The role of the chaplain

Certainly by the 16th century it was normal for the church to play a part in executions. It was the practice, at least from the 18th century, that when a person was sentenced to death, the judge would finish the sentence with the words, "May the Lord have mercy upon your soul" to which the chaplain would add "Amen". Whereas the prison doctor looked after the prisoners physical health it was for the chaplain to look after their spiritual health and prepare them to meet their Maker. Confession and repentance was seen as vitally important for their spiritual well being in the next world, as they could still go to Heaven if they genuinely repented. The prison chaplain would spend time ministering to the person’s spiritual needs in the condemned cell and trying to extract a confession. Sometimes the chaplain would make persistent efforts to obtain a confession right up to the last moment.

In the centre of the chapel in Newgate was the Condemned Pew, a large black painted enclosure with seats for the prisoners, just in front of the pulpit. On the Sunday preceding their execution, prisoners under sentence of death had to endure the "Condemned Sermon” and hear the burial service read to them. Wealthy visitors could come and attend this service. Several Lords were present at the service held in 1840 for Francis Courvoisier, a Swiss valet, who had murdered his employer, Lord William Russell. It is unclear when this practice died out. Religious tracts were often given to prisoners by well meaning people in the 19 th century.

Old drawings of 19th and early 20th century executions often show a robed chaplain reading from a prayer book. They would read the words of the burial service during the procession to the gallows and continue to pray with the prisoner(s) until the drop fell.

In the 20th century, the prisoner could request a minister of their own religion to visit them in the condemned cell and pray with them and also to be present at the execution. The priest’s were often the only words spoken during a modern private British hanging. The executioner and officials typically said nothing at all on the gallows and the prisoner was not invited to speak. Up till the 1950's, the Anglican church largely supported capital punishment and saw a role for themselves in the administration of it. It was not unusual for the prisoner to take up religion in their last weeks on this earth and it is probable that many prisoners valued the support of a priest through their ordeal, as someone who was "on their side". Charlotte Bryant was said to be much comforted by the ministrations of Father Barney during her period in Exeter's condemned cell in 1936. Some prisoners asked for a cross to be placed in the execution chamber where they could see it. Mrs. Stylou Christofi asked for one when she was hanged at Holloway in 1954 and this was still present the following year when Ruth Ellis was executed, along with the one she had requested.