The Hauntingly Excellent Range
Matthew Cocklayne
Born in Ireland, Matthew Cocklayne had, for several years, been a solder in the Thirty-third Regiment of Foot. Upon his discharge, he had moved to Derby where he worked in the Copper Mills, and it would be on Full Street, Derby, where he would commit the act that ultimately led to his execution.
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​On December 18, 1774, Matthew - along with an accomplice named George Foster - robbed the house of Mary Vickers and murdered her during the robbery.​ Though they fled to Ireland, they were both eventually apprehended with Foster being shot in the head and Matthew taken back to Derby to face justice.
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On March 21, 1776, Matthew was hanged with his corpse then gibbeted - a process where the body was hung in a metal cage so the corpse could rot in full view of the public.
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Matthew's ghost is said to haunt the area of The Pepperpot Restaurant in Derby - the former site of Derby's gibbet post.
Related places to visit in Derby
LOCATION: Full Street, Derby, DE1 3AF
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CONNECTION: Full Street was home to Derby's first Assembly Rooms, which opened in 1714. This exclusive building was later converted into a permanent theatre, known as the "Little Theatre in Full Street". It was also on this street that Mary Vickers house stood. The former Magistrates Court on Full Street - a Grade II listed building - now houses Derby Local Studies and Family History Library.
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DIRECTIONS: Click Here.
LOCATION: The Pepperpot, 28a Saxelbye Avenue, Derby DE1 2UH
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CONNECTION: Derby's gibbet post stood on what was known as Bradshaw Hay at the time of Matthew's execution, and it was on this land that the Derbyshire Royal Infirmary was built on in 1810. In 2009 the Infirmary closed, and when site was redeveloped by Wavensmere Homes the original "pepperpot buildings" were converted into a restaurant called The Pepperpot. The restaurant opened in February 2024.
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DIRECTIONS: Click Here.
Derby History Walks
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Come and join us for a 90-minute walk full of revelations, curses, deaths, superstitions, evil doers and much more!!
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VARIOUS DATES
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5.30pm to 7.00pm - walk commences from the Derby Uncovered Heritage Centre at 11 Sadler Gate, Derby.
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Tickets are £10 per person.
Learn all about Derby's most notorious murders and murderers on Derby's murder walk - not for the faint-hearted!!
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VARIOUS DATES
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5.30pm to 7.00pm - walk commences from the Derby Uncovered Heritage Centre at 11 Sadler Gate, Derby.
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Tickets are £10 per person.
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True, but weird, Derby history including frogs falling from the skies, ghouls roaming the town, historic hot dogs, mummified cats & more.
VARIOUS DATES
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5.30pm to 7.00pm - walk commences from the Derby Uncovered Heritage Centre at 11 Sadler Gate, Derby.
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Tickets are £10 per person.
A walk full of tortured spirits who met a grisly end including both the murderers and their victims
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VARIOUS DATES
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5.30pm to 7.00pm - walk commences from the Derby Uncovered Heritage Centre at 11 Sadler Gate, Derby.
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Tickets are £10 per person.
