at that time hangings were carried out on the flat roof of the gatehouse. two irishmen, maurice murphy and patrick sullivan, were sentenced for the joint murder of jane lewis and were publicly executed, on 23 september 1850, on the roof. their execution was watched from the grassy slopes of what is now haberdashers' monmouth school for girls, by a crowd of about 3,000, of whom "about four-fifths were estimated to be of the softer sex". executions were carried out in public there until nine years later (23 september 1859), when matthew francis was hanged for the murder of his wife. the illustration shows that the gatehouse originally had castellated parapets and cross loops on the south elevation, so the current pitched roof and windows of the private house probably date from after its closure in 1869. the huge recessed archway remains, however, though with a domestic front door built into it.