To Hell, Hull or Halifax-The Halifax Gibbet was an early Guillotine
- Paul Rushworth-Brown
- Sep 19, 2020
- 4 min read
Updated: Nov 20, 2023
The Halifax Gibbet was an early guillotine used in the town of Halifax West Yorkshire years before it was used in France. During the 16th century, it was used as an alternative to beheading by axe or sword. Halifax was once part of the Manor of Wakefield, where ancient custom and law gave the Lord of the Manor the authority to execute summarily by decapitation any thief caught with stolen goods to the value of 13½ shillings, a petty crime, or who confessed to having stolen goods of at least that value. Decapitation was a fairly common method of execution in England, but Halifax was unusual in two respects: it employed a guillotine-like machine that appears to have been unique in the country, and it continued to decapitate petty criminals until the mid-17th century, the setting for my next novel 'Dream of Courage'.
The device consisted of an axe head fitted to the base of a heavy wooden block that ran in grooves between two 15-foot (4.6 m) tall uprights, mounted on a stone base about 4 feet (1.2 m) high. A rope attached to the block ran over a pulley, allowing it to be raised, after which the rope was secured by attaching it to a pin in the base. The block carrying the axe was then released either by withdrawing the pin by the animal that was stolen or by the owner of the stolen goods.
Folklore tells the tale that if the perpetrator managed to move his head and escape to the other side of the river before the executioner could catch him, then he was set free.
The Halifax Gibbet plays a small part in my new novel 'Dream of Courage' but not the way you might imagine. I have never been a believer of blood and gore to make a story interesting but mention of it is appropriate to make the story believable and historically accurate, which makes my novels quite unique.
Paul Rushworth-Brown is the author of three novels:
Paul's novels are authentic and gritty, with twists and turns the reader won't see coming. He paints a realistic image of how peasants would have lived in the 16th and 17th centuries. However, that is only the backdrop to suspenseful and mysterious stories with romantic tones. His novel 'Red Winter Journey' https://bit.ly/3WXHVUs has been nominated for the NSW Premier's Literary Awards (Christina Stead Prize for fiction). His new novel 'Dream of Courage' has been long listed for the Historical Fiction Club’s Book of the Year Award and will be released in November.
Paul has been a guest on the ABC, BBC, America Tonight with Kate Delaney and regularly features on the Witty Writers Show in the US. The US Times https://bit.ly/3ZXOfNT said, 'Modern writers usually don't know what it was like to live in the past, but Rushworth-Brown does this with great skill in his accomplished, atmospheric and thoughtful novels.' https://bit.ly/3C9GFoO
Skulduggery
A family of copyholders, live each day in isolation from the village, but an attack on one of their own puts them all in grave danger. This story carefully navigates the backdrop of the English Reformation, populating it with likable and despicable characters, and casting them in a fully realised historical mystery setting. It's a slice of history that's totally, tterly believable, and unbelievable. The twists will surprise and the ending is totally unexpected even for the most astute of readers.
A selection of our Beauty and Lace Club members are reading Skulduggery by Paul Rushworth-Brown Author.
Anne says, "The historical aspect of the story keeps you interested as you learn how the rich and the poor lived at the time. All the fines, dues, death and wedding fees are all paid to the Lord of the Manor. The relationships between the characters keep you engaged."
Red Winter Journey
England, 1642. When bloody civil war breaks out between the King and Parliament, families and communities are driven by different allegiances. Red Winter Journey is a sweeping tale of adventure and loss, sacrifice and love, with a unique and unforgettable story of a boy becoming a man at its heart.
England, 1642. When bloody civil war breaks out between the King and Parliament, families and communities are driven by different allegiances. Red Winter Journey is a sweeping tale of adventure and loss, sacrifice and love, with a unique and unforgettable story of a mother’s love for her son at its heart. A historic journey of twists, turns and a dash of spirited passion.
Dream of Courage-
The Rushworths are poor, hungry tenants of the Puritan Jasper Calamy, of Haworth manor, and scratch out a living tending a few sheep, spinning and weaving wool on put out from passing clothiers. Young Robert Rushworth and John Rushworth leave home and stumble across a way to make their fortune, in the Briggate in Leeds. Pursued by John Wilding, a brogger and brute of a man, with no manners or decorum, typical of the ‘lower sort’ of the time. Smythe, the local tavern keeper, has many secrets and with a hidden past, sends Robert to The Haven, to Captain Girlington of 'The Pearl'. Will Robert escape before it's too late? Will he hang? Will Robert and Ursula ever be together
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