Right i thought it was about time i wrote a new blog, Was just waiting for something to take my fancy.
Christmas time i got two books which has really caught my interest,
having lived in Aylesbury all my life i found this book really fascinating the history of bucks,
i wont go on about Ruth Ellis as im sure you all know about the lady, but i didnt know that she was buried as Ruth Hornby and buried in amersham...

John tawell was a wannabe Quaker born in 1784 in Norfolk he became a Quaker at the age of 24 but this was short lived as his sexual attentions was turned to a housemaid of his boss who was not a quakeress, so at the age of 25 he was expelled for disorderly and unchaste conduct.

John still craved to be a Quaker and this would take him up to a 61 year old man,
trapped in a unhappy marriage and with two children, he changed his career, he became a travelling sales rep for medicine, this would lead him down to salt ash, and his victim Sarah hart...
Now im not going to tell you everything about ol john and what he got up to in his life, but it does make for interesting reading, all i shall do is tell you the basics

So what happened? On 1st January 1845 John Tawell travelled from London to Slough to visit his mistress Sarah Hart on Salt Hill. He was carrying cyanide of potassium, a deadly poison, which he gave to Sarah in a glass of stout. Sarah's screams after drinking the poison alerted the neighbours and Tawell was seen leaving the cottage and hurrying back to Slough Railway Station.

He returned to London, spent a relaxing evening in local coffeehouses before going to his lodgings for the night. The following morning the police arrested him there.


Now you know Sarah hart was his victim,
At 28th march 1845 four men worked on the gallows outside country hall in Aylesbury, john would have heard all the work going on outside his cell, many people started to gather from 6am to get the best view, up to 6000 people crammed in the market square to watch this man swing,
At 7.40 john was lead up towards the balcony, Calcraft was the hangman of the day,so at 7.45 the trapdoor opened and john fell like a stone.
This is just the tip of the story,but i found it fascinating that he was hung here in Aylesbury