160 years ago, William Collier, a tenant farmer from Kingsley, became the last person to be publicly executed in Stafford.

Collier, 35, was sentenced to death at the Stafford Assizes on Wednesday 25 July 1866 for the murder of his neighbour Thomas Smith on 5 July.

Smith, 25, was the son of a wealthy landowner and heir to an extensive farm known as Whiston Eaves.

A father of seven, Collier was the occupier of a small farm adjoining Whiston Eaves.

The incident occurred when Smith caught Collier poaching on land belonging to his father, Mr Thomas Smith Snr.

In an attempt to avoid prosecution, Collier killed Smith using a shotgun.

According to a contemporary report in The Staffordshire Sentinel and Commercial and General Advertiser, Mr Webb, the surgeon who examined the body, showed in court that "the deceased died from very heavy blows inflicted on the back and side of the head with some blunt instrument and that he had also been shot in the head, but not with sufficient effect to cause death."

A gun, identified as the one used in the murder, was discovered in a drain on Collier's farm and blood stains were found on his clothes.

However, the defence argued that there was no way of knowing if the blood was human based on evidence provided by medical professionals who had examined the clothing at Guy's Hospital in London.

After hearing the evidence, including testimony from a witness who had been with Collier when he had purchased the gun, the jury found the farmer guilty but recommended a more lenient sentence on account of his "previous good character".

However, the Judge decided not to take into account this recommendation, sentencing Collier to death.

According to the Staffordshire Sentinel "The Court was densely crowded and the scene at the last was one of intense excitement."

Collier later confessed to the crime and showed a great deal of remorse, even writing a letter to the parents of Thomas Smith.

According to the newspaper report "He told his wife that he had committed the deed and that he was justly punished."

On 7 August, Collier was publicly executed by hanging at Stafford County Gaol, now HM Prison Stafford.

Around 2,000 people attended the execution, less than was usually expected, some who had travelled a significant distance to witness the event.

Much to the horror of prison staff and the gathered crowds, the execution took two attempts as a result of the rope snapping.

Referring to Collier, the Staffordshire Sentinel said: "Thus ended the life of one who a little over a month ago was living happily with his wife and family and had every prospect and every opportunity of spending the remainder of his days in comparatively easy circumstances."

Public executions were officially banned by the Capital Punishment Amendment Act 1868.

To read more about the case, click here.