William Palmer

the infamous Rugeley Poisoner
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  • Home
  • Family
    • Parents
    • Brothers and Sisters
    • Annie Thornton – wife of William Palmer
    • Palmer’s five children
    • The Palmer family Vault
  • Background
    • Childhood
    • Employment
    • Palmer the Doctor
    • The Races & Palmer’s horses
    • The Gambler
    • Mounting Debts
    • Extracts from Palmer’s diary
    • Blackmailed?
    • Rugeley as depicted in the newspapers
  • Deaths
    • 1846. Was George Abley the first victim?
    • Leonard Bladen – died in Palmer’s house in 1850
    • Bly from Beccles
    • The Cross Keys Mystery
    • His Mother in Law – alcohol or poison?
    • Four of five Children – poison from his fingers?
    • Uncle Joseph (Bentley) – Died after drinking with Palmer!
    • Deaths of Other Children – Palmer Suspected
    • His wife Annie, natural causes, suicide or poison?
    • Brother Walter
    • A narrow escape for George Bates?
    • Eliza Tharme the Maid-servant – and her illegitimate son
    • A Manx Murder and a Ghostly Carriage
  • Crime
    • John Parsons Cook – the crime for which William Palmer was hanged
    • John Cook’s stepfather Mr. William Stevens
    • Post-mortems and inquest verdict on Cook
    • Cook’s grave in Rugeley
    • Crimes not Murder
  • Arrest
    • Did the Press convict Palmer before his trial?
    • His Demeanour – the calm poisoner
  • Trial
    • The ‘Palmer Act’ allows trial to be in London
    • The Trial of the Century
    • The three Judges selected for the Palmer Trial
    • The Prosecution: Counsel for the Crown
    • The Defence Team: Counsel for the Prisoner
    • Reasons for doubting the safety of the verdict
    • In the Witness Box
    • Jere Smith’s poor performance in the witness box harmed Palmer’s case
    • Medical evidence – did Cook die from strychnine?
    • The Verdict
    • The Sentance – Palmer’s fate is sealed
    • How the trial differed from trials today
  • Execution
    • Details of the execution – the crowd, the scene, the drop!
    • William Palmer’s final words
    • Palmer’s executioner – George Smith, the Dudley hangman
    • The Death Mask – a gruesome artefact
    • William Palmer’s final resting place
    • Stafford Hangings – others who faced the drop
  • Miscellany
    • Further study – where to look for more information
    • Key Dates
    • Madame Tussaud’s
    • Rugeley’s name – famous for the wrong reasons
    • Teaching Resources
    • Some of the memorabilia linked with Palmer

Background

A range of circumstances contributed to making William Palmer the man that he was. This section of the site highlights some of the major background events and details preceding his trial, conviction and eventual execution.

  • Blackmailed?
  • Childhood
  • Employment
  • Extracts from Palmer’s diary
  • Mounting Debts
  • Palmer the Doctor
  • Rugeley as depicted in the newspapers
  • The Gambler
  • The Races & Palmer’s horses
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