The grisly evidence of the hangman's trade
IN the 18th century, West Sussex had some notorious highwaymen. Local historian Chris Hare describes their dastardly deeds and the evidence of where they met their brutal ends.
One Sunday in April 1771, the people of Burpham and the surrounding hamlets gathered on a remote downland clearing to see one of their own elevated to a position of prominence.
A local man by the name of Jack Upperton was paying the ultimate penalty for his criminal ways. Having been convicted of highway robbery, Jack had been han ged at Horsham and now his body, welded into chains, was raised up on the gibbet pole, where it would act as a grisly warning tol anyone contemplating a life of crime.
For full story see West Sussex Gazette May 23