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Albion's Fatal Tree: Capital Punishment in England, 1688-1965

Module description

In this module we will examine the history of capital punishment in England and Wales from the rise of the “Bloody Code” in the late seventeenth century (when over 200 offences were made punishable by death) through to the end of public executions in 1868 and finally to the abolition of capital punishment in 1965. Changes in the law will be explored, as will the behaviour of the condemned at the gallows. We will consider how attitudes to the death penalty intersected with ideas about religion, gender and the body, and will assess the causes and consequences of changes in penal practice. We will also examine how digital sources and methods can be used to study this historical subject.

Module aims - intentions of the module

The module aims to:

• Develop a proficient understanding of capital punishment’s political, social and cultural significance in England from the late seventeenth to the twentieth century
• Interpret and explain the rise and fall of capital punishment in that period
• Reflect on how the history of capital punishment can develop our understanding of wider, important themes such as justice, violence, humanitarianism and the “civilizing process”
• The timeframe will require you to consider developments within a long-term context, and you will be asked to critically reflect on a series of key historiographical debates relating to the subject
• Provide experience of using digital resources and methods for studying history

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Demonstrate a detailed knowledge of the main themes relating to the history of capital punishment in England and Wales between the seventeenth and twentieth centuries.
• 2. Summarise and evaluate the different historiographical approaches to the study of capital punishment in England and Wales between the seventeenth and twentieth centuries
• 3. Critically evaluate the strengths and limitations of digital sources and methods on the subject, and effectively use those to study the subject.

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 4. Demonstrate an ability to analyse the key developments in a defined historical subject.
• 5. Demonstrate an ability to understand and deploy complex historical terminology correctly.
• 6. Demonstrate an ability to handle different approaches to history in a contested area of historical study

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 7. Select, organise and analyse material for written work and oral presentations of different prescribed lengths and formats.
• 8. Present complex information orally.
• 9. Present an argument in a written form in a clear and organised manner, with appropriate use of correct English
• 10. Through essay development process, demonstrate ability to reflect critically on your own work, to respond constructively to feedback, and to implement suggestions and improve work on this basis

Syllabus plan

Whilst the content may vary from year to year, it is envisioned that it will cover some or all of the following topics:

• The introduction and repeal of the “Bloody Code”
• Execution rates
• Pardoning
• The behaviour of the crowd and the condemned
• Attitudes to the death penalty
• The end of public executions
• The abolition of capital punishment
• Public opinion on capital punishment
• Media reporting of capital punishment
• Humanitarianism and social control

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

The re-assessment consists of a 3000-word written assignment, as in the original assessment, but replaces participation in the group presentation with an individual presentation equivalent to an individual’s contribution, to be recorded and submitted with all supporting materials as for the original assessment; failing this, students should submit a written script that could be delivered in such a presentation (750 words) along with all supporting materials as for the original assessment.

Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.

Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to submit a further assessment as necessary. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

• Cooper, David D. The Lesson of the Scaffold. London: Allen Lane, 1974.
• Devereaux, Simon. “Recasting the Theatre of Execution: The Abolition of the Tyburn Ritual.” Past & Present 202 (2009): 127–74.
• Gatrell, V. A. C. The Hanging Tree: Execution and the English People. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994.
• Hay, Douglas. “Property, Authority and the Criminal Law.” In Albion’s Fatal Tree: Crime and Society in Eighteenth-Century England, edited by Douglas Hay et al, 17–64. London: Allen Lane, 1975.
• King, Peter. Punishing the Criminal Corpse, 1700–1840: Aggravated Forms of the Death Penalty in England. London: Palgrave Macmillan UK, 2017.
• McKenzie, Andrea. Tyburn’s Martyrs: Execution in England, 1675–1775. London: Hambledon Continuum, 2007.
• Potter, Harry. Hanging in Judgment: Religion and the Death Penalty in England from the Bloody Code to Abolition. London: SCM, 1993.
• Radzinowicz, Leon. A History of English Criminal Law and its Administration from 1750. 5 volumes. London: Stevens, 19481990.

• Seal, Lizzie. Capital Punishment in Twentieth-Century Britain: Audience, Justice, Memory. London: Routledge, 2015.

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

• HIH2036A ELE site – https://vle.exeter.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=11602 
• Capital Convictions at the Old Bailey, http://web.uvic.ca/~oldbail/index.php
• Capital Punishment UK, http://www.capitalpunishmentuk.org/
• The Digital Panopticon, https://www.digitalpanopticon.org/
• Dying Speeches & Bloody Murders: Crime Broadsides, http://broadsides.law.harvard.edu/
• Nineteenth-Century Collections Online, http://gdc.galegroup.com/gdc/ncco
• Old Bailey Online, https://www.oldbaileyonline.org/

Key words search

Capital Punishment, Execution, Death, Corpse, Crime, Justice