A very ordinary looking field in the village of Kenn near
Clevedon was the site of what was possibly the last public hanging in England
to take place at the scene of the crime. On 8th September 1830 35 year old
William Wall, 30 year old John Rowley and 19 year old Richard Clarke were
hanged for setting fire to three wheat stacks belonging to a local farmer
called Benjamin Poole on 31st October 1829.
William Wall had operated an unlicensed cider house on Duck
Lane, Kenn and some of those who had frequented it had committed many crimes in
the area. Wall had been fined for
selling cider without a licence and it is thought that he believed that it was Benjamin
Poole who had informed on him. Wall and his accomplices set fire to the ricks
as an act of revenge after a night of drinking.
Husband and wife William and Mary Wall, brothers John &
James Rowley, Richard Clarke and John Old were tried at the Somerset Assizes in
Wells in August 1830. Isaac Old (brother
of John Old) had also been one of the accused but he saved himself by giving
evidence against the others. William Wall, John Rowley and Richard Clarke were found
guilty and sentenced to death. John Old,
James Rowley and Mary Wall were convicted of arson but were sentenced to
transportation.
It was estimated that over 12,000 people turned up to
witness the execution. The men had been
held at Ilchester Gaol and were transported on a prison cart the 40 or so miles
from there to Kenn.
William and Mary Wall had 7 children at the time of his
execution and Mary gave birth to an 8th child while she was held in
Ilchester Gaol. The older children were
subsequently brought up by various relatives in the Kenn area and the youngest
child (a son called David) travelled to Tasmania with Mary but died in Hobart
aged 2. John Rowley and Richard Clarke were not married.
A fuller account of the case written by Derek and Jane Lilly can be found on the Kenn Village website: http://kennvillage.co.uk/home-2/history-project/kenn-hangings/
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