Richard Thomas Parker (1834 - 10 August 1864) was an English murderer who was the last person to be publicly executed in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...

Life

He was christened in

Thurgarton Thurgarton is a small village in rural Nottinghamshire, England. The village is close to Southwell, and Newark-on-Trent and still within commuting distance to Nottingham. It is served by Thurgarton railway station. According to the 2001 cens ...

on 26 October 1834. Richard Thomas Parker of Fiskerton, a butcher, was publicly declared bankrupt in November, 1862 at Newark. After a drunken row with Samuel Parker, his father, at their home in Fiskerton in Nottinghamshire, Parker shot his father and his mother, Elizabeth Parker, formerly Miss Tutbury. Parker's father survived, but his mother lingered on for several weeks and died on 16 May 1864 . Parker was tried at

Nottingham Crown Court Nottingham Crown Court, or more formally the High Court of Justice and Crown Court, Nottingham is a Crown Court and meeting place of the High Court of Justice on Canal Street in Nottingham, England. The building also accommodates the County Cou ...

sitting at Shire Hall, Nottingham starting on Monday 25 July 1864, in front of Mr Justice Blackburn. He was found guilty of wilful murder by the jury.Nottinghamshire Guardian - Friday 12 August 1864 He was condemned to death. His execution was held publicly on the steps of the Shire Hall.

Richard Charles Sutton Richard Charles Sutton was an architect based in Nottingham. He was born 1834 and died on 18 October 1915. He was a member of Nottingham City Council from 1887 to 1901. Career He was articled to Samuel Sanders Teulon and commenced independent p ...

, a local architect, was charged with the scaffold arrangements. A large crowd estimated at 10,000 gathered on High Pavement to watch the execution. The scaffold was surrounded by boarding 4 feet high to prevent the public seeing the prisoner after the drop. The acting under-sheriff Mr JT Brewster, the chaplain, Reverend W Howard, the prisoner and the hangman appeared on the scaffold at 8:00 am. As the chaplain uttered the words "In the midst of life we are in death" the bolt was drawn and Parker hung. After hanging on the gallows for an hour, the body was cut down and buried.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parker, Richard Thomas 1834 births 1864 deaths 19th-century English criminals Executed people from Nottinghamshire 19th-century executions by England and Wales 1864 murders in the United Kingdom Matricides