Rural life and the '˜gentleman executioner'

A new book by Lincolnshire author Rosita Bird takes a nostalgic look at life in the county, as well as a connection to famous executioner William Marwood.
Memories of rural lifeMemories of rural life
Memories of rural life

Rosita’s grandfather, Moses Clark, was a local preacher, as well as a keen writer and many newspaper articles written by him were passed down to Rosita from her parents.

Rosita said: “The articles gave a glimmer of life in the past and how tough rural life was. There was also a rumour in the family regarding the connection to William Marwood, the famed executioner, and after a lot of research help by Paul Hickman, a retired headteacher, it was discovered he was related to me and also to Paul by marriage.

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Paul had collected and recorded the memories of the Marwood extended family.

The book coverThe book cover
The book cover

‘Memories of Rural Lincolnshire Families and the Gentleman Executioner’ looks at the family names of Rosita’s great grandparents - Clark, Grebby, Marwood and Knight - as well as documenting William Marwood along with his humane development of the hitherto ‘hit and miss business’ of execution.

The book also covers elements of farming with the introduction of machinery and features many photographs of the past.

Contributions to the book were made by Andrew Hunter from Laceby and researching pieces for the book led Rosita to further investigation in to her family history.

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She said: “I have come to appreciate the times we live in today.”

•The book has been published with North Wall Publishing and is available on Amazon at £6.99. Rosita will also be holding a book signing in Scartho Library, Grimsby, on January 23, from 1pm to 3pm.