Star.
London, England, 1823-01-25 00:00:00

CONFESSIONS OF A MOST
OFTEM)EF

' IVOititlOrt S
;R.. .
•

Ourßeaders cannot fail to recollect, dhlitiellotg
the-last gang of unhappy 'criminals who eoileted
their offences with their lives, at the Old Bailey•overe
two young•men named Frank Par Von: and•
Corbett alias Watson. These persons, it may also be
remembered, were convicted of a borglary, and steal-
ing to a large amount in money, at the Blue Anchor
public-house, kept by a man warned Crawley, eie
Blue Anchor-yard, Rosemary-lane, a house which
had formerly been a notorious flash-house, or place
frequented .by. thieves ; and where these- men, and
some others, succeeded in carrying off the whole sum
which the publican had set apart for the-payment 4'41
his brewer the next day. In the accounts
.given in
the newspapers of the execution .of these guilty men,
it was stated, and truly so, that Purdom to the last;
denied being in any way concerned in Crawleysi
robbery, though he had been in the public-house se-
veral times in the course of the Sunday evening on
which it was perpetrated. It was also at the same''
time stated, that he confessed to the Sheriffs, that
" lie had been a very bad fellow," and that he de-
served to die by the hand of the executioner, though
not for the specific offence. of which he had been
found guilty. How truly his over-burdened and
self-condemning conscience might force him to admit
that to have been his desert, will best appear from
the following minutes of his Confession, taken down
from his own lips by one of the Wardsmen who SAC
up with him, and his unhappy partners in iniquity,
the night previous to their execution. We lay before
our Readers this narrative in the writer's own
phraseology, simply adding a few observations to
elucidate some parts.of it which appear obscure, or
but darkly hinted at :

A ?RUE COPY OF THE CONFESSION OF PRANK PURDOII AND WILLIAM
CORBETT, WHICH TOOK PLACE 7AII NIGHT PREVIOUS TO
_EXECUTION.

" 1 remained in the cell, No. t, with the above-mentioned
men and' John Roberts—who was executed with them, for a
highway robbery on Tower-hill. When We (the narrator and
his brother ~damn) first entered the cell, W. Carbett made
use of the hortible expression,.' may his soul never enter the
Kingdom of Heaven; if PurdOtn and his brother Joseph(Coiteft)
were not totally innocent..—PUrdoti, in 'answer • to that, said,
If he (William Corbett) Ilad stated that at the time of the trial,
they should have been acquitted; but he would not dolt, but
endeavoured to hang him (l,'_urdorn) and save himself.' Portions
then said, if he was executed, he should be murdered; not Ind
that he deserved hanging twelve years ago.' Ile then went on
to state, that he had been guilty of every crime imaginable, even
murder! He then • said, that the woman with whom he lived
was not his wife, but the wife u( hiscousin; and that by Purdom
she had three children, one of-which three, the elder, is now
living. The youngest is since dead, during the father's confine-
ment in the cells; but as to the second child, the death of that
lays at his bands I •
" Ile then went on to state as fellows :—That when the child
was about four months old,
.he was oblige'd to conceal himself
for having nearly killed a mat's whom he had robbed ; and during
his confinement at home, he most cruelly beat the woman above
spoken of; and when the infant was crying, he took it by the
arm and threw it to the other end of the. room against the wall,
making use of the horrible exp;:-7ssion, There, you little
go to i after which (he said) the child breathed no more.
" Ile also said, his cruelty to the'svoman, the mother of the
murdered innocent, ought to have hung him ; but he had escaped
the hands of justice for that. He said at that present time there
was a watchman who had not been out of his bed for eight
months, throUgh his (Purdont'i) having beaten him.
0- He also stated, that the' Gentleman who was a clerk, and
who was near Whitechapel Church, and who afterwards
died of his wounds.—he declared, that be was concerned in it,
and was a long time out of the way during the disturbance, and
while the hand-bills were out whereby his Majesty gave a free
pardon, and a large reward for the apprehension of the murderer
or murderers was offered.

" I then requested him to allow me to put it (the confession)
to paper, and asked him if he would sign (it)? he said, I No;'
nor neither did he wish it to be mentioned -until it was all over
(meaning his execution) ; but he then wished me to cunuuuni-
cate to then& whom it was proper.

" I then asked him if he had anything else to communicate.
He then asked Corbett what he bad done with the remainder of
the 400 sovereigns which he had to his share, there being only
three of them in the robbery? Purdom said, he ought to have
been in it, but they put him in the hole (the watch-house). Cor-
bett said, he had only £l7B. 14s. left, and that he had made
over to Mary (the woman with whom he had lived). He said
the concern which they was here for (in Newgate), had cost him
neatly £6O. Purdom then said, he (Corbett) noght to have
been sent to - for patting him (Purdom) in the hole; but he
thought they would both meet there together.
" I then read different prayers to thew, when Roberts ad-
vised Purdom and Corbett to confess the whole to me, whereby
they would then devote -the remaining part of their time to
prayer. Purdom then said, there had been great exertions to
find out the perpetrators of tilt murder of a woman, and that a
Parish-officer had made etery exertion to find it out, but with-
out svccess.

" fie thee clasped his hands, and•fell on bit knees, and hoped
Goo would forgive him for having mingled his hands in the
blood of so many. He then. went into prayeri and when they
heard Mr. Barrett (one of the turnkeys) coming to unlock them
at five in the morning, they all ;en on their knees, and thanked
Gun that their tithe WA so neat at hand. They both (Purdunt
and Corbett) then 'wished me not to mention it (meaning these
confessions) until all Vip• over. (Signed)
"To John Woutner, Lk. " RICHARD TAYLOR."
The above, ma_y 'be depeaded upon as far as it goes,
as conveying a true sketch of what this unhappy man
uttered in the presence of the persons appointed to
attend him during the night and morning previous,
•to his being cut off from the number of the living.
It is indeed awful to contemplate the short. but too
successful career of guilt which he had run, for, at
his death
,he was not more than 27 years of age,
though for a long time be had been known to the
Police as the most desperate thief in. London, and as
one who, it was. supposed, would stick at nothing to
prevent his falling into the hands of that justice which
at lengtbsikfatally visitetil bis enormities. , *
The watchman alluded to is the above.confession,
was an old man, who had made himself obnoxioui to
Purdoni and the rest. of hisgang, by watching their
motions, and defeating their operations sometimes ;1
and they •attacked their victim one night in a body,
' and beat him so dreadfully that his life was despaired
of fora long time.-
. .The Pentlensan mentioned at a cleelc, robbed and
murdered in Whitechaiel, was. the lamented Mr.
Nathaniel Wild, with, in' the nienth of August, 1821,
was knocked, down and robbed in Union-street,White-
chapel The blow fkactured his skull, and of that
wound the unfortunate Gentlemandied,leiving a wife

and several young children.
The 4001. as part of the spoil is supposed to allude
to a successful haul which the gang made of 1,200
sovereigns, while Pardon was confined in the watch-
house on some minor charge, and which confinement
he attributed-to others of the gang, 1n order to keep
bias ono:lbis share of so rich a 'sooty.
The' murdered woman, about whom. the Parish
Officer had made sticb unsuccessful exertions, there
can be ao doubt was Mrs, Dorsauy, pad "the Parish
Officer," Mr. Ts*, the Yestry Clark of*. Andrew's*,
Holborn fnrPurdon .bad _before spoken about that
shocking affitir to gle persons atteudiuy hint but al-