Half Hangit Maggie

Maggie Dickson was sadly abandoned by her sailor husband in the early 18th Century. Fortunately for the young woman, she was able to find work to support herself in a Kelso inn, but things soon got problematic. Maggie started a secret relationship with the innkeeper’s son and inevitably, she soon became pregnant.

Scared that she would lose her job, Maggie kept the pregnancy hidden right up until she gave birth. Unfortunately, the baby didn't survive and in a panic, young Maggie hid the body down by the River Tweed. The child was quickly discovered and Maggie was arrested then subsequently dragged to Edinburgh to stand trial.

The law was firmly against women in her position. Even if she wasn’t found guilty of infanticide, she would be punished for concealment of pregnancy. At the age of just 22, Maggie Dickson was sentenced to be hanged at the Grassmarket.

The hanging was a public affair and a scuffle broke out afterwards between medical students and those who wished to respectfully bury the body. Kinder hearts won the day and once a doctor had pronounced Maggie dead, she was laid in a coffin and put in a cart bound for burial in Musselburgh.

The driver didn't get very far before deciding to stop the cart at a roadside pub. Returning from his drinks, he got the fright of his life from the shouts and thumps coming from the back. Maggie wasn't dead after all.

When Maggie was brought back to Edinburgh, it was decided that her sentence had technically been carried out. Legally, she couldn’t be punished for the same crime again. The girl went on to live for another 40 years going by the affectionate nickname Half Hangit Maggie.

It's been a long time since the last execution in Edinburgh, but the shadow of the Grassmarket gallows can still be seen, etched into the pavement near the pub that proudly bears Maggie’s name.