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Edward William Pritchard (6 December 1825 – 28 July 1865) was an English doctor who was convicted of murdering his wife and mother-in-law by poisoning them.^[1] He was also suspected of murdering a servant girl, but was never tried for this crime.

He was the last person to be publicly executed in Glasgow.^[2]^[3]

Early years

Pritchard was born in Southsea,^[4] Hampshire, into a naval family. His father was John White Pritchard, a captain.^[5]

He claimed to have studied at King's College Hospital in London and to have graduated from there in 1846. He then served in the Royal Navy as an assistant surgeon on HMS Victory. For another four years, he served on various other ships sailing around the world.

He returned to Portsmouth, England, on HMS Hecate. While in Portsmouth, he met his future wife, Mary Jane Taylor, the daughter of Michael Taylor (1793–1867),^[6] a prosperous retired silk merchant from Edinburgh^[7]^[8] then living at 22 Minto Street.^[9] The couple married in 1851. He had five children with her.^[10]

He resigned from the Navy and first took a job as a general practitioner in Yorkshire, living for a time in Hunmanby.

He was the author of several books on his travels and on the water cure at Hunmanby, as well as articles in The Lancet.

In 1859, he left under a cloud and in debt, and moved to Glasgow.^[7]^[11]

Murders

On 5 May 1863, there was a fire in the Pritchards' house at 11 Berkeley Terrace,^[12] Glasgow, which killed a servant girl. Her name was Elizabeth McGrain, aged 25.^[13] The fire started in her room but she made no attempt to escape, suggesting that she was unconscious, drugged, or already dead.

The procurator fiscal looked into the case, but no charges were brought.^[3]^[14]

In 1865, Pritchard poisoned his mother-in-law, Jane Taylor, 70, who died on 28 February. His wife, whom he was treating for an illness (with the help of a Dr. Paterson), died a month later on 18 March at the age of 38. Both had been living at Pritchard's new family home at 131 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow.^[15] She had gone to her family home at 1 Lauder Road^[16] in Edinburgh to recuperate, and this worked, but she became ill again on return to Glasgow. Both his wife and mother-in-law are buried in the grave purchased by his father-in-law, Michael Taylor, in Grange Cemetery in south Edinburgh. The grave lies on the eastmost wall around 40m from the entrance.^[17]

Dr. Paterson was highly suspicious of the "illnesses" of both women and, when the time came, refused to sign the death certificates. However, he did not go out of his way to inform the medical or legal authorities of his suspicions. A 'Vindication' of Dr Paterson was circulated at the time^[18] and he took other steps to clear his name.^[19]

Pritchard was apprehended after an anonymous letter was sent to the authorities.^[20] When the bodies of his wife and mother-in-law were exhumed, it was found that they contained the poison antimony.

Trial and execution

The major points of interest in the trial were:

Pritchard's motive. Possibly he was having an affair with another maid in the household and would blame her for the poisonings as his defence.
The strange reticence of Dr. Paterson to inform anyone in authority of his suspicions.

Pritchard was convicted of murder after a five-day hearing of the High Court in Edinburgh in July 1865,^[20] presided over by the Lord Justice Clerk, Lord Glencorse.^[7]^[21] He was hanged in front of thousands of spectators at the Saltmarket end of Glasgow Green at 8 a.m. on 28 July 1865.^[3]

In popular culture

In 1947, Scottish playwright James Bridie wrote Dr Angelus, based on the case. It originally starred Alastair Sim and George Cole.^[22] It was revived at the Finborough Theatre, London, in 2016.

Sir Cedric Hardwicke played Pritchard in the 6 October 1952 episode of the radio series Suspense.^[23]

In 1956, Pritchard was played by Joseph Cotten in an episode of the television series "On Trial" (episode name: The Trial of Edward Pritchard).^[24]

In the Sherlock Holmes short story, The Adventure of the Speckled Band, while commenting on the apparent villain (Dr Grimesby Roylott), Holmes tells Dr Watson that when a doctor goes bad he is "the first of criminals". He then illustrates this with the comment that Drs Palmer and Pritchard were at the "head of their profession". Since neither was considered a good doctor, and Pritchard was considered something of a quack by the medical fraternity in Glasgow, their "profession" was that of murder.

In the audio drama Tales from the Aletheian Society Pritchard appears as the (deceased) former Chaptermaster of a shadowy occult organisation, driven to murder by dark supernatural forces.

At his trial Pritchard was represented (unsuccessfully) by Scottish law firm Maclay Murray and Spens. Upon his execution the law firm pursued his estate for their outstanding fees. But as there was no money in his estate to settle their bill they arrested his wooden consulting chair along with some other property. The chair remained on display in the firm's boardroom until as late as 2016.

References

^ Green, S.T.; Green, Fiona A.M. (October 1986). "The Last Public Execution in Glasgow: The Case of Dr Edward Pritchard, M.D., M.R.C.S., L.S.A.". Scottish Medical Journal. 31 (4): 256–260. doi:10.1177/003693308603100415.
^ Hallworth, Rodney and Mark Williams, Where there's a will... The sensational life of Dr John Bodkin Adams, Capstan Press, Jersey, 1983. ISBN 0-946797-00-5
^ ^a ^b ^c Leighton Bruce, A deadly beside manner, The Scotsman, 21 November 2005
^ John Emsley, The Elements of Murder: A History of Poison, Oxford University Press, 2006, ISBN 0-19-280600-9, p.225 [1]
^ Roughead (1906)
^ "11 Michael Taylor (1793-1867) – Grange Association Edinburgh".
^ ^a ^b ^c The Grange Association^{[permanent dead link‍]}
^ Roughead (1954) pp.144-145
^ Edinburgh Post Office Directory 1850
^ "An eminent lawyer" (1865) p.5
^ Roughead (1954) p.146
^ Glasgow Post Office Directory 1863
^ Scotland's People official death record
^ Roughead (1906) p.335
^ Glasgow Post Office directory 1865
^ Edinburgh Post Office Directory 1865
^ Grange Cemetery: Some Notable Burials: The Grange Association
^ J.M.W. (1865). The Pritchard Poisoning Case. A Vindication of Dr James Paterson. Glasgow: James Nimmo, 36 St Enoch Square.. Accessed May 2017 via http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~flotsam/toc14.html
^ See the genealogical website for the family of James Paterson M.D., Army Surgeon
^ ^a ^b "True Crime Library". Archived from the original on 2 December 2010. Retrieved 29 November 2008.
^ "An eminent lawyer" (1865) p.1
^ Alastairsim.net
^ Archive.org
^ IMDB

Bibliography

"An eminent lawyer", A complete report of the trial of Dr. E. W. Pritchard for the alleged poisoning of his wife and mother-in-law, Issue 8 of Celebrated criminal cases, William Kay, 1865 [2]
William Roughead, Trial of Dr. Pritchard, Notable Scottish Trials, William Hodge, 1906 [3]
William Roughead, "Dr Pritchard" in Famous Trials 4 (ed. James H. Hodge), Penguin, 1954, 143-175

External links

[1] Green, S.T.; Green, Fiona A.M. (October 1986). "The Last Public Execution in Glasgow: The Case of Dr Edward Pritchard, M.D., M.R.C.S., L.S.A.". Scottish Medical Journal. 31 (4): 256–260. doi:10.1177/003693308603100415.

[2] Hallworth, Rodney and Mark Williams, Where there's a will... The sensational life of Dr John Bodkin Adams, Capstan Press, Jersey, 1983. ISBN 0-946797-00-5

[Scotsman-3] Leighton Bruce, A deadly beside manner, The Scotsman, 21 November 2005

[emsley-4] John Emsley, The Elements of Murder: A History of Poison, Oxford University Press, 2006, ISBN 0-19-280600-9, p.225 [1]

[5] Roughead (1906)

[6] "11 Michael Taylor (1793-1867) – Grange Association Edinburgh".

[Grange-7] The Grange Association^{[permanent dead link‍]}

[8] Roughead (1954) pp.144-145

[9] Edinburgh Post Office Directory 1850

[10] "An eminent lawyer" (1865) p.5

[11] Roughead (1954) p.146

[12] Glasgow Post Office Directory 1863

[13] Scotland's People official death record

[14] Roughead (1906) p.335

[15] Glasgow Post Office directory 1865

[16] Edinburgh Post Office Directory 1865

[17] Grange Cemetery: Some Notable Burials: The Grange Association

[18] J.M.W. (1865). The Pritchard Poisoning Case. A Vindication of Dr James Paterson. Glasgow: James Nimmo, 36 St Enoch Square.. Accessed May 2017 via http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~flotsam/toc14.html

[19] See the genealogical website for the family of James Paterson M.D., Army Surgeon

[TCL-20] "True Crime Library". Archived from the original on 2 December 2010. Retrieved 29 November 2008.

[21] "An eminent lawyer" (1865) p.1

[22] Alastairsim.net

[23] Archive.org

[24] IMDB

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+{{Short description|English doctor and poisoner}}
-Dr '''Edward William Pritchard''' (born 1825 - died 28 June 1865) was a [[Scotland|Scottish]] doctor who was convicted of the poisoning of two family members. He is also suspected of the murder of a third person, though he was never tried for it. He was the last person to be publicly executed in [[Glasgow]].<ref>Hallworth, Rodney and Mark Williams, ''Where there's a will... The sensational life of Dr John Bodkin Adams'', Capstan Press, Jersey, 1983. ISBN 0946797005</ref><ref name=Scotsman>[http://heritage.scotsman.com/notoriouscriminalsfeatureseries/A-deadly-bedside-manner.2680240.jp Scotsman.com]</ref>
+{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2021}}
+[[File:Dr. E. W. Pritchard.jpg|thumb|A contemporary photograph of the convict.]]
+'''Edward William Pritchard''' (6 December 1825 – 28 July 1865) was an English doctor who was convicted of murdering his wife and mother-in-law by poisoning them.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Green |first1=S.T. |last2=Green |first2=Fiona A.M. |title=The Last Public Execution in Glasgow: The Case of Dr Edward Pritchard, M.D., M.R.C.S., L.S.A. |journal=Scottish Medical Journal |date=October 1986 |volume=31 |issue=4 |pages=256–260 |doi=10.1177/003693308603100415}}</ref> He was also suspected of murdering a servant girl, but was never tried for this crime.
+He was the last person to be publicly executed in [[Glasgow]].<ref>Hallworth, Rodney and Mark Williams, ''Where there's a will... The sensational life of Dr John Bodkin Adams'', Capstan Press, Jersey, 1983. {{ISBN|0-946797-00-5}}</ref><ref name=Scotsman>Leighton Bruce, [http://heritage.scotsman.com/notoriouscriminalsfeatureseries/A-deadly-bedside-manner.2680240.jp A deadly beside manner], ''[[The Scotsman]]'', 21 November 2005</ref>
 ==Early years==
+Pritchard was born in [[Southsea]],<ref name="emsley">John Emsley, ''The Elements of Murder: A History of Poison'', Oxford University Press, 2006, {{ISBN|0-19-280600-9}}, p.225 [https://books.google.com/books?id=BACSR7TXWhoC&pg=PA225]</ref> [[Hampshire]], into a naval family. His father was John White Pritchard, a captain.<ref>Roughead (1906)</ref>
-Pritchard was born in [[Hampshire]] into a naval family. He claimed to have studied at [[Kings College Hospital]] in [[London]] and to have graduated from there in 1846. He then served in the [[Royal Navy]] as an assistant surgeon with [[HMS Victory]]. For another four years he served on various other ships travelling around the world, before coming back to [[Portsmouth]] where he met his future wife Mary Jane Taylor, the daughter of a prosperous silk merchant in [[Edinburgh]].<ref name=Grange>[http://www.grangeassociation.org/testing/pritchard.html The Grange Association]</ref>
+He claimed to have studied at [[King's College Hospital]] in [[London]] and to have graduated from there in 1846. He then served in the [[Royal Navy]] as an assistant surgeon on [[HMS Victory|HMS ''Victory'']]. For another four years, he served on various other ships sailing around the world.
-The couple married in 1851, but after a period apart, Dr Pritchard resigned from the Navy. He first took a job as a general practitioner in [[Yorkshire]], living for a time in [[Hunmanby]]. There he became a prominent [[freemason]] in the lodge in nearby [[Scarborough, North Yorkshire|Scarborough]], where he was Master of the Royal Lodge in 1857 and Master of Old Globe Lodge in 1858 and 1859.<ref>[http://www.scarborough.co.uk/freemasonry/freemasonry.htm Scarborough.co.uk]</ref> In 1859, however, he left under a cloud and in debt, moving to Glasgow.<ref name=Grange/>
+He returned to [[Portsmouth]], England, on [[HMS Hecate (1839)|HMS ''Hecate'']]. While in Portsmouth, he met his future wife, Mary Jane Taylor, the daughter of Michael Taylor (1793–1867),<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://gaedin.co.uk/wp/cemetery/11-michael-taylor-1793-1867|title=11 Michael Taylor (1793-1867) – Grange Association Edinburgh}}</ref> a prosperous retired silk merchant from [[Edinburgh]]<ref name=Grange>[http://www.grangeassociation.org/testing/pritchard.html The Grange Association]{{Dead link|date=August 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>Roughead (1954) pp.144-145</ref> then living at 22 Minto Street.<ref>Edinburgh Post Office Directory 1850</ref> The couple married in 1851. He had five children with her.<ref>"An eminent lawyer" (1865) p.5</ref>
+He resigned from the Navy and first took a job as a [[general practitioner]] in [[Yorkshire]], living for a time in [[Hunmanby]].
+He was the author of several books on his travels and on the [[Water cure (therapy)|water cure]] at Hunmanby, as well as articles in ''[[The Lancet]]''.
+In 1859, he left under a cloud and in debt, and moved to [[Glasgow]].<ref name=Grange/><ref>Roughead (1954) p.146</ref>
 ==Murders==
+[[File:The Taylor grave, Grange Cemetery.jpg|thumb|The Taylor grave, Grange Cemetery]]
-In 1863 there was a fire in the Pritchards' Berkeley Terrace house in Glasgow, which killed a young servant girl. The fire started in her room but she made no attempt to escape, suggesting that she may have been unconscious, drugged or already dead. No charges were brought, but the [[procurator fiscal]] looked into the case.<ref name=Scotsman/>
+On 5 May 1863, there was a fire in the Pritchards' house at 11 Berkeley Terrace,<ref>Glasgow Post Office Directory 1863</ref> Glasgow, which killed a servant girl. Her name was Elizabeth McGrain, aged 25.<ref>Scotland's People official death record</ref> The fire started in her room but she made no attempt to escape, suggesting that she was unconscious, drugged, or already dead.
+The [[procurator fiscal]] looked into the case, but no charges were brought.<ref name=Scotsman/><ref>Roughead (1906) p.335</ref>
-In 1865 Pritchard poisoned his [[mother-in-law]], Jane Cowan, 70, who died on 28 February. His wife Mary Jane, 38, died a month later on 18 March. Both were living at the family's new home in [[Sauchiehall Street]], Glasgow. He was caught after an anonymous letter was sent to the authorities.<ref name=TCL>[http://www.truecrimelibrary.com/crime_series_show.php?id=370&series_number=3 True Crime Library]</ref> When the bodies were [[exhume]]d, the poison [[antimony]] was found in their system.
+In 1865, Pritchard poisoned his [[mother-in-law]], Jane Taylor, 70, who died on 28 February. His wife, whom he was treating for an illness (with the help of a Dr. Paterson), died a month later on 18 March at the age of 38. Both had been living at Pritchard's new family home at 131 [[Sauchiehall Street]], Glasgow.<ref>Glasgow Post Office directory 1865</ref> She had gone to her family home at 1 Lauder Road<ref>Edinburgh Post Office Directory 1865</ref> in Edinburgh to recuperate, and this worked, but she became ill again on return to Glasgow. Both his wife and mother-in-law are buried in the grave purchased by his father-in-law, Michael Taylor, in [[Grange, Edinburgh|Grange Cemetery]] in south [[Edinburgh]]. The grave lies on the eastmost wall around 40m from the entrance.<ref>Grange Cemetery: Some Notable Burials: The Grange Association</ref>
-==Trial==
-Pritchard was convicted after a five-day hearing in [[Edinburgh]] in July 1865<ref name=TCL/> presided over by judge [[John Inglis, Lord Glencorse|Lord Inglis]].<ref name=Grange/> He was executed in front of thousands at the Saltmarket end of [[Glasgow Green]] in an 8am execution.<ref name=Scotsman/>
+Dr. Paterson was highly suspicious of the "illnesses" of both women and, when the time came, refused to sign the [[death certificate]]s.  However, he did not go out of his way to inform the medical or legal authorities of his suspicions. A 'Vindication' of Dr Paterson was circulated at the time<ref>{{cite book|last=J.M.W.|title=The Pritchard Poisoning Case. A Vindication of Dr James Paterson|location=Glasgow|publisher=James Nimmo, 36 St Enoch Square|date=1865}}. Accessed May 2017 via http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~flotsam/toc14.html</ref> and he took other steps to clear his name.<ref>See [http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~flotsam/indexp.html the genealogical website for the family of James Paterson M.D., Army Surgeon ]</ref>
+Pritchard was apprehended after an anonymous letter was sent to the authorities.<ref name=TCL>{{Cite web |url=http://www.truecrimelibrary.com/crime_series_show.php?id=370&series_number=3 |title=True Crime Library |access-date=29 November 2008 |archive-date=2 December 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101202055221/http://truecrimelibrary.com/crime_series_show.php?series_number=3&id=370 |url-status=dead }}</ref> When the bodies of his wife and mother-in-law were [[exhume]]d, it was found that they contained the poison [[antimony]].
+==Trial and execution==
+[[File:Harper's weekly (1865) (14578541609).jpg|thumb|The court during the examination of Mary McLeod, [[Harper's Weekly]]]]
+The major points of interest in the trial were:
+* Pritchard's motive. Possibly he was having an affair with another maid in the household and would blame her for the poisonings as his defence.
+* The strange reticence of Dr. Paterson to inform anyone in authority of his suspicions.
+Pritchard was convicted of murder after a five-day hearing of the [[High Court of Justiciary|High Court]] in [[Edinburgh]] in July 1865,<ref name=TCL/> presided over by the [[Lord Justice Clerk]], [[John Inglis, Lord Glencorse|Lord Glencorse]].<ref name=Grange/><ref>"An eminent lawyer" (1865) p.1</ref> He was hanged in front of thousands of spectators at the [[Saltmarket]] end of [[Glasgow Green]] at 8 a.m. on 28 July 1865.<ref name=Scotsman/>
 ==In popular culture==
+In 1947, Scottish playwright [[James Bridie]] wrote ''Dr Angelus'', based on the case. It originally starred [[Alastair Sim]] and [[George Cole (actor)|George Cole]].<ref>[http://www.alastairsim.net/Theatre/drangelus.htm Alastairsim.net]</ref> It was revived at the [[Finborough Theatre]], [[London]], in 2016.
-Pritchard was played by [[Joseph Cotten]] in an episode of the television series "On Trial" (episode name: ''The Trial of Edward Pritchard'') in 1956.<ref>[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0665076/ IMDB]</ref>
+[[Sir Cedric Hardwicke]] played Pritchard in the 6 October 1952 episode of the radio series [[Suspense (radio drama)|''Suspense'']].<ref>[https://archive.org/details/OTRR_Suspense_Singles Archive.org]</ref>
+In 1956, Pritchard was played by [[Joseph Cotten]] in an episode of the television series "On Trial" (episode name: ''The Trial of Edward Pritchard'').<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0665076/ IMDB]</ref>
+In the [[Sherlock Holmes]] short story, ''[[The Adventure of the Speckled Band]]'', while commenting on the apparent villain (Dr Grimesby Roylott), Holmes tells Dr Watson that when a doctor goes bad he is "the first of criminals". He then illustrates this with the comment that Drs [[William Palmer (murderer)|Palmer]] and Pritchard were at the "head of their profession". Since neither was considered a good doctor, and Pritchard was considered something of a quack by the medical fraternity in Glasgow, their "profession" was that of murder.
+In the audio drama Tales from the Aletheian Society Pritchard appears as the (deceased) former Chaptermaster of a shadowy occult organisation, driven to murder by dark supernatural forces.
+At his trial Pritchard was represented (unsuccessfully) by Scottish law firm Maclay Murray and Spens. Upon his execution the law firm pursued his estate for their outstanding fees. But as there was no money in his estate to settle their bill they arrested his wooden consulting chair along with some other property. The chair remained on display in the firm's boardroom until as late as 2016.
+==See also==
+*[[List of serial killers by country]]
 ==References==
 {{Reflist}}
+==Bibliography==
+* "An eminent lawyer", ''A complete report of the trial of Dr. E. W. Pritchard for the alleged poisoning of his wife and mother-in-law'', Issue 8 of Celebrated criminal cases, William Kay, 1865 [https://books.google.com/books?id=L64uAAAAIAAJ]
+* [[William Roughead]], ''Trial of Dr. Pritchard'', [[Notable Scottish Trials]], William Hodge, 1906 [https://books.google.com/books?id=U6cqAAAAMAAJ]
+* William Roughead, "Dr Pritchard" in ''Famous Trials 4'' (ed. James H. Hodge), Penguin, 1954, 143-175
 ==External links==
 *[http://eotd.wordpress.com/2008/07/28/28-july-1865-edward-pritchard/ Article with photograph]
+*[https://books.google.com/books?id=24ZdAAAAIAAJ&pg=RA1-PA221&dq= An account of the trial]
+*[https://books.google.com/books?id=L64uAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA3&dq= A transcript of the trial]
+{{Authority control}}
+{{DEFAULTSORT:Pritchard, Edward William}}
+[[Category:1825 births]]
+[[Category:1865 deaths]]
+[[Category:1865 murders in the United Kingdom]]
+[[Category:19th-century English people]]
+[[Category:19th-century English medical doctors]]
+[[Category:19th-century executions by Scotland]]
+[[Category:Executed people from Hampshire]]
+[[Category:Glasgow Green]]
+[[Category:Medical practitioners convicted of murdering their patients]]
+[[Category:People executed by Scotland by hanging]]
+[[Category:British people executed for murder]]
+[[Category:People from Southsea]]
+[[Category:People from Hunmanby]]
+[[Category:Poisoners]]
+[[Category:Royal Navy Medical Service officers]]
+[[Category:Uxoricides]]
+[[Category:Executed suspected serial killers]]
+[[Category:Military personnel from Portsmouth]]
+[[Category:19th-century Royal Navy personnel]]

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