The man she buried is back and knocking on her door. This was always the scene played out in Maria Manning's nightmares and the man was Patrick O'Connor. He appeared in the nightmares wearing a long black coat, plaid trousers, black silk scarf and black ankle boots, which he had worn when she had shot him. His hands and face in the nightmares always had the pallor of death as he stood at the street door of the house where she murdered him ~ 3 Miniver Place, Bermondsey, which was situated in Southwark, in London. She had held a loaded pistol to his head and then pulled the trigger and shot him during a summer evening on Thursday, 9 August 1849.
When she awoke from these nightmares there was little comfort as she slept in a cold prison cell in Newgate Gaol and the stench of the prison no longer made her feel nauseous as Maria had grown accustomed to the foul smell of the gaol. The sounds of Newgate Gaol gave her no peace as there was the constant slamming of cell doors being shut, the jingling of keys carried by the turnkeys, the loud shouting and terrifying screams of the prisoners, which made Newgate seem like Bedlam. The place was rife with stinking rats as they scurried about looking for food in the filthy gaol and there were also cockroaches, which scurried about the filthy floors of the prison cells and passageways.
Maria could remember better and happier times in her life than the squalor and filth of Newgate Gaol. She had lived in luxury as a lady's maid to Lady Evelyn Stuart, who also was known as Lady Blantyre since she had married Charles Stuart, Lord Blantyre. It was during this time that Maria was unmarried and her surname was then de Roux and she had lived in style within the stately Stafford House, which stood near Buckingham Palace. She had enjoyed the life of a lady's maid and Lady Blantyre was a great granddaughter of Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire, who had been the most fashionable woman of her time and the daughter of the first Earl Spencer of Althorp, in Northamptonshire.
Maria, who had been born in the city of Lausanne, in Switzerland, had lived in London for many years and often met men and women of high society as Lady Blantyre's maid and life was then all about etiquette. She had often seen Queen Victoria and Prince Albert driven in a carriage as Buckingham Palace was a stone's throw away from Stafford House. Maria could remember the time when Queen Victoria visited Lady Blantyre in Stafford House and Maria had curtsied before Queen Victoria during the royal visit.
Three years ago, in July 1846, Maria had accompanied Lady Blantyre when she went on a voyage to France and they had visited many places including Paris. During the return voyage to London, Maria had met a well dressed man Irishman named Patrick O'Connor, who worked as a customs officer in the London Docks and he was also a money lender. He became smitten with the young lady's maid as she had a beautiful appearance along with being well spoken, elegant, witty and very polite.
Maria was then twenty-five years old and Patrick was much older than her as he was fifty years old, but he was a very attractive man and well dressed. They soon met up in London and he took her to a public house in The Strand where they had lunch together and bought her a few glasses of gin. They agreed to meet up again and so they struck up a good friendship and she enjoyed her time when going around London with the Irishman. He would often take her to shops and he would insist on buying her gifts such as a new bonnet, a shawl, gloves and sometimes a bottle of expensive perfume. Patrick always enjoyed her company when they met up and Maria was always excited to spend time with him as it was a break from the life of etiquette in Stafford House.
He began to take her to his lodgings ~ 21 Greenwood Street, which was a small street off the Mile End Road, near Whitechapel, in the East End of London. Their friendship soon became more intimate as Maria began to spend evenings in bed with Patrick in his lodgings before returning to Stafford House and sometimes she would spend all night in his lodgings where they would also have a nice supper together. Maria hoped that eventually he would propose marriage as Patrick O'Connor would be the perfect husband for her and he was a wealthy gentleman.
Time went on and she still waited patiently for him to propose marriage, but the waiting for that moment was never ending. It seemed to Maria as time went on that he was not interested in marriage as he simply wanted an intimate friendship. She then met another man named Frederick Manning, who was two years older than her and he worked hard for a living as a railway worker. He was closer in age to Maria than Patrick and he told her that he was to inherit a fortune once his mother died, but until then he had to earn his money and that meant working long hours to pay for his lodgings, food and clothes.
Maria now had two suitors and both were very different and divided her time away from Stafford House to spend time with the two men. Although Patrick was a wealthy man, his wealth was not so much in money to spend as he had invested his money in railway shares. Frederick had not much money at all as a railway worker, but one day he would inherit a fortune and money to Maria was better in the purse to spend than using it for investment in shares.
Frederick bought a gold engagement ring with a ruby stone and he proposed marriage to Maria, who accepted the proposal as she had fallen in love with him. She then told Patrick that she had become engaged to be married to Frederick and he hid his disappointment as he had wanted to marry Maria, but he had dithered too long about asking her to become his wife. He had now lost her to Frederick Manning and he respected her decision to marry the railway worker, but it would always be a regret in his life that he never proposed marriage to her.
A blue sky hung over London during the morning on Thursday, 27 May 1847, when Maria de Roux arrived at St. James's Church, in Piccadilly, for her wedding to Frederick Manning. She wore a beautiful ivory coloured wedding dress with a matching veil over her head and held a bouquet of red carnations as she made her way into the church. She had no thought of Patrick O'Connor as he belonged to her past and she was excited to begin married life with Frederick, but what made Frederick even more attractive to Maria was that he would one day inherit a fortune. On the day of her wedding, Patrick O'Connor went to work as usual in the London Docks and he had put Maria out of his mind as her life was about being the wife of Frederick Manning.
Married life was happy at first for Maria, but slowly the romantic love with Frederick disappeared and her life was much different to being a lady's maid. She spent her days doing household chores with scrubbing a cold stone floor, washing clothes and hanging them out to dry and then there was the never ending cleaning to be done. Her life was close to being in poverty and it then got worse when Frederick arrived home one day from work to tell her that he had lost his employment, so they would now be struggling to find the rent for their lodgings and no money to buy food.
Frederick told her that they must go to live with his mother in the town of Taunton, in Somerset, as he was failing to find work in London and they faced being destitute with no money. It seemed to Maria that her time in London was over as they made the long journey out of London on their way to Taunton to live with Frederick's mother and save themselves from poverty. Maria soon came to suspect that Frederick was a liar as he was not heir to any sort of fortune once his mother died. She confronted him about it and demanded to know the truth and he admitted to her that he was not going to inherit anything, but he had told her the lie as it would help his chances of her accepting his marriage proposal, so Maria had been duped as she had married a man with no inheritance at all.
They lived in Taunton with his mother at first and then Frederick became the innkeeper of an inn known as The White Hart and they lived in the upper rooms of the public house. Maria had no interest in serving drinks to the people in The White Hart and she hated life as a publican's wife. She even hated living Taunton as she was used to living in London, but it wasn't long before she had enough. Maria told Frederick that she was returning to London with or without him as there were more opportunities in London than in Taunton and she was not happy living the life of an innkeeper's wife. Frederick then gave up the running of The White Hart Inn and they soon returned to London where they rented a house ~ 3 Miniver Place, in Bermondsey.
Maria wrote a letter to Patrick O'Connor explaining that she had been living in Somerset and had now returned to London and that that she would like to renew their friendship as she had missed his company. A week later, she was excited to get a reply letter from Patrick and he wrote in his letter that he was very happy to see her again. They soon met up and had lunch together in a public house as they had often done before. They soon began to spend a lot of time together and Maria wished that she had become his wife as her husband was more like a penniless beggar than a rich man like Patrick O'Connor
Their friendship soon turned to adultery as she often ended up in his lodgings in Greenwood Street and they would spend an evening together in Patrick's bed before she returned to her husband in Bermondsey. She had come to regret marrying Frederick as married life was no longer a happy one for Maria and she enjoyed her time with Patrick O'Connor as he often bought her gifts. She decided to introduce Patrick to her husband and the two met and they became friendly, but Frederick suspected that the customs officer and his wife were more than simply good friends.
Frederick didn't really like Patrick as he was jealous his wealth and his successes in life whilst Patrick envied Frederick as he was the one who had married Maria, so they both had what the other one wanted and the friendship was simply a feigned one. Frederick told Maria that there was a way to become wealthy and end a life of poverty as all they had to do was to get rid of Patrick O'Connor by murdering him. Then she could go to his lodgings and steal his money as she had told Frederick that Patrick O'Connor kept a lot of money in a chest of drawers in his bed-chamber.
Maria knew that she would always be Frederick's wife even if they parted ways in life as divorce was for those in high society as it was too costly for hard working people, so she agreed that they would murder Patrick and then steal his money as it would make their lives better. Frederick purchased a small gun and bullets to do away with Patrick and then bury him once murdered under the kitchen floor in 3 Miniver Place. It seemed the plot was to do the perfect murder with Patrick simply having disappeared and nobody being hanged for his murder. Frederick then bought a crowbar to lift up some flagstones in the kitchen and then dug a hole in the earth, which he then covered with a wooden board and he placed a large rug over the board to hide it.
Maria invited Patrick to have supper with her and Frederick on Wednesday, 8 August 1849. The pistol was loaded with a bullet to shoot Patrick and there was quick lime ready to pour over his dead body after it had been thrown into the hole in the kitchen floor. Patrick arrived that evening at their house, but he wasn't alone as he had brought his friend with him, so the plan to murder him that evening had to be put off. Maria was vexed that Frederick had brought a friend along with him as she had prepared herself to murder him that night with Frederick. She then asked Patrick to visit the following night for another supper as she and Frederick always liked his company. Patrick agreed to visit the following evening after he had been to work and he would have another supper with her and Frederick.
The following day ~ Thursday 9 August 1849 ~ Patrick arrived in his lodgings after work and he heated water in a boiler for him to take a hot bath. He stripped off his clothes and got into the hot bath whilst holding a pipe of tobacco as he often liked to smoke a pipe of tobacco as he relaxed in the bath after a busy day working in the London Docks. He would dress up smart and then make his way later in the evening to visit the Mannings in Bermondsey and buy a bottle of wine for them to drink whilst having supper and a bottle of whisky to share with Frederick.
It was around the hour of eight that evening when Patrick arrived at 3 Miniver Place wearing a long black coat, a white shirt, black silk scarf, plaid trousers and a pair of black ankle boots and he carried a bottle of wine in his hand and had a bottle of whisky in his deep coat pocket. He knocked on the street door of the house and then heard footsteps as the door was opened by Maria, who was wearing a blue gown with a silk shawl, which Patrick had once bought her.
"Good evening, Maria," said Patrick, who then walked through the doorway and stood in the hallway as Maria closed the door. "I've brought some wine to drink at supper and some whisky to drink with Freddy."
"He always drinks himself to sleep with whisky," replied Maria.
"I am hoping he'll get drunk and fall to sleep as we can be alone together before I go home," replied Patrick quietly, "I wish you had come to my lodgings for supper tonight as I rather spend time alone with you."
"I will visit you soon, Patrick," she replied as they went into the living room to sit with Frederick and have a few drinks before supper. The table had been laid with plates and cutlery in a small dining room, but there was no supper prepared as the night was about murdering Patrick and then hiding his body under the kitchen floor.
"Supper won't be long, Patrick," Maria said. "You should go in the kitchen and wash your hands as you know I like clean hands at the table."
"I will do that now," said Patrick, putting down a glass on whisky on a small table and he got to his feet. He then walked through the doorway into the kitchen to stand by the sink to wash his hands. Maria quickly got up from a chair and went to a chest of drawers and slid open the top drawer where she had placed the loaded pistol. Maria then walked into the kitchen to see Patrick at the sink washing his hands under the running tap. She raised the pistol to aim at his head and her finger pulled back the trigger and a loud gunshot sounded through the house.
Patrick fell face down on the floor after Maria shot him and she heard him groaning on the floor as he was not quite dead. Frederick then walked into the kitchen and could see Patrick was still alive, so he took hold of the crowbar, which he had used to prise up the flagstones of the kitchen floor. Maria quickly walked out of the kitchen holding the pistol whilst Frederick finished Patrick off with hitting him again and again with the crowbar until he was dead and gone. Maria placed the pistol back in the drawer and she took up a lit candle and went upstairs to her bed-chamber.
Frederick stripped Patrick's clothes off him and then tied up his naked body before dragged it to the hole in the floor and pushed the corpse into it. He then poured quick lime over Patrick's body and then took up a shovel and began to throw earth into the hole to fill it up. Frederick then placed the flagstones back into place knowing that nobody would ever find Patrick's body as it was well hidden. He then emptied the pockets of Patrick's coat and among the few items were the keys to his lodgings, which Maria would need to get into the place and steal money. He then bundled Patrick's clothes together as he was going to burn his clothes in the kitchen stove.
Patrick now lay in his grave whilst Frederick drank whisky as he sat in the living room alone and he kept his mind from thinking about murdering Patrick O'Connor, but he was relieved it was no longer a thought to do as the deed was now done. Maria sat on her bed in her bed-chamber in shock that she had pulled a trigger of a pistol and shot Patrick. She had opened the bed-chamber window to let in some fresh air and a moth had entered the bed-chamber and its fragile wings fluttered around the flickering flame of the candle, which she had placed on a small table.
Patrick's friends were all worried when he didn't turn up for work as he was never one to stay away from a day of work and one of his friends went to his lodgings and knocked on his door in Greenway Street, but there was no answer. Another of Patrick's friends arrived at 3 Miniver Place and he spoke to Frederick and Maria and asked if they knew anything about the whereabouts of Patrick O'Connor? He explained he had seen Patrick in the evening and that he had mentioned he was on his way to have supper with Frederick and Maria Manning in Bermondsey, but Maria told Patrick's friend that he didn't arrive for supper yesterday evening.
Maria went to Patrick's lodgings in Greenway Street and used Patrick's street door key to get into his lodgings. She went to his bedroom and opened a drawer where he kept bank notes in a large box and inside were railway shares and she put the large box into a bag she brought wit her. She then opened up a few other drawers and found pocket watches and she put them into the bag before leaving and made her way back to Bermondsey.
Two police constables soon called at 3 Miniver Place to speak to Maria and Frederick Manning about the unexplained disappearance of Patrick O'Connor, but they were not able to give any information to where he could be. He had been invited to have supper with them, but he had failed to arrive and they had only learnt of his disappearance when his friend had visited to ask if they knew the whereabouts of Patrick as he hadn't even arrived in the London Docks for a day of work. The police constables went from 3 Miniver Place, but Frederick knew they would be back again as he and Maria were suspects in Patrick's disappearance.
The money and the railway shares were counted out and then it was divided between Maria and Frederick, who then told her that they must now leave London and go their own separate ways. Frederick could sense danger for them if they remained in London as the police were likely to return to their residence to make a search. They soon quickly packed up their belongings and Maria watched as Frederick walked out of 3 Miniver Place with his share of Patrick's money as there was enough time to get far away from London. Maria picked up two bags of her belongings as she now had to get far away from London and she then stepped outside 3 Miniver Place and pulled the street door closed before making her way to the railway station.
The police decided to search 3 Miniver Place on Friday, 17 August 1849 and two constables were sent to search the house, but there was no answer when they knocked on the street door, so it was prised open. The police constables found nothing in the house to suggest any foul play had happened to Frederick O'Connor, but one of the constables noticed that some the flagstones in the kitchen were not sitting evenly, so they were pulled up and the earth was found to be loose as though it had been disturbed. The earth was then dug out and soon they found the remains of the missing customs officer and he had been brutally murdered by the Mannings.
The newspapers began reporting the murder as The Bermondsey Murder and there was a hue and cry to find Maria and her husband as they were now wanted for murder. Maria was later captured in Edinburgh and then she was brought back to London handcuffed to a police officer. Frederick was also caught on the island of Jersey and he was returned to London under arrest for his part in the brutal murder. They were both questioned by the police and there was enough evidence to charge them with shocking murder of the customs officer. Frederick and Maria were placed in Horsemonger Lane Gaol to await their trial and they had now become an infamous couple with public interest in them and the murder they had committed.
Frederick and Maria began to blame each other for Patrick O'Connor's murder now they both faced being hanged on the gallows. Frederick put the blame on Maria as she was the one who thought of luring Patrick to 3 Miniver Place and then shot him with a pistol. Maria blamed Frederick for the murder as he was the one to hang for it not her as he had plotted to murder Patrick and she had no part of it. He was the one who shot Patrick and then battered him in the kitchen with a ripping chisel before burying the body under the kitchen floor.
On Monday, 15 October 1849, two months after the murder, Maria was sitting on her bed in a cold cell in Horsemonger Lane Gaol after eating some porridge when a turnkey unlocked her cell door and then walked in with his prison keys jangling in his hand.
"You are to be taken now to Newgate Gaol," said the turnkey. "You will then be near to the Old Bailey for your trial."
"My husband will be going as well?" Maria asked.
"He has already been taken there with fourteen prisoners who are all to stand trial in the Old Bailey," replied the turnkey.
Maria got off the bed wearing a black gown and then reached for a black veil to put over her head as another turnkey entered the cell and he handcuffed her wrist and the other handcuff was fastened to his wrist as he would accompany her on the journey to Newgate. He took her out of the cell as they walked on their way to a carriage, which was waiting to take her to Newgate and also travelling in the carriage with her was John Keene, the Governor of Horsemonger Lane Gaol.
Newgate was so filthy that the foul stench made Maria feel sick as she was led through the gaol to a small cell, which had an old wooden table and a hard prison bed. Maria then sat on a chair by the table and closed her eyes for a moment as she was tired of existing as a prisoner as a day seemed longer and a month seemed like an eternity as time seemed to go slow in gaol.
Maria's first night in the cold cell was spent on the bed with a blanket wrapped tightly around her to keep warm and she had her first nightmare of Patrick O'Connor knocking on the door of 3 Minver Place where he had gone to his murder and his cold grave. She awoke from the nightmare relieved it was over, but even her time awake was a nightmare with being in Newgate Gaol. The was the never ending shouting and screaming of the other prisoners and along with the stench of the place it was enough to take anyone to the brink of insanity.
The day when Maria and Frederick were to go on trial had finally arrived ~ Thursday 25 October 1849 and it was a dismal wet day with the rain. Maria awoke early and she had eaten some porridge while seated at the table in her cell. She wore a badly creased black satin dress and then draped a white lace fall cap over her head and put a plaid shawl over her shoulders and she would wear white kid gloves. which had been bought for her by Patrick O'Connor. The stench of Newgate clung to her clothes, but Maria had grown accustomed to the stink of the gaol and she longed for a bath with feeling dirty and grubby.
She was taken into the dock in the Old Bailey and was followed by Frederick, who sat beside her and they ignored each other as they both blamed each other for the murder. The grim faced Governor of Newgate Gaol, William Cole, stood behind them in the dock as their trial began and a stern looking Justice Cresswell was presiding over their trial. There was one witness after another giving evidence with Maria and Frederick remaining silent in the dock and she often looked at the Jury as they heard the damning evidence against her and Frederick. Newspaper journalists sat in the public gallery and they were writing in short hand in a frenzy as every word said in the court room would be reported in the newspapers for people to read.
The trial went on for a long time and then Justice Cresswell decided to adjourn the trial until the next day when there was to be more witnesses called to give evidence. Maria and Frederick were then taken back to Newgate Gaol and both were locked in their cells. That night, Maria awoke from another nightmare about Patrick O'Connor where he appeared at the door of 3 Miniver Place and knocking loudly on the door after being invited to a supper with her and Frederick. He carried in one cold hand the bottle of wine he had brought with him on that fateful night when Maria and Frederick had murder in mind.
The second day of the trial was another long day for Maria and her husband and, when all the witnesses had been called to give evidence, Justice Cresswell then asked for the Jury to decide upon a verdict. The Jury retired and then began a wait for them to reach a verdict. Maria and Frederick were taken from the dock and placed in separate cells in the Old Bailey, but three quarters of an hour later they were brought back into the court and placed in the dock once again as the Jury had reached a verdict.
The foreman of the Jury stood up and told Judge Creswell that all the members of the Jury found Maria and Frederick Manning GUILTY of murdering Patrick O'Connor. The announcement of the verdict made Frederick shake for a moment as he knew this meant that he and Maria would now swing high on the gallows.
Maria then shouted at Justice Cresswell. "I have not had a fair trial! I am innocent!"
"Prisoner at the bar!" Justice Cresswell shouted. "You will remain silent at this time!"
Maria was not to be silenced as she stood up in the dock and then ranted for about ten minutes about being treated cruelly. She was now having the injustice of being found guilty of a murder she did not do and she would not accept the verdict. She would even write a letter to Queen Victoria if need be as she was not going to accept the verdict of guilty. She shouted out in the courtroom that her husband had murdered Patrick O'Connor and she was innocent of the murder.
Justice Cresswell sat and listened to Maria's protests of being innocent, but her protest would do her no good as her fate had been sealed with a verdict of being guilty along with her husband of the murder. Maria eventually sat down in the dock when she finally fell silent with her endless shouting in the court room. Justice Cresswell had remained quiet while she had ranted in the dock, but now with the peace restored, he put on a black cap as it was time to pass sentence on them both.
"Prisoners at the bar, stand up!" Judge Cresswell loudly as waited as both got to their feet. "Frederick George Manning and Maria Manning, you have been severally convicted of the crime of wilful murder!"
Maria interrupted him, shouting loudly. "I have not, Sir! I will not stand here!" She then made an attempt to leave the dock protesting her innocence once again and Governor Cope of Newgate Gaol stood in her way to prevent her walking out the dock.
"You have to be quiet as sentence has to be passed on you and your husband! I beseech you to be quiet as protesting will do you no good," said Governor Cope. "You must be quiet!"
"I want to leave this dock as I am not going to stand here and have injustice done to me!" she shouted, "I am not guilty of murder!"
"Prisoner at the bar, I have heard enough of your protesting in this court room. I have listened to what you have had to say and I've allowed you that time to speak," shouted Justice Cresswell. "You will remain silent while sentence is handed down! I will not tolerate this behaviour in this court room, so you are to be quiet!"
Maria glared at Justice Cresswell with fury in her eyes, but she was now silent as she stood in the dock next to Frederick, who had kept a dignified silence throughout her protests as he knew the guilty verdict and the black cap on Justice Creswell's head was that their fate was sealed to be executed.
Justice Cresswell then began the sentencing of the prisoners once again. "Frederick George Manning and Maria Manning, you have been severally convicted of the crime of wilful murder! It now remains for me to pass the dreadful sentence of the law. You are to be taken from hence to the place from whence you came and from thence to a place of execution and there be hanged by the neck until you be dead and may the Lord have mercy upon your souls!"
There was a custom in the Old Bailey for rye to be strewn on a bench in front of the prisoners in the dock. In May 1750, many of the Old Bailey judges died after catching the dreaded gaol fever from the filthy prisoners of Newgate put before them on trial, so rye was always placed in the dock as it was thought to ward off gaol fever. Maria grasped the rye with both hands and flung it towards the barristers in the court room and shouted, "Bastards! You are all bastards!"
She was taken out of the dock shouting loudly and then her husband followed behind her as they were taken to the cells in the Old Bailey where they would wait to be returned to Newgate Gaol with the other prisoners, who were also placed on trial that day. Maria fell silent when those in the court could no longer hear her protests and she sat in a cell weeping with the dreadful thought of being hanged publicly on the gallows.
Maria and Frederick on being returned to Newgate were taken to their cells after a long day of being in the Old Bailey. Robert Trent, one of the most disliked of the Newgate turnkeys, took Maria to her cell and he was known to taunt prisoners and rile them up with being sarcastic. His prison keys jangled as he placed a key into the cell door lock and turned the key. He hen walked into the cell and stood by the open door as Maria walked into the cell and walked to the bed to sit upon it.
"Don't get too comfortable in here, Misses Manning," said Trent, sarcastically. "You will be taken to Horsemonger Lane Gaol later this evening as that's where you will be hanged by your neck."
"You seem excited about it," she replied, turning towards him with a look of disgust.
"Well, what do you want me to be?" Trent asked, "weeping with sadness?"
"You are a horrible cruel man!" retorted Maria, giving him a look of disgust. "You sicken me!"
"You call me cruel! The word is more about you than me. Your the one who murdered a man to steal his money and you sicken everyone ... Hell is where you will end up!" said Trent as he then walked out of the cell and the cell door was slammed shut and then locked.
Maria sat on the bed and took off her white lace fall cap and her white kid gloves and placed them on the bed and she remembered the day they had been bought for her by Patrick O'Connor as he had always been happy to spend money to buy her gifts. It was ironic that Patrick O'Connor had bought them for her in happier times and she had ended up wearing them at her trial for his murder. Maria was exhausted after two long days in the Old Bailey and her time in gaol was taking its toll on her. She lay on the bed and fell into a sleep and for once her sleep was not troubled with a nightmare about Patrick O'Connor.
Awhile later, Maria was woken up by the grating sound of metal against metal as a turnkey was unlocking her door with one of his keys and she sat up as as a stout looking turnkey opened the cell door and he walked into the cell and stood by the open door. Then two other turnkeys walked in carrying handcuffs and she knew the time had come for her to be taken to Horsemonger Lane Gaol. Maria stood up from the bed and went over to a small table where her black veil was neatly folded on top of it. She then placed the veil over her head to hide her face and she appeared more like a grieving widow than a cold blooded murderess as she stood wearing the black veil and the black satin dress she had worn to the Old Bailey.
Her left and right wrists were handcuffed to the wrist of each turnkey so the three of them were joined by handcuffs, so there was no possibility of any escape. Maria was then taken outside to the Press Yard where there were two carriages to take her and Frederick to Horsemonger Lane Gaol. Maria got in one carriage with the turnkeys handcuffed each side of her and then the carriage gave a sudden jolt as the carriage began to move on its way through the gates of Newgate Gaol.
The two carriages made their way across Southwark Bridge with the prisoners seated between two grim faced turnkeys. The gallows at Horsemonger Lane Gaol was situated high on the roof, so executions could be seen by many people and the sight of people hanging on the gallows would make people think twice before committing a crime that was punishable with swinging on the gallows.
On arrival at Horsemonger Lane Gaol, Maria and Frederick looked at each other as they were brought out of the carriages in handcuffs. They didn't acknowledge one another as each of them had no concern for the other and they were taken to their cells in the prison to await the day that they would both be hanged. Once locked in her cell, Maria sank to the floor in despair and her black satin gown billowed out around her and both her hands covered her face as she became tearful.
A few days later, Maria was in her cell and was on her knees praying for God to be merciful and spare her soul from the damnation of Hell. She was full of remorse as she wished that she had never shot Patrick as her life had been a misery ever since she had been arrested in Edinburgh and brought back to London. While she was praying, she heard the cell door being unlocked and she got to her feet quickly as a turnkey named William Slack walked into her cell. She remembered him from the time she had first been sent to Horsemonger Lane Gaol after being charged with murder. William Slack often liked to make nasty sarcastic remarks to the prisoners and he had no compassion for anyone. He carried with him a wooden tray and on it was a bowl of thick porridge with a spoon, a thick stale slice of bread and a tankard of water, which he placed down on a small table in the cell.
"I am sure you'll enjoy this muck!" said Slack, looking at the thick porridge and the bread. "If you don't choke on it then one thing for sure you'll be choking on a rope" He then laughed.
"Why don't you go and talk to someone who wants to listen to you?" Maria retorted. "I hope one day you'll choke on something!"
"Your husband is something of a poet," said Slack with sarcasm, taking hold of a folded newspaper that was poking out of the pocket of his black coat. "It's a shame that someone who can write good poetry will be hanged ... Such a shame indeed!"
Maria frowned. "What poetry has my husband done?"
"Read for yourself as you might be impressed," replied Slack, putting the newspaper down on the table and he then walked towards the cell door. "You might enjoy reading what everyone thinks of you too." He then walked out and slammed the iron door closed.
Maria then went to sit on the chair by the table and she began to turn the pages of the newspaper as she wondered what the turnkey meant that her husband was a poet? Then Maria saw a newspaper report with the heading THE BERMONDSEY MURDER and it mentioned her as a "wretched and wicked woman" and then it mentioned her husband while in Newgate Gaol had written a poem the day before their trial entitled THE PRISON BELL. and the newspaper had printed the poem:
I heard the toll
Of the great Newgate bell
I said a soul
Has gone to Heaven or Hell
Frederick G Manning
Newgate Gaol, October 24 1849
Frederick's poem sent a shiver through her and she read the rest of the newspaper report about them both. It mentioned that Frederick believed her to be an Atheist and that after death she believed a person became nothing more than a lump of clay! It mentioned that he believed the soul was destined for either Heaven of Hell once death had taken place in this world. She was incensed that he called he believed she had no faith as she had often prayed to God many times. It seemed Fredrick was trying to make himself the better person out of the two of them as he had a faith and she didn't even have one.
Frederick had requested to be allowed to speak to Maria as he wanted them to be reconciled as husband and wife before they were hanged together. He asked many times to see her, but Maria refused to speak to him until he confessed that she had nothing to do with the murder of Patrick O'Connor as she believed it would help save her from the gallows, but Frederick would not confess to what wasn't true as she had pulled the trigger of the pistol and shot her lover. He was not going to take all the blame for the murder as she was as guilty as he was for murdering Patrick O'Connor, but she was trying her best to be the innocent one.
The day when they were to be hanged was to take place on Tuesday, 13 November 1849, and it would be carried out by the hangman, William Calcraft, who had executed many infamous murders and Maria and Frederick would be the next to join the list of those who had been hanged by him.
The day before the execution was a day of praying and a day to reflect on life for both Maria and her husband in their cells and also pray for their souls. They both were going to the gallows with remorse for what they had done and the dislike for each other was now pointless as it served no purpose as they would soon be gone from this world. People were already gathering outside the gaol as the wanted a good view of the double hanging as they had read many times about the Mannings and the murder of Patrick O'Connor in the newspapers.
A well dressed man with a cane jostled his way through the crowds of people outside Horsemonger Lane Gaol and was shocked to see them all drunk, laughing and singing songs. The man was the famous novelist, Charles Dickens, who had read about the Mannings in the newspaper. He was shocked by the bad behaviour of the people as he regarded them as nothing more than ruffians. He even listened with disgust as the crowd all sang loudly the American folk song "Oh! Susanna", but they sang "Misses Manning" instead of singing "Susanna" in the lyrics of the song.
The mass of people who were gathering outside the gaol were from all walks of life such as soldiers, sailors, prostitutes and there were pickpockets mingling in the crowd of people and many women were fainting and carried off by the police. There were Punch and Judy shows as part of the entertainment, fortune tellers set up booths for those wanting to know what fate had in store for them and there were stalls selling pies, cakes and puddings. Charles Dickens often witnessed drunken fights breaking out in the crowd and even beggars made their way through the crowd begging for money, but getting very little. Dickens was also dismayed that even small children had been brought with their parents to see the Mannings swing on the gallows.
Maria had a sleepless night and she could not find any sleep with knowing it was her last night in this world and she spent much of the night praying every so often in her candlelit cell. She regretted having refused to speak to Frederick as she had treated him badly, but it was now too late to accept his request and she knew they would only see each other briefly one last time on the gallows.
A mass of around 50,000 people had travelled to Horsemonger Lane Gaol to see Frederick and Maria Manning being hanged for the murder of Patrick O'Connor on that cold November day. A few minutes before nine o'clock in the morning, the prison bell began to toll and the people kept looking at the gallows as the bell tolling meant the hanging was about to take place. The gallows up high under a grey sky was a doleful sight, but the people were happy that there had been no rain to soak them and they all pushed and shoved to get a better view of the gallows once they heard the mournful ringing of the prison bell.
Among the onlookers was a thirty year old American author, Herman Melville, who was from New York. He was staying in London to secure a publisher for his novel entitled White Jacket and was residing at 25, Craven Street, near Trafalgar Square, in Westminster. He had read a lot about the Mannings in the newspaper and had made the journey to Horsemonger Lane Gaol in the early morning to see the hanging of the infamous couple. He had paid the owner of a house half a crown to stand on the roof of the house to have a good view of Frederick and Maria Manning being hanged.
The hangman, William Calcraft, was the first to appear on the roof of the gaol wearing a black suit and he was followed by the prison chaplain, William Roe, who was reading out loud a psalm from the open Bible in his hands. Frederick walked behind the chaplain with his head bowed and he wore a black suit and he appeared pale faced. Then behind him appeared Maria wearing her black satin dress and she hid her face from the onlookers as she wore her black veil.
Maria stood next to her husband and could see that Frederick was trembling and tears runnng down his face. "Freddy, be brave," she said, turning to look at him and she took hold of his hand. "It will be over for us quickly!"
"We deserve to be on the gallows," replied Frederick. "We shouldn't have murdered Patrick O'Connor!"
Frederick kept his head bowed as Calcraft walked behind him and pulled Frederick's arms so his hands were behind him and then started to tie his wrists together with rope. He then stepped behind Maria and he bound her hands together with rope. Calcraft walked with them to the gallows and they stood on the trap doors of the gallows. The hangman then placed a small cloth sack over their heads to hide their faces and then put the rope around their necks. He then walked away from the gallows whilst prison chaplain remained standing between Maria and Frederick as he read to them from the Bible. When he had finished, the chaplain made the sign of the cross with his hand and then walked away from the gallows.
Then came the loud slam of the drop as the tap doors opened and the two fell through the gallows and the rope pulled tight as the two were suspended and the tolling of the gaol bell had now stopped. Frederick kicked his legs a lot and then he soon became motionless as he swung on the gallows, but the struggling of Maria lasted a little longer before her struggle was finally over. Thousands of people looked in silence at the gallows where justice was finally done. The people soon began to leave whilst others waited the a full hour as they wanted to see the two corpses taken off the gallows.
Suddenly there was a brilliant white light which surrounded Maria Manning and she found herself in a different place from the gallows on the roof of Horsemonger Lane Gaol and the light shone brightly all around her. She then realized that her soul had gone from the gallows and she was beyond any suffering and there was a sense of finding peace. She could see someone walking towards her and she waited until they got closer to find out who it could be as the light was so bright. Then she recognized the person as it was Patrick O'Connor and he greeted her with a smile.
"Maria, you must now come with me," he said. "We have a journey to make."
"Where is Freddy" She asked. "Where is he?"
"Frederick has been here and gone as his soul has to go on a journey and now it's for us to make our journey," said Patrick. "We will live again in a different time and place ... The gallows was the ending of Maria Manning, but in the next life you will play out the life of a different person as the soul never dies."
"You waited for me?" she asked. "When I murdered you?"
"You murdered Patrick O'Connor, but not my soul, Maria," he said. "I will live another life and in the next life we will never know we lived before ... We have to forget the past life and live the next one, but I wanted to see you once again for one last time before we go to the next life."
"I believed I had damned my soul to Hell for what I did, but I regretted what happened ... I prayed many times to be forgiven."
"After I was murdered, you went to your bed-chamber and my soul was with you. Do you remember seeing the moth and the candle?" asked Patrick.
"Yes, I do remember it," said Maria. "There was a moth flying around a burning candle."
"The moth like any other moth was attracted to the light of the flame, but what a moth doesn't understand is what it deems attractive could make it perish ... You were like the burning flame of a candle to me and I was a moth to the flame as I perished, but what is beautiful can oftentimes be dangerous."
"You have forgiven me for what I did to you?"
Patrick nodded. "I have forgiven you for what happened and that is why I waited for your soul."
"Will I see you again in the next life?" asked Maria.
Patrick shook his head. "The time and place we go to are likely to be different, so we will not see each other again." Patrick said, holding out his hand to her. "Now, we have to go from here as we have a journey to make, so let us make haste and be on our way."
She took hold of his hand and then she leaned towards him to kiss him on the cheek and they both smiled at one another. Then they began to walk hand in hand into the brightness of the light until they had disappeared as their souls began the journey into eternal life as their ending in one life was always to be the beginning of another one.
This story has not been rated yet. Login to review this story.