Triple Gallows at Newgate: The Shocking Crimes Behind the 1896 Hanging | Scotland Yard Casebook
News of the Times | Episode 573| 1896
In June 1896, a grim crowd gathered outside Newgate Prison for a rare and chilling spectacle: three men hanged side by side, their fates sealed by two of the most brutal murder cases in Victorian London.

This episode dives deep into the shocking crimes that led to that triple execution:

🗝️ Muswell Hill: The savage killing of 79-year-old Henry Smith, a reclusive engineer who wired his garden with explosives and dined at ten.
🔨 Turner Street, Whitechapel: A violent rooftop escape, a double murder, and a criminal so brazen he nearly flattened a child in his flight from justice.

From ingenious burglar alarms and dark lanterns to courtroom betrayals and rooftop plunges, we follow Scotland Yard’s relentless pursuit across counties — and through some of the bloodiest pages of the 1890s press.

📜 Featuring rare newspaper sources, forensics from the dawn of modern policing, and a finale worthy of a gothic novel — this is Victorian crime as you’ve never heard it.

🎩 FURTHER PARTICULARS
Also in this episode:
A retired greengrocer seeks peace, quiet, and boiled vegetables.
Instead, he gets a pawned shawl, a hostage chair, and a surprise marriage proposal.

He came for lodgings. She came for commitment.
Someone’s not getting their sideboard back.

📚 Subscribe for three new historical crime stories every week — or join us on Patreon for ad-free access to hundreds more:
👉 https://www.patreon.com/newsofthetimes

👤 Narrated by Robin Coles

📅 New episodes: Monday, Wednesday & Friday

📚 Related cases from the archive:
1896: Amelia Dyer - The Ogress of Reading |  Ep93
https://youtu.be/-jYmy7tyowc

❤️ Support Independent History  
If you enjoy our ad-free, archive-based storytelling, help us keep the lantern lit:  

👉 **Patreon** – Full archive, early access, bonus compilations (and it keeps us independent):  
https://www.patreon.com/NewsOfTheTimesHistoricalCrime  

☕ Prefer a one-off thank-you? We LOVE a posh coffee indulgence! We tip our top hats:  
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/newsofthetd

🕯 About the Channel  
We’re an independent team of historical researchers and narrators specialising in 18th to early 20th century British true crime. Each episode is based entirely on archival material — from coroners’ in

 Hear about our ad-free archive on Patreon – 650+ episodes and counting! 🎩 https://www.patreon.com/c/NewsoftheTimesHistoricalCrime

 Fancy a chuckle between corpses? Discover our first lovingly illustrated volume of wildly unreliable memoirs. 

Grab it here: https://ko-fi.com/s/b406f6f11e

 Support us on Patreon for ad-free early access and exclusive bonus episodes. 

https://www.patreon.com/c/NewsoftheTimesHistoricalCrime

Support the show

Thanks for listening! You can also connect with us on
Our YouTube Channel: | https://www.youtube.com/@newsofthetimes
Our Facebook Page: | https://www.facebook.com/News-of-the-Times-101108282697405
Have a question or comment? Get in touch with us at [email protected]
If you would like to donate, we love coffee! Warmly appreciated :-) | https://www.buymeacoffee.com/newsofthetd