When and where was a publication last burned in England or Wales by 'the common hangman' on the order of a court of law, and was the burning done in public?

Baloo55th

The Commercial Restraints of Ireland Considered in a series of letters to a noble lord. By John Hely-Hutchinson published and burned in 1779 http://spencer.lib.ku.edu/exhibits/bannedbooks/england.html John Hely Hutchinson (1724-1794) was Provost of Trinity College, Dublin. (Someone of the same name was 2nd Earl of Donoughmore - could be a descendant.) Probably burned in public - no point in doing it privately. And probably done in London, because things like that were usually done there. [Dec 02 04 12:53 PM] Baloo55th writes: They must have burned the works of Tom Payne before this - I had thought it could be his, if not someone like D.H. Lawrence. I'm slightly surprised that it is so early for the last one to occur. Dec 01 04, 3:49 PM

bloomsby

I was also a bit surprised and thought of D. H. Lawrence, too. Of course it's possible that by the 20th century (or even somewhat earlier) the expression 'burned by the common hangman' was no longer meant literally, but had become something of a figure of speech, with the actual process carried out in a local authority incinerator. I imagine Albert Pierrepoint might have found book-burning rather below his 'hangmanly' station. Dec 12 04, 7:23 PM

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