''There are obvious inconsistencies between this article and James Botting, see

talk page MediaWiki is a Free and open-source software, free and open-source wiki software. It is used on Wikipedia and almost all other Wikimedia movement, Wikimedia Website, websites, including Wiktionary, Wikimedia Commons and Wikidata; these sit ...

'' John Foxton (also John or James Foxen or Foxon) (c. 1769 – 14 February 1829) was an English hangman during the early 19th century. In 1818, at the age of about 50 years, Foxton became the hangman at

Newgate Prison Newgate Prison was a prison at the corner of Newgate Street and Old Bailey Street just inside the City of London, England, originally at the site of Newgate, a gate in the Roman London Wall. Built in the 12th century and demolished in 1904, t ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

.H. Bleakley, ''The Hangmen of England'' Chapman and Hall, Ltd (1929) (Reprinted 1976)
oogle Books Before that, he had assisted his predecessor in that post, James Botting. Foxton hanged 206 men and 6 women over the next 11 years. His most celebrated hanging was of the five Cato Street Conspirators on 1 May 1820, assisting Botting. They had been convicted of conspiring to murder several members of the

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

. They were the last to suffer hanging and beheading in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

. They were here assisted by Thomas Cheshire and a further helper who cut off the traitors' heads. Another of his notable hangings was

John Thurtell John Thurtell (21 December 1794 – 9 January 1824) was an English sports promoter, amateur boxer, Royal Marine officer and convicted murderer. Early life Thurtell was the eldest son of Thomas Thurtell, who later served as Mayor of Norwich in 182 ...

. On 13 May 1828, while living at 19 Booth Street in

Hoxton Hoxton is an area in the London Borough of Hackney, England. As a part of Shoreditch, it is often considered to be part of the East End – the historic core of wider East London. It was historically in the county of Middlesex until 1889. I ...

, Foxton petitioned the Court of Aldermen for a pension. He claimed weakness in his lungs from having performed his duties in foul weather, and was bedridden. Being illiterate, he signed the petition with an ''X''. Three months after his petition, Foxton was well enough to hang William Corder in

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

. Foxton claimed Corder's trousers and stockings by right. Foxton's last notable

hanging Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging i ...

was that of

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

Joseph Hunton, who was convicted of forgery after a trial at the

Old Bailey The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey after the street on which it stands, is a criminal court building in central London, one of several that house the Crown Court of England and Wales. The s ...

. Foxton executed Hunton, along with three others, in December 1828. Upon his death in 1829, Foxton's former assistant William Calcraft, succeeded Foxton as Newgate Prison's hangman.Thomas Hardy and The Hanging of Martha Brown(e)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Foxton, John 18th-century births 1829 deaths English executioners Year of birth unknown