Little-known plaque reveals location of killer’s execution before a baying mob
THE archway under Birmingham’s Snow Hill railway station hides a sinister secret unknown to the thousands of commuters catching trains.
It is a story of death, of a mob’s thirst for revenge, and possibly an innocent man going to the gallows.
A small plaque high up on a wall at the bottom of Great Charles Street is missed by most passers-by, but is the only reminder of one of the city’s most macabre chapters.
Because it was near this very spot, on August 22, 1806, that the last – and only – public street execution in Birmingham took place.
Historian Richard Pursehouse has delved deep into the archives to discover that the gruesome attraction drew a 40,000 crowd.
Most Brummies sentenced to death in a public place met their maker at Gallows Hill, Stoneleigh – not far from Warwick Assizes.
But few slipped this mortal coil with the defiance shown by Philip “Drake” Matsell, a man dubbed a “well-known bad character” by the bloodhungry press.
As he climbed the 20-foot scaffolding close to Great Charles Street, the convicted killer kicked his boots to the crowd. That gesture was one in the eye for jailers who had told the prisoner he’d die with his boots on.
According to reporters, he then “threw up a handkerchief he held in his hand and exclaimed ‘Here goes!’”
The large crowd cheered as the lifeless body dangled from the noose. One newspaper described the grisly event as a “Roman holiday for 40,000 people watching”.
That crowd represented a third of the city’s entire population.
Matsell, aged 30, had been convicted of murdering Robert Twyford, described both as a night watchman and ‘peace officer’ (early policeman) on the testimony of an accomplice who turned Queen’s evidence.
He was first spared the noose, and instead sentenced to deportation and the prospect of surviving on Botany Bay, Australia. But he attempted to escape, which condemned the ne’er-do-well to death.
Historians still argue over whether the authorities hanged the wrong man. Matsell was born in Yarmouth and had been apprentice to a London surgeon, but ran away to sea at the age of 15. By July 22, 1806, however, he was a card-carrying member of a notorious gang.
And he is said to have shot father-of-five Robert, who had confronted a suspicious gathering of men.
Initial reports of the incident stated: “Twyford had observed several fellows of suspicious appearance, and whom he suspected were about to break open a house. He accordingly ordered them off his beat, but they paid no attention to him, and one of them pulled out of his coat pocket a pistol and shot at him.
“The ball entered near his left shoulder, and he fell. Medical assistance was procured, who extracted the ball, and he still lives.”
Magistrates sent out men to find Matsell. Having dabbled in highway robbery, he was known to peacekeepers in nearby towns, including Wolverhampton, although a tipoff sent one down to London.
He was collared in the city and “capitally convicted” at the Old Bailey but pardoned on condition he was transported to Botany Bay.
Then he made a fatal mistake. He attempted to escape – and by the time he was brought back to Birmingham, his victim had died.
At Warwick Assizes, one of the gang, Joseph Jennings, turned evidence against him and said Matsell had “maliciously shot at Robert Twyford”. A second suspect, William Ollick, had not been captured.
The decision was made to send out a message, and Matsell was executed on the very spot where Robert Twyford was mortally wounded.
The bronze plaque marking the macabre event was unveiled in 2008 – all of 202 years after it took place – but it is virtually hidden up a high wall.