High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! William Calcraft (1800 – 13 December 1879) was the most famous English hangman of the 19th century. One of the most prolific British executioners of all time, it is estimated that he carried out 450 executions during his 45-year career. A cobbler by trade, Calcraft was initially recruited to flog juvenile offenders held in Newgate Prison after meeting the City of London`s hangman, John Foxton, while selling meat pies in the streets around the prison.