Laurence Shirley, 4th Earl Ferrers
Encyclopedia
Laurence Shirley, 4th Earl Ferrers (August 18, 1720 – May 5, 1760) was the last member of the House of Lords
hanged in England.
The 4th Earl Ferrers, descendant of an ancient and noble family, was the eldest son of Hon. Laurence Ferrers, himself a younger son of the Robert Shirley, 1st Earl Ferrers
-a descendant of Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex
. At the age of twenty, he quit his estates
and Oxford education, and during the time he spent in Paris he plunged into every kind of excess. Ferrers inherited his title from his insane uncle in 1745 and with it estates in Leicestershire
, Derbyshire
and Northamptonshire
. He lived, however, at Staunton Harold Hall in northwest Leicestershire. In 1752, he married the youngest daughter of Sir William Meredith
. Ferrers was also a cousin to Selina, Countess of Huntingdon, the prominent Methodist lady and supporter of George Whitefield
, though he was not involved in the Methodist revival.
It was said that there was insanity
in his family, and from an early age his behaviour seems to have been eccentric, and his temper violent, though he was quite capable of managing his business
affairs. Significantly, in 1758, his wife obtained a separation from him for cruelty
, which would have been extremely rare for the time. She was said to be extremely pretty and clearly did not appreciate her husband's drinking, womanising and the fact that he had a mistress and children. The old family steward (see after) was murdered, it would seem, because he may have given evidence on Mary's behalf and was afterwards taxed with collecting rents due to her. She married again in 1769 to Lord Frederick Campbell, but was burned to death at her country seat, Coomb Bank, Kent
, on July 25, 1807.
The Ferrers' estates were then vested in trustee
s; Ferrers secured the appointment of an old family steward named Johnson, as receiver of rents. This man faithfully performed his duty as a servant to the trustees, and did not prove amenable to Ferrers' personal wishes. On January 18, 1760, Johnson called at the earl's mansion
at Staunton Harold
, Leicestershire
, by appointment, and was directed to his lordship's study. Here, after some business conversation, Lord Ferrers shot and killed him. In the following April Ferrers was tried for murder
by his peer
s in Westminster Hall, Attorney General
Charles Pratt
leading for the prosecution. Shirley's defence, which he conducted in person with great ability, was a plea of insanity, and it was supported by considerable evidence, but he was found guilty. According to Horace Walpole, "Lord Ferrers was not mad enough to be struck with Lady Huntingdon's
sermons. The Methodists
have nothing to brag of his conversion, though Whitefield
prayed for him." Ferrers subsequently said that he had only pleaded insanity to oblige his family, and that he had himself always been ashamed of such a defence.
On May 5, 1760, dressed in a light coloured suit embroidered with silver (the outfit he had worn at his wedding), he was taken in his own carriage
from the Tower of London
to Tyburn
and there hanged by Thomas Turlis. There are several illustrations of the hanging. It has been said that as a concession to his order the rope
used was of silk
. The Execution was widely publicised in popular culture as evidence of equality of the law and the story of a wicked nobleman who was executed "like a common criminal" was told well into the 1800s.
----
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
hanged in England.
The 4th Earl Ferrers, descendant of an ancient and noble family, was the eldest son of Hon. Laurence Ferrers, himself a younger son of the Robert Shirley, 1st Earl Ferrers
Robert Shirley, 1st Earl Ferrers
Sir Robert Shirley, 7th Baronet, of Staunton Harold, 13th Baron Ferrers of Chartley, created 1st Earl Ferrers was an English peer and courtier....
-a descendant of Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex
Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex
Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, KG was an English nobleman and a favourite of Elizabeth I. Politically ambitious, and a committed general, he was placed under house arrest following a poor campaign in Ireland during the Nine Years' War in 1599...
. At the age of twenty, he quit his estates
Estate (house)
An estate comprises the houses and outbuildings and supporting farmland and woods that surround the gardens and grounds of a very large property, such as a country house or mansion. It is the modern term for a manor, but lacks the latter's now abolished jurisdictional authority...
and Oxford education, and during the time he spent in Paris he plunged into every kind of excess. Ferrers inherited his title from his insane uncle in 1745 and with it estates in Leicestershire
Leicestershire
Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...
, Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
and Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
. He lived, however, at Staunton Harold Hall in northwest Leicestershire. In 1752, he married the youngest daughter of Sir William Meredith
William Meredith
William Meredith may refer to:* Billy Meredith , Welsh international winger, oft described as "football's first superstar"* William Morris Meredith, Jr. , American poet and Pulitzer Prize laureate...
. Ferrers was also a cousin to Selina, Countess of Huntingdon, the prominent Methodist lady and supporter of George Whitefield
George Whitefield
George Whitefield , also known as George Whitfield, was an English Anglican priest who helped spread the Great Awakening in Britain, and especially in the British North American colonies. He was one of the founders of Methodism and of the evangelical movement generally...
, though he was not involved in the Methodist revival.
It was said that there was insanity
Insanity
Insanity, craziness or madness is a spectrum of behaviors characterized by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity may manifest as violations of societal norms, including becoming a danger to themselves and others, though not all such acts are considered insanity...
in his family, and from an early age his behaviour seems to have been eccentric, and his temper violent, though he was quite capable of managing his business
Business
A business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...
affairs. Significantly, in 1758, his wife obtained a separation from him for cruelty
Cruelty
Cruelty can be described as indifference to suffering, and even positive pleasure in inflicting it. If this is supported by a legal or social framework, then receives the name of perversion. Sadism can also be related to this form of action or concept....
, which would have been extremely rare for the time. She was said to be extremely pretty and clearly did not appreciate her husband's drinking, womanising and the fact that he had a mistress and children. The old family steward (see after) was murdered, it would seem, because he may have given evidence on Mary's behalf and was afterwards taxed with collecting rents due to her. She married again in 1769 to Lord Frederick Campbell, but was burned to death at her country seat, Coomb Bank, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, on July 25, 1807.
The Ferrers' estates were then vested in trustee
Trustee
Trustee is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, can refer to any person who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility for the benefit of another...
s; Ferrers secured the appointment of an old family steward named Johnson, as receiver of rents. This man faithfully performed his duty as a servant to the trustees, and did not prove amenable to Ferrers' personal wishes. On January 18, 1760, Johnson called at the earl's mansion
Mansion
A mansion is a very large dwelling house. U.S. real estate brokers define a mansion as a dwelling of over . A traditional European mansion was defined as a house which contained a ballroom and tens of bedrooms...
at Staunton Harold
Staunton Harold
Staunton Harold is a civil parish in North West Leicestershire about north of Ashby-de-la-Zouch. The parish is on the county boundary with Derbyshire and about south of Derby....
, Leicestershire
Leicestershire
Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...
, by appointment, and was directed to his lordship's study. Here, after some business conversation, Lord Ferrers shot and killed him. In the following April Ferrers was tried for murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
by his peer
Peerage
The Peerage is a legal system of largely hereditary titles in the United Kingdom, which constitute the ranks of British nobility and is part of the British honours system...
s in Westminster Hall, Attorney General
Attorney General for England and Wales
Her Majesty's Attorney General for England and Wales, usually known simply as the Attorney General, is one of the Law Officers of the Crown. Along with the subordinate Solicitor General for England and Wales, the Attorney General serves as the chief legal adviser of the Crown and its government in...
Charles Pratt
Charles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden
Charles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden was an English lawyer, judge and Whig politician who was first to hold the title of Earl of Camden...
leading for the prosecution. Shirley's defence, which he conducted in person with great ability, was a plea of insanity, and it was supported by considerable evidence, but he was found guilty. According to Horace Walpole, "Lord Ferrers was not mad enough to be struck with Lady Huntingdon's
Selina Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon
Selina, Countess of Huntingdon was an English religious leader who played a prominent part in the religious revival of the 18th century and the Methodist movement in England and Wales, and has left a Christian denomination in England and Sierra Leone.-Early life:Selina Hastings was born as Lady...
sermons. The Methodists
Methodism
Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...
have nothing to brag of his conversion, though Whitefield
George Whitefield
George Whitefield , also known as George Whitfield, was an English Anglican priest who helped spread the Great Awakening in Britain, and especially in the British North American colonies. He was one of the founders of Methodism and of the evangelical movement generally...
prayed for him." Ferrers subsequently said that he had only pleaded insanity to oblige his family, and that he had himself always been ashamed of such a defence.
On May 5, 1760, dressed in a light coloured suit embroidered with silver (the outfit he had worn at his wedding), he was taken in his own carriage
Carriage
A carriage is a wheeled vehicle for people, usually horse-drawn; litters and sedan chairs are excluded, since they are wheelless vehicles. The carriage is especially designed for private passenger use and for comfort or elegance, though some are also used to transport goods. It may be light,...
from the Tower of London
Tower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
to Tyburn
Tyburn, London
Tyburn was a village in the county of Middlesex close to the current location of Marble Arch in present-day London. It took its name from the Tyburn or Teo Bourne 'boundary stream', a tributary of the River Thames which is now completely covered over between its source and its outfall into the...
and there hanged by Thomas Turlis. There are several illustrations of the hanging. It has been said that as a concession to his order the rope
Rope
A rope is a length of fibres, twisted or braided together to improve strength for pulling and connecting. It has tensile strength but is too flexible to provide compressive strength...
used was of silk
Silk
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity...
. The Execution was widely publicised in popular culture as evidence of equality of the law and the story of a wicked nobleman who was executed "like a common criminal" was told well into the 1800s.
External links
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