THERE was once a story told in Powys ‘that a Radnorshire jury was the only thing that could save a ‘hare chased by a hound’

It was even claimed that a Radnorshire judge had been the first to make the comparison.

However Presteigne’s Gallows Lane has long been named as a reminder to all of those who were condemned to death in Presteigne, particularly in the 18th century.

Presteigne was the capital town of Radnorshire for centuries before the first recorded execution in 1739.

In September the Radnorshire Court of Great Sessions condemned two men to be hanged for the murder of William Price in Gladestry on April 23.

Gallows Lane earned its reputation in the years which followed.

In 1743 Thomas Williams was hanged for stealing sheep and a year later Isaac Thomas faced the same fate for passing a forged coin.

On March 1, 1754 William Morgan killed Margaret Probert with an iron pin in Llowes.

He was hanged in Presteigne on April 10 and his body hanged in chains near the scene of the crime.

Two decades passed before the gallows were used again though on December 8, 1773 the body of Elinor Price was found in Llansantffraid Elvel.

He was hanged on March 29.

The Hereford Journal wrote the following day ‘Thomas Owen was yesterday executed at the gallows, where he confessed the fact and seemed more desirous to die than to live.

‘His body was afterwards hung in chains upon a gibbet erected on the most conspicuous part of Evenjobb Hill in the view of new Radnor and all the adjacent roads and villages, as an example to deter villains from perpetrating so heinous a crime,’

Thomas Owen was the last man to be hanged for murder in Radnorshire in the 18th century.

Though the gallows were used three further times before the century was out with John Ashley and John Llwarch hanged for horse theft.

On May 10, 1797 the gallows had also been the fate of Diana Davis who became the first woman to be executed in the county for the crime of sheep theft though tragically not the last.

In 1805 the townspeople had witnessed the hanging of 17 year old Mary Morgan for the killing of her child - a tragic case which had affected all who had been present which had even included the sentencing judge who was known to visit her grave until his own death a decade later.

On April 22, 1822 Samuel Harley became the last person to die on Gallow Street when he was hanged for the murder of Arthur Bedward.