John Stratford was as unlikely a murderer as you might ever meet. Apprenticed as a young man to a local blacksmith, he later took over ownership of The Swan Public House in King Street, Norwich. When this didn't pay he reverted to his trade as a "smiffy" and moved into a small house in St Faiths Lane from where he traded.

Life was, if anything, somewhat mundane in the Stratford household and Stratford lived in relative anonymity together with his wife and their six children. Indeed his only claim to fame was that he helped to build the gallows for the new City Gaol in the mid-1820s. Little could he have suspected the irony that this act would later take on.

In 1828, through a mutual friend, Stratford met Jane Briggs, a woman often described as "beholding to the eye." Briggs' husband, Thomas, was living as a pauper in the Norwich workhouse and had been in ill-health for some time. A friendship between Stratford and Jane blossomed and in the early weeks of 1829 Jane informed Stratford that she was carrying his child. Stratford was horrified by the news and terrified at the prospect of his wife and family becoming aware of the secret liaison. He urged Jane to end the pregnancy and even provided her with some powder which he claimed would abort the unborn child. Jane, however, had very different ideas and informed Stratford that she had no intention of getting rid of the baby.

Stratford became convinced that Jane's husband would discover he was the father of his wife's child and expose him. Thomas Briggs, therefore, had to be got rid of. A plot was hatched and Stratford took some flour laced with arsenic to the workhouse and left it as an anonymous gift for Briggs. However the flour came into the hands of another inmate, John Burgess, who used to it cook a dumpling for himself and his family. Burgess and his family were taken violently ill and although the rest of his family recovered, John Burgess who had eaten the largest portion of the dumpling died in agony a few days later.

Stratford was soon identified as the person who had delivered the flour to the workhouse and he was put on trial for murder. Throughout his trial he maintained his innocence refusing to answer questions and stating only when asked to make his defence: "Oh I am perfectly innocent of the charges." Despite the repeated urgings of the Judge, Stratford refused to be drawn any further. Not surprisingly the jury quickly found him guilty and the sentence of death was passed upon him.

The day before his execution Stratford was visited by his wife and six children. Shortly after they had left, Stratford asked for the prison governor to visit him. Stratford told the governor that he wished to make a full confession and his peace with God.

Whilst the confession confirmed the prosecution's case and proved Stratford's guilt beyond doubt, it did lack a couple of pertinent points. There was no remorse shown whatsoever and Burgess, the innocent victim of Stratford's crime, wasn't even mentioned. Having unburdened himself of his guilt, if not his regret, Stratford bade the governor goodnight and went to bed for his final night's sleep. He appeared to sleep well and seemed resigned to his forthcoming fate the following day.

The following morning, Monday, August 17 1829, crowds began to gather outside the city gaol. The gallows had been erected on the gaol roof and the gathering crowd trained their eyes toward them. By the time the executioner entered Stratford's cell the crowd had grown to several thousand strong. The narrow space in front of the gaol was packed and the crowds stretched back along St Giles Street as far as it was possible to be and still catch a glimpse of the gallows. Every window and roof of the neighbouring houses appeared packed with faces and even the battlements of St Giles Church steeple were crowded with spectators.

A few minutes before eight o'clock Stratford arrived at the foot of the ladder leading to the scaffold where he knelt and spent some minutes in prayer. As he rose to his feet the Rev Minister began to recite a prayer he had written especially for the occasion. At this point Stratford began to climb the ladder and when he reached the scaffold he looked down upon the thousands of spectators who had come to witness his last moments on earth. Politely and deferentially he bowed slowly three times to them.

At this point the hangman stepped forward and began to adjust the rope around Stratford's neck. As he did so Stratford complained that he was putting it on the wrong way but was assured by the hangman that this was not the case. The cap was drawn over his face and Stratford appeared to finally resign himself to his fate. The chaplain began to recite the Lord's Prayer during which a handkerchief was dropped as a signal to the hangman who immediately drew the fatal bolt. Stratford's body lurched downwards and for a few seconds his arms and legs continued to twitch, then all was still. The silence of the crowd was broken by a solitary scream and then all was silent again. As the crowed looked on, the man who had only a few months earlier been seen as a law-abiding citizen but would forever more be known as the Norfolk Dumpling Poisoner, died as a murderer on the very gallows he had built himself when just a simple blacksmith.

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This ghostly tale has kindly been provided by Ghostly Dave - visit his Norwich Ghost Walk website here.