John Herdman

John Herdman was convicted of the murder of 50-year-old Jane Calder and sentenced to death. Jane Calder had been his paramour. They had a drunken quarrel at their home at 7 Milne Square, High Street, Edinburgh on New Years Day during which he kicked and stabbed her. John Herdman was also seen to kick Jane Calder in the head. Jane Calder had been from souter. John Herdman had been a letter-press printer employed by the city. They had been cohabitating. They had lived on the top floor of the tenement in an attic flat, which was describe as having rather been a room measuring just 12ft by 10ft, lighted by a small window in the ceiling. There was said to have been practically no furniture in the room, with the bed that Jane Calder's body was found on having been made up on the floor. Jane Calder was found on the Saturday evening by neighbours that had heard her cries, in an unconscious state in her room with her face battered and a stab wound to her left breast. She died soon after. The bed and floor of their room was said to have been covered with blood, with blood smeared pieces of a chair littered all over the room, it being thought that Jane Calder had also been assaulted with the pieces of chair. A neighbour said that Jane Calder had lived with John Herdman, but that she had been away from him for a fortnight or three weeks before 31 December 1897. The neighbour said that she met Jane Calder on the Friday and that in answer to an inquiry, she told her that 'Jack', was not in. She said that later that night that she heard voices in John Herdman's house and that it seemed that they were quarrelling and that it went on all night. She said that on the Saturday morning Jane Calder wanted to get into her house, but that she went out at 7am and when she got back at 9am she heard Jane Calder calling out, 'Oh', repeatedly. The woman's 14-year-old daughter said that that about 6pm on 1 January 1898 that she heard John Herdman and Jane Calder in the lobby, and heard John Herdman say: xxxqxxx Come on in. xxxqxxx She said that she and her father then went into the lobby and found Jane Calder lying in the lobby and John Herdman standing by her. She said that Jane Calder's face was all blood. She said that she didn't know if Jane Calder was dead, but saw John Herdman pull her back into the house. However, she said that she saw John Herdman rub Jane Calder's face, which showed no signs of life and that she then said: xxxqxxx I think it’s a case, Jack. I'll have to go for the police. xxxqxxx Which she then did. Another neighbour said that she heard the quarrelling on New Year's Day and that Jane Calder ran out into the lobby in an excited state and ran into her house. She said that John Herdman then ran after her using abusive language. She said that Jane Calder's face had been bruised and her mouth swollen, and that there was blood on her bodice. She said that she told John Herdman that he had been abusing Jane Calder all night and that if he could get anybody to go against him that she would give him in charge of the police. She said that about 3pm she heard a scream in the passage and then somebody fall, noting that it had been a woman's voice that she had heard, and that she didn't hear anything further until 9pm when she knew that Jane Calder was dead. An 11-year-old girl said that she had been in the lobby on New Year's afternoon when she saw John Herdman kick Jane Calder in the head as she lay on the floor. She said that John Herdman then lifted Jane Calder by the hair and dashed her head and clashed her down, and said: xxxqxxx This is another time you have not got my supper ready. xxxqxxx She said that he then kicked her five or six times on the head with his boots and that Jane Calder cried out: xxxqxxx Oh, my poor mother. xxxqxxx He said that John Herdman then went back into the house, but that Jane Calder lay there still and that shortly after John Herdman came back out and looked at Jane Calder, who was moaning, and then went back into the house. She said that there was blood all about Jane Calder's head where he had kicked her and her face was covered with blood and that where she was lying there was a lot of blood. The girl's 10-year-old playmate said that her friend spoke to her and asked her to come out and see the woman lying in the lobby, saying that she could hardly see her hands and face for the blood. She said that she and some of her other friends then went up and saw John Herdman kicking Jane Calder and dashing her head on the floor. She said that she then got frightened and ran back downstairs. An 8-year-old girl said that she saw John Herdman stamping on the back of Jane Calder's head with the heel of his boot. She said that Jane Calder then cried, 'Oh, mother', and that he then lifted her by the hair and smashed her face on the floor. When John Herdman was arrested, a pocket knife was found in his pocket and his vest and shirt were very much stained with blood. Her post mortem examination revealed her cause of death to be due to the knife wound to her breast that had penetrated her lung. However, it was noted that beyond that, her body bore traces of very savage treatment, with her head and face being a mass of broken flesh and the upper part of her body being covered with minor knife gashes and bruises. At his trial, his defence highlighted his steady and reliable character. After sentence of death was passed two young ladies in the court burst out crying. When John Herdman heard them crying, he buried his head in his hands. After recovering himself he gave the ladies a nod and was then taken down. John Herdman was executed at Calton Jail, Edinburgh on 12 March 1898. Before his execution, a petition of 11,000 signatures was presented, but there was no interference with his sentence. In his last message to the world, he said: xxxqxxx I John Herdman, about to pass into the presence of my God, say farewell to all my friends outside. I offer my most sincere thanks to those who interested themselves in the petition for my reprieve. With God I have made my peace, and relying on His mercy, I go forward to meet him. God bless my children. xxxqxxx Before his execution the chaplain gave a service in which they sang the 5th Hymn, 'The hour of my departure's come', which was said to have sounded strangely solemn within the cell walls, and before the first four lines were finished he burst out into tears and put a hand to his eyes, whereupon the chaplain put his hand on his shoulder and John Herdman pulled himself together. After the hymn the chaplain read from the 90th psalm, beginning: xxxqxxx Lord, Thou hast been our dwelling-place in all generations. xxxqxxx He also read from the 21st chapter of Revelations: xxxqxxx And I saw a new heaven and a new earth for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away, and there was no more sea. xxxqxxx The service was then brought to an end by the chaplain offering up a prayer after which John Herdman was taken to the scaffold where he was pinioned and the trap door released. He had been given a drop of 6ft 5in, it being noted that he was a man of barely 10 stone. His death was instantaneous. A limited number of reporters had been admitted to witness the execution. 1898 March 12th: John HERDMAN (52) Edinburgh A printer convicted of the murder of Jane Calder, his paramour, whom he killed during a drunken quarrel at Hogmanay. The police surgeon stated that death was caused by a severe kicking and several stab wounds. The doctor claimed that the bruises were the worst he had ever seen. Herdman was sentenced to death at Edinburgh High Court and a petition of 11,000 signatures failed to stop the sentence being carried out by James Billington. Country code GB Repository code 234 Repository National Records of Scotland Reference JC26/1898/2 Title Trial papers relating to John Herdman for the crime of murder at 7 Milne Square, High Street, Edinburgh. Tried at High Court, Edinburgh Dates 21 Feb 1898 Access status Open Location On site Level File Finding aids 19th Century Solemn Database Publication note Execution referred to in Alex F Young 'The Encyclopaedia of Scottish Executions, 1750-1963', (1998), p.132. Related record JC36/14 AD14/98/73 Accused John Herdman, widower, Verdict: Guilty, Sentence: Death. Note: See Justiciary transcript (JC36/14). Executed at Edinburgh on 12 Mar 1898. Victim Jane Calder, common law wife of John Herdman (accused), Milne Square, Edinburgh