The Hanging of Peter Downing

In July 1833, the quiet community of Harbour Grace was shaken by one of the most brutal crimes in Newfoundland's history.

Peter Downing, a plantation labourer, and Patrick Malone were accused of robbing the home of schoolteacher Robert Crocker Bray. During the attack, Bray was murdered with a hatchet. His young son, Samuel Comer Bray, and the family's housekeeper, Ellen Coombs, were also killed. The shocking triple murder horrified the entire colony.

Historical Harbour Grace

The men were arrested and brought to trial in St. John's in January 1834. Although both were initially found guilty, Malone's death sentence was later commuted after he agreed to testify against Downing. Peter Downing was sentenced to death.

On January 7, 1834, Downing was publicly hanged on Market House Hill in St. John's. But his punishment didn't end there. His body was transported back to Harbour Grace and suspended in an iron cage on what became known as Gibbet Hill. There, his remains were left on public display to serve as a grim warning to anyone considering murder.

The old Harbour Grace Courthouse

The display was intended to deter crime, but it had the opposite effect on many residents. By April 1834, hundreds of people had had enough. They marched to Gibbet Hill, cut Downing's body down, carried it to the local magistrate's home, and demanded that it be buried. Faced with public outrage, the authorities finally laid his remains to rest.

Nearly two centuries later, Gibbet Hill still bears the name of one of Newfoundland's darkest chapters—a chilling reminder of a time when justice continued long after the executioner had done his work.