At The Tree

Paperback

Jill Evans

The story of the 203 prisoners executed in Gloucestershire between 1722 and 1790, most of them at the county gallows on Alney Island, just outside Gloucester. Using the Gloucester Journal as its primary source, the book brings to life this common occurrence in eighteenth century Britain, when after the assizes, large crowds would gather to watch people being put to death for crimes including house-breaking, highway robbery and sheep-stealing, as well as murder. This volume should appeal to anyone with an interest in the history of crime and punishment, or in the darker side of Gloucestershire's past.