Abstract
On 25 March 1851, Thomas Drory and Sarah Chesham were hanged. Drory had been convicted of murder, Chesham for poisoning with intent. This difference in offences would continue to be significant in affecting what happened to the two bodies after their deaths, reflecting societal attitudes to the two types of crimes. The bodies of those found guilty of murder would be buried in the grounds of the jail where they were hanged; those found guilty of lesser crimes could be buried wherever they wished. Thus, while Drory’s body was buried in the yard of Chelmsford Gaol, Philip Chesham, Sarah Chesham’s eldest son, arranged to have her body taken back to Clavering and buried in the village churchyard.
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Notes
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© 2015 Victoria M. Nagy
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Nagy, V.M. (2015). Conclusion. In: Nineteenth-Century Female Poisoners. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137359308_8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137359308_8
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
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