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William
Palmer, the "Rugeley Poisoner"
was hanged in front of Stafford Gaol on June 14th 1856. He had been
convicted of murdering his friend and racing companion John Parsons
Cook. So infamous had Palmer become that at a time when Stafford's
population was only around 12,500, his hanging attracted a crowd
in excess of 30,000 people. Although only convicted of one murder,
gossips and newspapers suspected him of being a serial murderer
and his effigy stood in the Chamber of Horrors at Madame Tussaud's
Waxworks in London for 127 years.
It
is claimed that the murder(s) were committed because he was so heavily
in debt because of the fact that he gambled upon, and ran, a string
of horses. It is thought that he bought his first racehorse from
the landlord
of the Swan Hotel in Stafford.
(Information from D. Lewis)
Right.
A photograph of the Swan Hotel from around 1860/1861.
An image from the Stafford Past Track Web Site,
the property of the Staffordshire Arts & Museum Service.
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