THE BRUTAL EXECUTION OF THOMAS WYRE - FOR THE HORRIBLE MURDER OF HIS SON.
30 year old Thomas Wyre, a labourer at Kingsford farm was hanged at Worcester Gaol on the 18th of July 1888 for the murder of his four year old son whom he had thrown down a well on the 3rd of March 1888.
Wyre was married and the couple had two children, the family living in one of the two Bird’s Farm Cottages, at Wolverly near Kidderminster in Worcestershire. The marriage was disintegrating and things came to a head on the 3rd of March, when Mrs.
Wyre said she was moving out, taking the older child, an eight year old girl, with her and leaving four year old James with Wyre. Wyre told her that would take James to live with his parents, but sadly this was not the case.
James’ body, by now seriously decomposed, was discovered in a well at Castle Hill farm, on the 2nd of June 1888.
George Lock, who was a tree feller was doing some work on the property and had become thirsty. He went to the well to draw some water but found that it been covered over. Lock and his colleague, a Mr. Bishop, uncovered the well but when they looked down into it, they could see a small body floating in it.
They reported this to the farm’s owner, Mr. Henry Field who fetched local constable, PC Edwards. The men were able to recover the body, which was later examined by a surgeon. The post-mortem revealed the cause of death as drowning and estimated the time of death as being two months previously.
Some of James’ clothing had remained intact and thus the corpse was able to be identified. Wyre was arrested on the 4th of June at Mamble near Tenbury. He stood trial before Mr. Justice Denman at Worcestershire Assizes on the 31st of June.
The Bromsgrove and Droitwich Messenger tells us that “there was no direct evidence against Wyre but the circumstantial evidence was irresistible.” About a mile from Wyre’s cottage was High Wood Cottage also belonging to Caste Hill Farm, in which Mr. James Davis was living in.
Wyre had previously lived here and was aware of the well. To prevent accidents Mr. Davis had covered the well with a stable door, some other timber and an old boiler which had been turned upside down.
Wyre was convicted and returned to Worcester Gaol, having confessed the murder to his solicitor.
The gallows at Worcester was set up in the treadwheel house in one of the prison’s yards. It comprised a heavy cross beam resting at one end on a socket on the wall, with the other end supported by an upright fitting into a floor socket.
This was the same arrangement used for the execution of Moses Shrimpton three years earlier on the 25th of May 1885. It was some 80 yards from the condemned cell.
Wyre was hanged by James Berry at 8.00 a.m. on Wednesday the 18th of July 1888. The prison chaplain, the Rev. H. Telfer accompanied Wyre to the gallows and as he was reciting the words “Man that is born of woman” Berry operated the lever.
Wyre weighed 154 lbs. so Berry set a drop of six feet and death was recorded as “instantaneous”. Wyre had an extensive criminal record dating back to 1874 and had served several terms of imprisonment.
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