Romancing the Gibbet

This event has now passed.

Date: 15 November 2014
Venue: Over Stowey Village Hall
Time: 11:00 - 13:30

Romancing the Gibbet: Public punishment and local memory in the Georgian West Country

The occasional, and extraordinary, 18th-century practice of hanging and sometimes gibbeting selected felons (exhibiting their bodies to public view in iron cages) at the scene of their crime, was intended to leave an indelible and exemplary impression on disorderly villages and small towns. They were often staged in remote locations before very large crowds and were spectacular, expensive and processional events. On a hill top near Over Stowey in 1789, one such execution was carried out upon a Somerset laboring man, John Walford, for the murder of his wife. But why? And what was its impact?

This multi-media Being Human Festival event begins with an illustrated talk by Professor Steve Poole on this and other crime scene executions in the west country and concludes with a specially commissioned performance by poet Ralph Hoyte and artist Michael Fairfax involving poetry, sculpture, music, and sound installation. Their response to Walford's trial and public demise gets to the very heart of what it is to be human in extraordinary circumstances.

Part of Being Human, the UK's first national festival of the humanities, led by the School of Advanced Study, University of London, in partnership with the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the British Academy.

With Professor Steve Poole (UWE Bristol), Ralph Hoyte (poet) and Michael Fairfax (sculptor).

How to attend

This event is free, but tickets must be booked. For full details and to book tickets, please visit the Being Human website.

For all other enquiries please contact Professor Steve Poole.

Cost: Free
Contact: Professor Steve Poole
E-mail: steve.poole@uwe.ac.uk

More information about Romancing the Gibbet