“Behind closed doors, a secret relationship unfolded — and when it was exposed, it shook an entire city.”

In 1857, the sudden death of a young clerk seemed, at first, like another quiet tragedy in a crowded industrial city. But when arsenic was discovered in his body, investigators were forced to look beyond illness — and toward a hidden world of letters, secrecy, and forbidden intimacy.

At the centre of the case stood Madeleine Smith, a young woman from one of Glasgow’s most respectable families. Her private correspondence, never meant to be seen, became the centrepiece of a sensational trial that asked how far suspicion could go when proof remained elusive.

This week, the Archive revisits Scotland’s most infamous courtroom drama — a case that defined the verdict of Not Proven, exposed the cost of reputation, and left questions that still refuse to settle.

https://linktr.ee/MurderMostBritish

Wikipedia – Madeleine Smith (overview of the case) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madeleine_Smith

Archive.org – Full text of The Trial of Madeleine Smith (digitised 1857 trial transcript) https://archive.org/stream/trialmadeleines00smitgoog/trialmadeleines00smitgoog_djvu.txt

Precognition and investigation coverage from the Glasgow Herald, Stirling Observer, Inverness Advertiser — reporting from April 1857 on the suspected poisoning and legal process. https://randomscottishhistory.com/2022/06/09/madeleine-smith-pre-trial-podcast/

National Records of Scotland blog (“Madeleine Hamilton Smith (1835–1928) – The Accused”) — summary of the case with legal and cultural framing. https://blog.nrscotland.gov.uk/2017/07/18/madeleine-hamilton-smith-1835-1928-the-accused/

Scottish Legal Podcast/article on how the Not Proven verdict still resonates in Scotland’s legal heritage. https://www.scottishlegal.com/articles/our-legal-heritage-new-forensic-science-podcast-puts-not-proven-madeleine-smith-case-under-the-microscope

Crime Chronicles

https://vocal.media/criminal/crime-chronicles-madeleine-smith

“A murder in rural Northern Ireland in 1961 became something larger — and left a permanent mark on the justice system.”

In the early 1960s, a young woman vanished from her community, sparking fear in a place where crimes of this kind were rare and deeply unsettling. What followed was a rapid investigation and a case that would come to carry significance far beyond the events that first drew police attention.

As the story unfolded, it raised uncomfortable questions — not only about responsibility, but about punishment, finality, and the moment when the power of the state reaches its limit.

This week, the Archive examines a case remembered not just for what happened — but for what followed, and why it still echoes decades later.

Where to follow and links to Discord

https://linktr.ee/MurderMostBritish

SOURCES

Independent.ie (The Indo Daily) — Pearl Gamble story https://www.independent.ie/podcasts/the-indo-daily/the-indo-daily-the-pearl-gamble-story-and-the-last-man-to-hang-in-northern-ireland/a927411546.html

Belfast Telegraph

https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/the-last-man-to-be-hanged-in-ulster/28263256.html

Harry Allen (executioner of McGladdery)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Allen_(executioner)

Robert McGladdery (Wikipedia) — Last hanging in NI

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_McGladdery

The Newry Journal

https://www.newryjournal.co.uk/history/living-history/mcgladdery-as-chief-suspect/

https://www.newryjournal.co.uk/history/living-history/mcgladdery-walks-the-route/

https://www.newryjournal.co.uk/history/living-history/mcgladdery-cleans-his-trail/

https://www.newryjournal.co.uk/history/living-history/mcgladdery-buys-murder-weapon/

https://www.newryjournal.co.uk/history/living-history/mcgladdery/ https://www.newryjournal.co.uk/history/living-history/the-long-wait-mcgladdery/ https://www.newryjournal.co.uk/reminiscence/characters/dickie-talks-of-mcgladdery/