Execution of the Mannings
Title
Execution of the Mannings
Synopsis
Marie Manning (1821–13 November 1849) was a Swiss domestic servant who was hanged outside Horsemonger Lane Gaol, London, England, on 13 November 1849, after she and her husband Frederick were convicted of the murder of her lover, Patrick O'Connor, in the case that became known as the "Bermondsey Horror." It was the first time a husband and wife had been executed together in England since 1700.
Digital Object
Image notice
Full size images of all ballad sheets available at the bottom of this page.
Image / Audio Credit
Set to tune of...
Lord Exmouth
Transcription
Sad was the awful moments,
And dreadful was the sight,
Upon last Tuesday morning,
To Manning and his wife.
When thousands did assemble,
That spectacle to see,
A man and wife suspended,
Upon the fatal tree.
CHORUS
What thousands did assemble,
Around that fatal tree,
The murderers of O'Connor,
That fatal morn to see.
Thousands from every quarter,
Before the break of day,
Towards Horsemonger's dreary gaol,
So swift did bend their way.
Frederick Manning and his wife,
One moment to behold,
Upon the fatal platform
How dreadful to unfold.
Just at the fatal moment,
The hour of eight o'clock,
Frederick Manning and his wife,
Appeared upon the drop.
The minister repeating,
May God receive your souls.
In the midst of life we are in death,
Then awful was the fall.
What numbers congregated,
That horrid sight to see,
Fred[erick] and Maria Manning,
Launched into eternity
In youth, in health and vigour
But nothing could them save,
And now they lie together,
Mouldering in the silent grave.
Manning in his dying moments,
Declared it was his wife,
Who planned O'Connor's murder
And took away his life.
It was her who with the pistol,
Her friend betrayed and shot,
When he her husband was not nigh
The sure and fatal shot.
Their heavenly Judge all secrets knows,
And marks what each does say,
And he will tell them to account,
Upon the judgement day.
May one all both great and small,
By their unhappy fate,
Consider and take warning,
Before it is too late.
And dreadful was the sight,
Upon last Tuesday morning,
To Manning and his wife.
When thousands did assemble,
That spectacle to see,
A man and wife suspended,
Upon the fatal tree.
CHORUS
What thousands did assemble,
Around that fatal tree,
The murderers of O'Connor,
That fatal morn to see.
Thousands from every quarter,
Before the break of day,
Towards Horsemonger's dreary gaol,
So swift did bend their way.
Frederick Manning and his wife,
One moment to behold,
Upon the fatal platform
How dreadful to unfold.
Just at the fatal moment,
The hour of eight o'clock,
Frederick Manning and his wife,
Appeared upon the drop.
The minister repeating,
May God receive your souls.
In the midst of life we are in death,
Then awful was the fall.
What numbers congregated,
That horrid sight to see,
Fred[erick] and Maria Manning,
Launched into eternity
In youth, in health and vigour
But nothing could them save,
And now they lie together,
Mouldering in the silent grave.
Manning in his dying moments,
Declared it was his wife,
Who planned O'Connor's murder
And took away his life.
It was her who with the pistol,
Her friend betrayed and shot,
When he her husband was not nigh
The sure and fatal shot.
Their heavenly Judge all secrets knows,
And marks what each does say,
And he will tell them to account,
Upon the judgement day.
May one all both great and small,
By their unhappy fate,
Consider and take warning,
Before it is too late.
Composer of Ballad
anon
Method of Punishment
hanging
Crime(s)
murder
Date
Execution Location
Horsemonger Lane Gaol, London
Notes
Prose on pamphlet, including quotes from letters by both
Files
Collection
Citation
“Execution of the Mannings,” Execution Ballads, accessed December 22, 2024, https://omeka.cloud.unimelb.edu.au/execution-ballads/items/show/1136.