Gruesome Sunderland and South Tyneside auction lot sells for more than £500

A glass artwork commemorating William Jobling, one of the last men in Britain to be gibbeted, captured the attention of bidders during Anderson & Garland’s Homes and Interiors Auction.

‘Crafted in Sunderland and engraved by an apprentice’

The piece which was crafted in Sunderland and engraved by an apprentice of the town’s historic glassworks, tells the sombre story of Jobling, a miner from Jarrow.

He was executed in 1832 following the murder of a magistrate during the turbulent miners’ strikes.

In August 1832, Jobling was hanged in public. His body was then tarred and displayed in an iron gibbet near South Shields.

Less than a month later, the body mysteriously disappeared. According to local legend, his family retrieved the remains under the cover of darkness and buried them near what is now the Tyne Tunnel entrance, where a memorial now stands.

‘It drew widespread interest at auction and ultimately sold for £520’

His widow Isabella was left destitute, and the fate of his children remains unknown.

Only two years after Jobling’s death, the brutal practice of gibbeting was outlawed,

A spokesman for the auctioneers said: “This remarkable glass piece, combining artistic craftsmanship with powerful historical narrative, drew widespread interest at auction and ultimately sold for £520 including fees.”

Born in 1794, Jobling was one of many men from Jarrow destined for life in the pits. Mining was gruelling and dangerous work – in the years leading up to his arrest, local tragedies had become all too common, including one in which 40 men and boys lost their lives.

Amid rising tensions, Jobling joined fellow miners in striking for improved pay and conditions.

In 1832, Jobling and a companion encountered local magistrate Nicholas Fairles near Jarrow Slake.

When Fairles refused Jobling’s plea for money, Armstrong began throwing sticks and stones at the magistrate, who later died from his injuries.