Tom Otter and the Slaying of Mary Kirkham

The nineeenth century legend of Tom Otter and his brutal slaying of Mary Kirkham on their wedding day has gone down in history as one of the most senseless and violent acts to have taken place against a defenceless woman. The very mention of his name in some quarters brings a shudder to those close by, and even the passing of time has failed to heel the wounds that some feel towards him and his wicked act. Throughout his time in the public eye there has been confusion as to his true name. Should he be called Thomas Temple or Temporal or was his real name Thomas Otter? Following his execution, after a well publicised trial, the body of Thomas Otter was gibbeted close to the scene of Mary Kirkham's murder where it remained swinging in the breeze for forty-four years. Thomas Otter became the last man in Lincolnshire and one of the last men in the whole of England to be gibbeted and yet the story of Tom Otter and the slaying of Mary Kirkham lives on.