“Ye three Holy Kings,
Gaspar, Melchior, Balthasar,
Pray for us now, and in the hour of death.
These papers have touched the three heads of the Holy
Kings at Cologne.
They are to preserve travellers from accidents on the road, headaches, falling sickness, fevers, witchcraft, all kinds of mischief and sudden death.”
The body of William Carter was hung in chains in the Portsmouth road, near Rake, in Sussex; the body of Benjamin Tapner on Rook’s Hill, near Chichester; and the bodies of John Cobby and John Hammond upon the sea coast, near a place called Selsea Bill, in Sussex, where they were seen at a great distance, both east and west.
The bodies of the Mills’s, father and son, having neither friend or relation to take them away, were thrown into a hole, dug for that purpose, very near the gallows, into which was likewise thrown the body of Jackson. Just by is erected a stone having the following inscription, viz.:—
“Near this place was buried the body of William Jackson, a proscribed smuggler, who upon a special commission of Oyer and Terminer, held at Chichester, on the 16th day of January, 1748–9, was with William Carter, attainted for the murder of William Galley, a custom-house officer; and who likewise was, together with Benjamin Tapner, John Cobby, John Hammond, Richard Mills the elder, and Richard Mills, the younger, his son, attainted for the murder of Daniel Chater; but dying in a few hours after sentence of death was pronounced upon him, he thereby escaped the punishment which the heinousness of his complicated crimes deserved, and which was the next day most justly inflicted upon his accomplices.
“As a memorial to posterity, and a warning to this and succeeding generations,
“This stone is erected
“A.D. 1749.”
Having now given an account of the behaviour of these seven bloody criminals, as occurred to the three clergymen who attended them after their receiving sentence of death, and who signed their names to the same; we shall now insert the account of their behaviour from the time of their being brought to Chichester gaol, to their execution, which account was taken by two persons who constantly attended on them, and is what occurred at the times the clergymen before-mentioned were not present; and are inserted to make this account complete.
The seven prisoners that were condemned, together with William Combleach the gardener, committed on suspicion of being concerned in the murder of Daniel Chater, were brought from Horsham gaol, in one waggon under a strong guard of soldiers, to Chichester, on Friday the 13th January, 1748–9.
Jackson being sick, was kept upstairs in a room by himself; and the other seven, William Combleach being with them, were put in a lower room, all ironed and stapled down, and well guarded; but behaved very bold and resolute, and not so decently as became people in their circumstances. They ate their breakfast, dinner and supper regularly, without any seeming concern, and talked and behaved freely to everybody that came to see them. Old Mills looking out of a window the day after they came there, which was market-day, young Mills said to Tapner, “D—n the old fellow, he will have a stare out.”