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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A27410	An impartial history of the life and death of George Lord Jeffreys late Lord Chancellor of England	Dunton, John, 1659-1733.; Bent, James.	1689 (1689)	Wing B1906; ESTC R31269	29,139	58

Guilty they should have but a little time to live And at the same time insinuated That it were better to plead Guilty if they expected any favour These Thirty being on Trial the Evidences being sworn and examined before the Jury Upon the whole by the violent Deportment of the Lord Chief Justice and sharpness of the Jury they found Twenty-nine Guilty though some of them were very hardly dealt with and not so Criminal as my Lord and their Country imagined Particularly amongst the Twenty-nine were Mr. Matthew Bragg of Thorncomb and Joseph Speed of Culliton in the County of Devonshire and Mr. Smith Constable of Chardstock in the said County and George Steward of Culliton aforesaid The Circumstances of each of these and the severity of their being found Guilty c. shall be shewed in its proper place before we take leave of this Town and proceed on in this Western Expedition The said Twenty-nine being found as before Guilty my Lord immediately pronounced Sentence of Death on them all as usual in Cases of High-Treason and did the same Night give a Warrant to the Sheriff for the Execution of Thirteen of the Twenty-nine on Monday following which accordingly was done notwithstanding great Application was made to the Lord Chief Justice by Gentlemen of the best Quality in this and the Neighbouring Countries for a Reprieve of Mr. Bragg to all which he was Deaf and not to be prevailed upon though he was assured of his Honesty and true Conformity to the Church of England yet it availed nothing At last it was only requested for Ten days Respite yet that had no better effect but on Monday he with Twelve more of that number were accordingly Executed at Dorchester In the mean time this Proceeding was designed to shorten Business and to wheedle the rest that were to follow to a Confession which without it the tenth part of them could not be proved Guilty A Method was also taken without President to entrap many poor ignorant people by a couple of Officers that were sent into the Goal to call over and take the Names of the Prisoners on promise if they confest they might expect Mercy otherwise not which many did And this was written so that had they pleaded Not Guilty these two were designed to have been Evidences against them from their own Confessions which so disposed the remaining great Numbers that all except a very few Pleaded Guilty which put an end to any further Trial. The only thing remaining was the pronouncing of Sentence on them which were in Number 292. who received Sentence of Death all at once One Mr. Lawrence put himself on Trial but by the Jury found Guilty whose Case was hard his Circumstances being so small to be condemned to die and had actually suffered had not Application been made to my Lord's Favourites and with the payment and securing of 400 l. preserved him from Execution This Matter being adjusted and Execution awarded to about Eighty which were Executed and their Quarters sent up and down the Country to the dread of their Spectators as well as the Annoyance of the Travellers his extraordinary Whippings though unmerciful are not to be taken notice of so we leave this place and proceed towards the City of Exon In their way thither lying at an Honourable Gentlemans House divers of the Neighbouring Parishes made their Petitions to the Lord Chief Justice in behalf of some Relations concerned It hapned that through some disorder amongst his Servants some Pistols were fired in the Night which gave him a Suspicion or at least he took it of some design upon him on which at parting he said Not a man of all those Parishes that were of that Vicinitude if found Guilty should escape And so we proceed and arrive at Exon where to the number of 243 Prisoners being in Custody for assisting the said Duke of Monmouth one amongst the rest Mr. Fower Acers pleading not Guilty he being found by the Jury the said Lord Chief Justice immediately pronounced the Sentence upon him and immediate Execution which was done to terrifie the rest who all Pleaded Guilty so that these unfortunate People had not time to have the fairness of Trials allowed them which is a right due by the Laws of God and Man. The remaining number he all condemned and here was a little sparing not so many order'd Execution as was in the other County but those that were executed were hung up and down in most Towns of the County and their Quarters and Heads scattered up and down the High-ways and publick places An extraordinary Sentence of severe Whipping was pronounced against Mr. Samuel Staple of Thorncomb in the said County but these are Trifles and we shall endeavour to pursue our Design and make as quick dispatch as we can that time may not be lost the King served and this Miscreants thirst quenched with Protestant Blood which is always well-pleasing to Inquisitors and so proceed to the Town of Taunton At which place being arrived it was thought fit by the Lord Chief Justice to be as expeditious as might be so that late in the Afternoon the Court sat where the Commission being read he proceeded to give the Charge which was so very keen and full of sharp Invectives as if the Country it self had not been able to make Expiation to his Lordship to quench his Thirst in the Blood of those that ventur'd their All in Defence of the Protestant Religion and here we enter upon the bloodiest part of the Tragedy In this Tovvn and at Wells in the said County were more than 500 Prisoners To begin at Taunton The next Morning after the Charge given the Assizes began vvhere some fevv put themselves on Trial vvho vvere found Guilty and immediately ordered to be Executed of vvhich number one Mr. Simon Hamlin vvas one vvho vvas a zealous vvorthy good Man and his Case no vvay dangerous but on the contrary had he had to do with a Judge of another Stamp To proceed to the rest This first Cruelty caused the rest to plead Guilty in hopes of favour which was only a few days to live which those that pleaded had not Amongst these at Taunton were divers eminent Persons that had been taken in the West and carried to London and brought down there to compleat the Bloody Tragedy in those parts Mr. Parrot Mr. Hewling the Elder Mr. Lisle Mr. Jenkins Mr. Hucker and divers others were very eminent To take notice of every particular in this Matter will alter our Design and swell the Book to too great a Bulk being ony designed for a Pocket Companion and useful it may be to see the Cruelty of men when in their Power and how the Devil stirreth up his Instruments to pursue those that adventure for the Cause of God and Religion Here were in this County Executed 239. the rest that were Condemned were Transsported except such as were able to furnish Coin and that not a little for an account was

taken of mens Abilities according to which the purchase for Life must be managed by two of his Favourites who had a small share the rest went into his Lordships Pocket according to the Actions of Rome where Sins of any kind may be pardoned for mony This indeed was a glorious Design in the Eve of Mother Church to root out Heresie by Executions and Transportations to make room for a pack here Expedition must be made to conclude at Wells for that a great Man being fallen our great Judge designing his Chair which in short he had has the Reward of fo eminent and extraordinary a piece of Service as he did for the Advancement of the Roman Catholicks Interest which is cruel always where it prevails Thus we leave the Town of Taunton after awarding Execution to many there and their Quarters to be scattered up and down the County and so we proceed to Wells where divers Prisoners that had been carried from Goal to Goal in expectation of Evidence against them were in Carts removed to Wells in which place to finish this Expedition the same Method as was at the former Assizes was also taken here by a severe Charge affronting the Gentlemen of this County as he had done in all the Counties before terrifying the Juries when any pleaded to make them to bring in the persons Guilty some of which being over-awed and it is doubted contrary to their Judgments which if so the Lord forgive them Here were many eminent and worthy persons that received the Sentence of Death but the Executions of the County being put together as you have before seen we make no particular Division of the Number here and the Number at Taunton the whole being recited before We shall therefore endeavour to be as brief as we can to give you what we think material and truly matter of Fact my Lord now being come to conclude this extraordinary Commission and in haste to be elevated maketh all manner of dispatch to repair to the King then at Windsor to give an Account of his Transactions and to receive the Reward of his meritorious Service in this Butchering of Protestants which is so acceptable to his Holiness and his bigotted Disciples as nothing can be more and indeed if you will believe them a Work that merits Heaven at last besides what Temporal Preferments are thought fit in this World. If this cruel Judge were a true Protestant his Case is much the worse being made use of as a Tool to destroy and carry on Popish Designs Thus the Affairs being ended the Country filled with Heads and Quarters of those that were Executed the rest that had not wherewith to purchase their Lives left in Custody in order to Transportation My Lord being come to the King to give an Account of his Affairs in the West the Great Seal being to be disposed of by the Death of the late Keeper he kiss'd the King's Hand for it and was made Lord Chancellor which was only an earnest of his Desert for so eminent and extraordinary a piece of Service so now that which remains is to give an Account of divers that had fled and hid themselves up and down in Holes and Privacies whose Friends made all Application to some great Men or other to procure their Pardoms some to this and others to such as they thought Favourites of the King but the Rewards must be assertained before any Application could be made Divers Lists being sent up and the Rewards assertained which amongst many of them put together did amount to considerable so that it was now who could find a Friend to relieve his distressed Relations which were forced to wander up and down in Caves and Deserts for fear of being taken But this Misfortune attended the Agents that unless my Lord Chancellour were used by his Creatures that were allowed by him so to do other Applications commonly met with Disappointments which caused an Emulation among the great Men one supposing to have deserved the King's Ear as well as the other which caused other Measures to be taken though some were wheedled out of their mony At last came out a General Pardon with Exceptions very few if any of those that were solicited for not being excepted were of course pardoned but however divers Sums of Mony having been paid no Restitution to be had for from Hell is no Redemption A worthy Western Gentleman's purchase came to fifteen or sixteen hundred Guinea's which my Lord Chancellour had Amongst the Exceptions were a parcel of Taunton Girls some of which were Children of Eight or Ten years old however something was to be made of them if these Ladies were judged Guilty of Treason for presenting the Duke of Monmouth with Colours c. and for to preserve these from Trial they were given to Maids of Honour to make up their Christmas Box so that an Agent of theirs was sent down into the Country to compound with their Parents to preserve them from what might after follow if taken so that some according to Ability gave 100 l. others 50 l. all which however did not answer the Ladies first Expectations yet it did satisfie and they were accordingly pardoned Thus we have given you an Account of what hath happened on this Occasion being in every Point truth We might have farther Enlarged but that would have spoiled the Design and swoln our Pocket Companion to a Volume too big We shall therefore next proceed to give you a true and exact List of all them that were condemned and suffer'd in the West in the year 1685. under the Sentence of my Lord Chief Justice Jeffreys With the Names of the Towns where every Man was executed Bathe 6. WAlter Baker Thomas Clotworthy Henry Body Thomas Collins Gerrard Bryant John Carter Philipsnorton 12. Robert Cook Henry Portridge Edward Creaves George Pether John Caswell Thomas Peirce Thomas Hayward John Richards John Hellier John Staple Edward Beere John Smith Froome 12. Francis Smith John Humphrey Samuel Vill alias Vile George Hasty Thomas Star Robert Man Philip Usher Thomas Pearle Robert Beamant Lawrence Lott William Clement Thomas Lott Bruton 3. James Feildsen Richard Bole. Humphrey Braden Wincanton 6. John Howel William Holland Richard Harvey Hugh Holland John Tucker Thomas Bowden Shepton-Mallet 13. Stephen Mallet John Hildworth Joseph Smith John Ashwood John Gilham Jun. Thomas Smith Giles Bramble John Dorchester Senior Richard Chinn John Combe William Cruise John Groves Pensford 12. Roger Cornelius Henry Russel John Starr George Knight Humphry Edwards Robert Wine William Pierce William Clerk alias Chick Arther Sullway Preston Bevis George Adams Richard Finier Wrington 3. Alexander Key Joshua French. David Boyse Wells 8. William Mead John Sheperd Thomas Coade Abraham Bend Robert Doleman William Durston Thomas Durston William Plumley Uivelscomb 3. William Ruscomb Robert Combe Thomas Pierce Tuton upon Mendip 2. Peter Prance William Watkins Chard 12. Edward Foote Abraham Pill John Knight William Davy William Williams Henry Easterbrook John Gervis James