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AGM 2010: A Good Year

'Kingston? Oh what a lovely place to live!'

This, our chairman Jennifer Butterworth told us, was the immediate reaction of a new aquaintance on learning where she lives. 'I wish there were more people in Kingston who said this!' commented Jennifer. Her anecdote set the tone for an upbeat and cheerful AGM, which the chairman had to manage single-handed as our President, the Mayor of Kingston, who usually graces these proceedings, was indisposed. Steps taken by the Kingston Society during the year to make Kingston an even lovlier place to live were the substance of the chairman's generally optimistic annual report. No fewer than four new recruits to the committee had already found their metier' in taking on particular responsibilities. A new recruitment leaflet produced by George Rome Innes would, it was hoped spread the word and increase membership. George has also produced new Kingston society information panels for displayin local railway stations. A new leaflet for Coombe Conduit has been prepared. A major development during the year had been a co-operative venture with the Kingston Horticultural society to add to our beinnial Townscape Awards a series of further awards for the 'Greenscape'.

One of the Society's  major annual activities, managed by the chairman herself, is its organisation of Heritage Open Days. HODs is now administered by English Heritage, since its former sponsors, the Civic Trust has sadly collapsed. This years cycle of preparation has already begun.

Concluding, the chairman drew attention to the consultation recently launched by Kingston Council on a new core strategy designed to put 'a sense of place' at the heart of future development. This chimes in very well with the Society's ethos, said Jennifer. 'What bothers us are the financial constraints within which local authorities have to work, and the fact that the Royal borough no longer has a dedicated conservation team. nevertheless, when the tide is in our favour let us make the most of it'.

After the unanimous election of officers and committee for 2010 the chairman threw the meeting open to the more than sixty members present to make their voices heard. One subject that attracted particular attentionwas the practice of 'Garden Grabbing'. there was regret at the continuing lack of affordable and social housing, and consequent shortage of accommodation for indispensable local workers.

Several members urged the Society to make it clearer that its remit covers the whole borough and not only the town centre. bob Belton suggested that a strapline below our Newsletter title could underline this all-embracing role and perhaps attract more members from outlying parts of the borough.

Carol Bilney got warm support from the floor when she commended Marguerite Perkin's excellent work on the Newsletter, establishing a 'seamless join' after stepping in so ably after the loss of Tony Leitch. In the absence of our present mayor , it was left to a former Mayor of Kingston and Kingston Society stalwart, Doug Reynolds to propose a vote of thanks to the chairman and committee for all their hard work during the year.

With the formal business of the evening concluded, members continued the discussions as they mingled at our customary New Year celebration, over drinks arranged by Brian Godding and a scruptious table of goodies prepared by Stephanie Leitch and her team.

From the latest Kingston News, December 2010 we include the following item.

Kingston burning: 1681
In her book Kingston Past (1997), at page 37, under the heading, Extreme Punishments, June Sampson says that the Kingston Chamberlain's Accounts for 1681 record payments for bavins (ie kindling wood) and faggots ... to burn ye woman... and for timber to make gallows. Who was this woman, what was the background to her execution and whereabouts in Kingston was she burnt? Moreover who was hanged on these gallows and where were they situated.
The records of the Lent Assizes, held in Kingston from 8th to 11th March 1681, identify the woman as Margaret Osgood. an account of her crime and punishment is contained in a contemporary pamphlet printed in London by D. Mullet entitled, 'the true narrative of the confession and execution of the prisoners at Kingstone-upon-Thames (sic) on Wednesday the 16th of this instant March 1681. It can be summarised as follows.

Margaret Osgood was first married to Thomas Cook, a hatter, of the parish of St Olave, Southwark. Cook had an apprentice, one Walter Osgood. While Cook was alive, Margaret and Walter had an affair and slept together. When Cook died, leaving Margaret a considerable sum of money, she married Walter Osgood. there was a big difference in their ages, Walter frittered away Margaret's money and the couple quarrelled frequently, coming to blows at times. Margaret was so unhappy at times that she contemplated suicide. when Walter came home late on the night of 31 July 1680, the worse for drink, Margaret had to put him to bed. It was the last straw. As Walter slept she hit him on the head with a hatchet. Subsequent blows left Walter with other mortal wounds and, while he lay bleeding, Margaret strangled him to death with a cord. The St Olave parish records show that Walter Osgood was buried on 9 August 1680 and note that he had been murdered.

Margaret was apprehended and committed to the Marshalsea Prison in Southwark. It is suggested that she attempted, unsuccessfully to get pregnant while there in order to avoid execution. In March 1681 she was taken to Kingston to be tried at the Assizes for murdering her husband, a crime that amounted to petty treason. For women at the time, the penalty for petty treason was burning alive.

This dreadful penalty was, up to 1791, also available for a female servant who murdered her master or mistress, also a petty treason. It was available for a woman convicted of grand treason, which included counterfeiting of gold or silver currency. The penalty for a man who murdered his wife, master or mistress was hanging. However a common man convicted of grand treason could be hung, drawn and quartered, while a nobleman faced decapitation.

At her trial Margaret pleaded that she had been of unsound mind when she killed her husband. this was discounted and the jury returned a guilty verdict on the charge. Margaret was then taken to the Town Goal ( on the site in Kingston where Bentalls now stands) to await her execution. In prison her state of mind varied between stupefaction with the horror of guilt, being unrepentant because of the sorry state into which Walter Osgood had brought her, and acceptance of god's judgement for the wickedness that she had shown to her first husband. When visited by some pious and charitable local citizens she told them that while she was sorry for the murder, had Walter Osgood still been alive then she would rather be burnt according to the sentence than live with him.

On 16 March 1681, clad almost all in white, Margaret Osgood was taken from the Town Goal to the Kingston Market Place. There she was fastened to a stake and faggots were piled around her.Although Margaret then seemed half dead, she asked the surrounding people to pray for her and to take warning from her sad end. Half an hour later the executioner set fire to the pyre and Margaret was reduced to a pile of ashes. the description of the execution, especially the delay in starting the fire strongly suggests that the executioner surreptitiously throttled Margaret so that she was completely dead before the flames took hold of her body. this was generally the custom at the time.

Mallet records that one woman and seven men were hanged at the Kingston gallows on 16 March1681, having been convicted at the Assizes of capital felonies. The records of Kingston's All Saints Churchshow that on 16 March 1681 the unnamed bodies of one woman and seven men, al who had been hanged were buried on that day, possibly in one mass grave. No account of the fate of poor Margaret Osgood's ashes has been discovered.
 

KINGSTON SOCIETY JOINS CIVIC VOICE

The Kingston Society has decided to join Civic Voice, the new national body replacing the Civic Trust, which closed last year.

Membership will offer various benefits for KS, such as affordable civic society insurance, free current account banking services, and a partnership with the National Council for Voluntary Organisations granting free access to its services, which include a free legal information service. Individual members of civic societies which join Civic Voice will be eligible for a free day access pass to the National Trust, which they can give to a friend or relative. Find out more at: www.civicvoice.org.uk

Jennifer Butterworth

Chairman