Wigan Album
Bryn
6 CommentsPhoto: Karen
Item #: 30407
Imagine having to enfold a corpse into that contraption with all those metal parts and especially the hook separating the legs and supporting the head! Horrible! It would have had to be done straight after death.
They were beyond doubt cruel times.
They generally covered the body with a coating of tar before putting it in gibbet irons, Veronica.
This acted as a preservative, and also discouraged birds from using the corpse as a snack bar.
And probably served as a warning too Mick for all would be robbers!
Mmm Kinky...
Probably Tarmac Construction who were based at Landgate provided the macadam for such a macabre enterprise!
The somewhere the corpses of hanged criminal were displayed was on Whitledge Green and on the old maps you can see a property called Gallows House. The executions were carried out in Preston especially highwaymen who robbed travellers in the road to Wigan, then brought to Bryn.