Robert Foulkes (baptised 19 March 1633/34 – executed 31 January 1678/79) was a Welsh-born English

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

cleric Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

and

murderer Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse committed with the necessary intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisdiction. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse ...

Early life

Although long presumed to have been a native of

Shropshire Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...

in England, Foulkes was born and baptised at

Mallwyd Mallwyd () is a small village at the most southern end of Gwynedd, Wales, in the Mawddwy community, in the valley of the River Dyfi. It lies on the A470 approximately halfway between Dolgellau and Machynlleth, and forms the junction of the A ...

, Wales, son of namesake Robert Foulkes and is known to have had an older brother, John, with whom he attended

Shrewsbury School Shrewsbury School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Shrewsbury. Founded in 1552 by Edward VI by royal charter, to replace the town's Saxon collegiate foundations which were disestablished in the sixteenth century, Shrewsb ...

in 1648–49.

Priesthood

Foulkes, according to Anthony à Wood, "became a

servitor In certain university, universities (including some Colleges of the University of Oxford, colleges of University of Oxford and the University of Edinburgh), a servitor was an undergraduate student who received free accommodation (and some free mea ...

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

, in Michaelmas term 1651, where he continued more than four years, under the tuition and government of

Presbyterians Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

and independents. Afterwards entering into the

sacred Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects ( ...

function he became a

preacher A preacher is a person who delivers sermons or homilies on religious topics to an assembly of people. Less common are preachers who Open-air preaching, preach on the street, or those whose message is not necessarily religious, but who preach com ...

, and at length

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...

of Stanton Lacy in his own county of

, and took to him a wife."Athenæ Oxon. ed. Bliss, iii. 1195 Three years before his induction as vicar at Stanton Lacy on 12 September 1660, Foulkes married on 7 September 1657 at Ludlow parish church, Isabella, daughter of Thomas Colbatch (died 1637), a deceased former rector of the same parish. The couple had four children, born between 1665 and 1673. Isabella had been brought up in the home of Stanton Lacy's previous vicar, Thomas Atkinson (died 1657). Among other children, Atkinson left a daughter, Ann (born about 1650), with whom Foulkes began a relationship rumoured to be going on as early as 1669. Foulkes, who had been a zealous preacher in the early years of his incumbency, was reportedly seen publicly misbehaving with Ann and became a heavy drinker at local alehouses. There was speculation when Ann was sent away from the parish to give birth at West Felton to an illegitimate baby girl, born in or about May 1674, held to have been sent for fostering by a wet-nurse elsewhere; the child's

paternity Paternity may refer to: *Father, the male parent of a (human) child *Paternity (law), fatherhood as a matter of law * ''Paternity'' (film), a 1981 comedy film starring Burt Reynolds * "Paternity" (''House''), a 2004 episode of the television seri ...

was never firmly proved but was allegedly Foulkes's. In the summer of 1676, Foulkes was admonished by the

Bishop of Hereford The Bishop of Hereford is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Hereford in the Province of Canterbury. Until 1534, the Diocese of Hereford was in full communion with the Roman Catholic Church and two of its bishop ...

, Herbert Croft, after complaints about the relationship and other misbehaviour were brought before a

consistory court A consistory court is a type of ecclesiastical court, especially within the Church of England where they were originally established pursuant to a charter of King William the Conqueror, and still exist today, although since about the middle of th ...

in Ludlow, and he also reportedly beat his wife and a churchwarden who tried to intervene at his rectory house on the same night, after drinking at a

bowling Bowling is a Throwing sports#Target sports, target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a bowling ball, ball toward Bowling pin, pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). Most references to ''bowling'' are ...

match.

Murder and conviction

He seduced the young lady who resided with him, took a lodging for her in York Buildings in the

Strand Strand or The Strand may refer to: Topography *The flat area of land bordering a body of water, a: ** Beach ** Shoreline * Strand swamp, a type of swamp habitat in Florida Places Africa * Strand, Western Cape, a seaside town in South Africa * ...

, and there made away with the child that was born on 11 December 1678, by stabbing it in the throat with a knife and disposing of the body down a privy emptying into the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

. Contrary to popular assertion, given in two contemporary pamphlets, the child was not strangled by him. The next morning, he returned to Shropshire. When the body was found "by a Strange Providence", Atkinson eventually made a full

confession A confession is a statement – made by a person or by a group of people – acknowledging some personal fact that the person (or the group) would ostensibly prefer to keep hidden. The term presumes that the speaker is providing information that ...

. Foulkes was tried and

convicted In law, a conviction is the determination by a court of law that a defendant is guilty of a crime. A conviction may follow a guilty plea that is accepted by the court, a jury trial in which a verdict of guilty is delivered, or a trial by jud ...

at the

Old Bailey The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey after the street on which it stands, is a criminal court building in central London, one of several that house the Crown Court of England and Wales. The s ...

sessions, 16 January 1678–9. After receiving sentence he manifested great penitence, and was visited by several eminent divines, among whom was

Gilbert Burnet Gilbert Burnet (18 September 1643 – 17 March 1715) was a Scottish people, Scottish philosopher and historian, and Bishop of Salisbury. He was fluent in Dutch language, Dutch, French language, French, Latin language, Latin, Greek language, Gree ...

. William Lloyd, dean of Bangor, who came to him the very evening after his condemnation, managed to obtain for him, through Compton,

Bishop of London The bishop of London is the Ordinary (church officer), ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury. By custom the Bishop is also Dean of the Chapel Royal since 1723. The diocese covers of 17 boroughs o ...

, a few days' reprieve, which he employed in writing forty pages of cant, entitled "An Alarme for Sinners: containing the

Confession A confession is a statement – made by a person or by a group of people – acknowledging some personal fact that the person (or the group) would ostensibly prefer to keep hidden. The term presumes that the speaker is providing information that ...

, Prayers, Letters, and

Last Words Last words are the final utterances before death. The meaning is sometimes expanded to somewhat earlier utterances. Last words of famous or infamous people are sometimes recorded (although not always accurately), which then became a historical an ...

of Robert Foulkes, … with an Account of his Life. Published from the Original, Written with his own hand, … and sent by him at his Death to Doctor Lloyd", quarto, London 1679. He speaks of his unfortunate companion with ill-concealed malignity. On the morning of 31 January 1678–9 he was

executed Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence (law), sentence ordering that an offender b ...

Tyburn Tyburn was a Manorialism, manor (estate) in London, Middlesex, England, one of two which were served by the parish of Marylebone. Tyburn took its name from the Tyburn Brook, a tributary of the River Westbourne. The name Tyburn, from Teo Bourne ...

, "not with other common felons, but by himself", and was buried by night at St. Giles-in-the-Fields.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Foulkes, Robert 1630s births 1679 deaths English people convicted of murder 17th-century English criminals People executed by Stuart England People executed at Tyburn English Protestant ministers and clergy Executed people from Shropshire People executed by the Kingdom of England by hanging 17th-century executions by England Anglican priests convicted of crimes British people executed for murder Members of the clergy convicted of murder People from Mallwyd