner in one venture with a association with the slave trading firm of Thomas Leyland & Co which it is beleived started no later than 1802, he is shown as having a quarter share in the sixth voyage of The Lottery, Captain Charles Kneal. The 305 slaves were taken from Africa to Jamaica, the slaves along with the other cargoes, yeilded a net profit for Thomas Molyneux share of 짙4,755 when the final balance of the account was struck in 1811. It was not unusual for slave ships to have many partners to share in the risks as it was not unknown for ships to be lost completely because of the many hazards of sea, including French Pirates, sickness and slave rebelions resulting in the loss of part or all of the cargoes of human slaves. The fact that these ships had a higher death rate of the crew than the slaves, usually meant the the ships crews were more usually made up of the worse kind of salors rather than good crews, all adding to the risk, a risk that was small in comparison to the profits to be made. One of the reasons that Liverpool became the major slaving port of the time was that its position made it less likely to come under the threat of the French Walton's Lost Treasure ? The Lost Treasure Of The Fazakerly Family  The idea of a lost treasure is a interesting idea, but maybe it needs to be viewed as just that to save you a lot of time and trouble looking for what may not exist, and if it did the area that would have to be covered is a vast area even when only thinking about the Fazakerly area, but you would also have to include the Walton estate in any search as well as the Fazakerly family took over some of the estate, not to mention that most of the area is now covered in housing estates. But with just a little knowledge the idea may just be a little bit more interesting, this is because workmen removing a hedgebank found a earthenware pot that contained a leather bag with around a 1000 pounds in gold and silver coin inside it, and it was found in the grounds of Walton Hall. So maybe the rumour that there was a fortune in silver and gold coin buried somewhere on Fazakerley/Walton land is not one to be ignored too easily It is said that the family took some precaution to safe guard some of their fortune during the civil war, not a unresonable thing to do at the time as it must have been clear that the war would bring trouble to any family with money that could be taken to fund the war as a war tax. So perhaps the rumour of bags of silver and gold being hiden may just have a ring of truth to it, expecially after the find by the workmen. 
A bag of coin found in England Walton Hospital Walton Hospital began life as Walton Workhouse Infirmary which opened in April 1868 to serve the northan part of the union of parishes, at a construction cost of 65,000 pounds. It grew to become one of England's largest Poor Law hospitals Under the 1929 Local Government Act Poor Law Unions were abolished and so the management of what was by then known as just Walton Hospital, was transferred to Liverpool City Council. The infirmary initially accommodated up tp 1,200 inmates, by 1930 it expanded to hold 2,500 inmates. 
Walton Instutute in 1925 
Programme for opening of Walton Hospital's new operating theatre The operating theatre was dedicated to the memory of Agnes Elizabeth Jones , who was the first Nursing Superintendent at the Liverpool Workhouse Infirmary.The opening ceremony n November the 10th 1932 was attended by Liverpool's Lord Mayor, Councillor Alfred Gates, J.P Walton Hospital Training School for Nurses .  
A view inside a nurse's bedroom at the nurses' training school, and a view of the recreation room at the nurses' training school. The training school at Walton Hospital first opened in 1898 though it was not a full training school until 1915. By the 1920s early 1930s about 65 nurses were trained a year. 
A modernised ward 1925 Linda's Walton From 1960 - 1971 I lived on Goodison Road, I married Alan from Naseby Street, and in 1971 we left Walton to live in ST. Helens. I have lovely memories of Walton, and saw many changes during my eleven years there. I did not go to school in Walton, but Alan had been born and bred in Walton and finished attending Arnott STreet School, were he was attending when we met. We married at St Lukes Church adjoining Evertons Football ground. I can clearly remember the old Pawn shop on the corner of Goodison Road and City Road, displaying the three brass balls outside. City Road was really busy them days, there was Emily's chippy, Everton Supporters Club, we had iron mongers, at least two fruit and veg shops. There was a launderette, a boom when you worked full time. The billard hall where my husband spent many hours with his mates, and were we were not allowed!!. There was another chippy nearer to the brew and opposite was a lovely cake shop. There was also, if my memory serves me right, a sweet shop on the top of the brew, and at Church Road West end on the corner another sweet shop. My husband on leaving school in 1963 started work for a very small company on Church Road West as a young lad doing odd jobs for this builder Charlie . He later went on to serve his time as a plumber for a firm in Penny Lane, Ritson & McKenzies. Sadly no longer trading. Also on Church Road West was the Unemployment Offices, the DOLE. as youngsters we would sit on the wall of the dole. The large houses opposite the dole had once been very fine dwellings. My mother in law remembers cleaning for one of the owners who were doctors. That would have been in the 1950's. At the top of Church Road West was the Black Horse Pub which nestled next to Walton Church. The pub used to have waitress service, and from the lounge you could ring a bell on the wall and the barmaid would come in. When I was Eighteen, I worked for a short time at the Black Horse, them days you had to really Pull a Pint. No Electric pumps then. There seemed to be pubs on every other corner, In the pub further down County Road going towards Spellow lane there was a pub on the opposite side from the Black Horse, called the County and he used to have live music, in fact a very good friend of our used to play there at weekends. I believe that Ricky Tomlinson from Royle Family fame used to do turns in the same pub. I can remember the bus terminus being at Spellow Lane, I used to catch the 46 bus to school. I attended Lawrence Road Girls School in Wavertree, having moved from Wavertree to Walton in my third year of senior school. Our doctors used to be in Spellow Lane, they eventually moved further down past Burtons Tailors which was on the corner of Spellow Lane junction. I remember the 500 bus which used to pass down County Road on its way to Speke. I can also remember the Ribble buses, not sure where they were headed, but can remember that they were always thought of as POSH. we never got on a Ribble or Crossville bus, so consequently, I never knew were they were heading for!!.Then there was the Astoria picture house, as a courting couple we would get the bus to Fountains Road and cross over and watch whatever was showing at the time. There was another Picture House between Spellow Lane and the Astoria but it had closed before I moved to Walton. Further down past the Astoria going towards Netherfield Road was a bicyle shop which had been there for many years and remained for many years after we left Walton. I know its not there now, but do not know when it finally ceased trading. It was really well known and people would come from all over Liverpool to purchase bikes and parts there. I remember Netherfield Rd Hospital, and Aunt Fowlers which was on Netherfield Road, my grandmother would always threaten us with Aunt Fowlers if we did not behave. Going back to Spellow Lane, in the early 60's, a small Social Club was opened which we used to go to every weekend, Brookside I think it was called. It was were I first saw Freddie Starr and a very young 16yr old Les Dennis, who used to get up and give a very short turn. I can also remember when County Road got its first Centucky Fried Chicken outlet. It was lovely, like nothing you had ever tasted. I think it opened in the shop next door to Timpson Shoe shop. Timpson was a favourite shop of mine. You could buy a decent pair of shoes for 19/11p and if you really splashed out could get a really nice pair for 29/11p. Them were the days. I can remember the station in Walton which Beecham had closed down in the early 60's along with many other local train stations. The swimming baths on the corner of Queens Drive. The Library opposite Arnott Street School. A large builders and plumbers shop on County Road near to the County Pub, were we bought our first Sink Unit, and dumped our butlers sink. Ironic really, as now we live in a cottage in the Derbyshire Dales and we will be refitting a butler sink in this kitchen as part of the renervations.!! Opposite the plumber/builders shop was an old fashioned jewelers were my husband bought me my first watch for my 16th birthday. I cannot remember what the shop was called. Linda. I am grateful to Linda for allowing here memories to be shown in the group, Thank you Linda But please remember that this is the property of Linda@ and as such cannot be reproduced else where without Linda's permission Memories | The Pages in this block have been donated by local folk who have also generously given their permission for there inclusion here If you would also like to have your Walton memories recorded here, we would be grateful for any memories you would like to share. But please include your permission to reproduce in the group. I can be contacted through the following link  or you can use the message board to record your memories Thank you Alan | Group is closing, please feel free to copy any pages that you would like to keep, CLOSING SOON GOING , GOING, GOING, ALMOST GONE Hi , I am happy that you have taken a look at the group and hope that even in its unfinished state you have liked what you have seen. If you have any comments or ideas please feel free to leave them on the message board Take care Alan |
