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An Authentic Account of the Trials etc, of the Five Malefactors,
(including George Allen, alias Powditch)
who were Executed at Kennington-Common, on Monday 23 April, 1770,
for the Robberies they had committed in the County of Surrey.
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Country; but several witnesses, being examin-/ ed, the fact was clearly proved against him, /
and the Jury found him guilty, and ordered / him for execution, according to his sentence.
After sentence was passed on him, he was / conducted back to the Stockhouse Prison,
and / as he was going from the Court-House thither, / some of the spectators could not help
degrad-/ ing him with the inhumane and horrid fact / for which he had been most justly
convicted / of, which greatly affected him.
The following are the particulars of the / horrid transaction, with an account of his be-/
haviour on the day of execution.
He had been a lodger in the house, and was / suspected by Mrs. Herme of attempting to
rob / them, which she informed her husband of, who / turned him out of his house. It is
supposed he / committed the murder out of revenge ; he at-/ tempted to conceal himself in
the house the / night before, as the man and his wife were from / home, but was prevented
by some neighbours / taking charge of it in their absence. The / morning the shocking affair
happened, Mr. / Herne left his wife in bed about a quarter after / six, to go to Lord Clive's
gardens to work ; he / left the door of his house unlocked, which was / observed by this
villian, who immediately went / up to her chamber, and cut her throat in a most / dreadful
manner, so as nearly to sever her head / from her body, then laid her on the floor, / covered
with the bed cloths, left the young / child naked in the bed, rifled the drawers, and / made his
escape. The poor woman not being / up so soon as usual, her next door neighbour, /
between nine and ten o’clock, went to know / the reason, found Mrs. Herne as before-
men-/ tioned, and the poor infant crying in bed. / The Ruffian being observed to come out
of / the house that morning, several went immediately / in pursuit after him ; he was taken
at Godal-/ ming, committed to Guildford goal, from thence / conveyed to Kingston, was
tried on Saturday, /
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and ordered for execution on the Monday fol-/ lowing, at Esher, opposite the house where
he / committed the fact. -- He was about twenty-/ two years of age, and a slout well made
man./ — Five silver table spoons were found upon / him, which Mr. Herne made oath was
his / property.
On the Day of Execution.
Soon after seven in the morning the prisoner / was unlocked, and taken out of the
condemn'd / room, where he had been confined ever since / sentence of death had been
passed on him, and / taken into an apartment, where a gentlernan / attended to pray with
him, and give him such / exhortations and instructions as were necessary / to fit and prepare
him for that eternity into / which he was soon to launch. He was very / devout, and joined in
prayer with great fer-/ vency, appearing under the most sincere sor-/ row and contrition for
his mispent life, and / manifold transgressions, particulary blood-/ guiltless.
When prayers were ended, the prisoner was / taken into the goal-yard, and had his fetters /
knock'd off; and then the executioner came / to halter him, and to tie his hands. on which /
he changed countenance, but was not observed / to shed tears. He was then led out of the /
goal, and put into a cart, which carried him / to the place of execution
When the prisoner was brought to the gib-/ bet, which was erected at Esher aforesaid, the /
gentleman who attended him in prison, went / into the cart and prayed with him for some /
time. After which the cart drew away, and / he was launched into eternity.
After he had hanged the usual time, his / body was cut down, and brought to the New-/ Goal,
Southwark, from whence it was de-/ livered to the Surgeons to be dissected, pur-/suant to
his sentence.
An
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You are here: home > AliasPowditch > An Authentic Account - Page 8
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An Authentic Account of the Trials etc, of the Five Malefactors,
(including George Allen, alias Powditch)
who were Executed at Kennington-Common, on Monday 23 April, 1770,
for the Robberies they had committed in the County of Surrey.
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