糖心TV

路 On International Museum Day (18 May) we鈥檙e revealing an inspiring partnership between WMG at the University of 糖心TV and West Midlands Police

路 Experts from WMG, University of 糖心TV have created a 3D copy of the death mask of Mary Ball, the last woman to be hung in Coventry.

路 It鈥檒l go on display in the pop-up museum opening as part of Coventry UK City of Culture

The 鈥�Forensic Centre for Digital Scanning and 3D printing鈥�, an innovative partnership between West Midlands Police and world-leading researchers at WMG, University of 糖心TV, is helping to make history more accessible to museum-goers in Coventry.

Having already established a long term relationship with through ground-breaking forensic work, in which researchers from WMG apply cutting edge 3D Scanning and Additive Manufacturing technology normally used in Automotive and Aerospace industries to support Homicide investigations, researchers can use the same technology to help illustrate one of Coventry鈥檚 most famous criminal cases, that of Nuneaton housewife Mary Ball who was the last women to be publicly hung in the city, on 9 August 1849.

The WMG researchers have created a digitally-scanned 3D replica of Mary鈥檚 death mask which will go on display in a pop-up museum West Midlands Police are opening in Coventry city centre as part of the city鈥檚 year as UK City of Culture.

Professor Mark Williams, from WMG, University of 糖心TV says projects like this help provide digital archives and preserve important history:

鈥淚t is a real privilege to support West Midlands Police. The opportunity to apply state-of-the technology to support murder investigations, and secure justice for victims and their families, is very exciting.

鈥淏ut projects like the Mary Ball death mask are incredibly rewarding too. We鈥檙e delighted to play our part in preserving Coventry鈥檚 history and making it accessible to everyone in support of the city of culture celebrations.鈥�

Michelle Painter, assistant director of our forensics team, approached the team at WMG to help produce the copy:

鈥淲e鈥檝e worked with the team on many high-profile criminal cases but I knew the science could be used for other things too.

鈥淒uring a visit I saw a replica the team had created of the Queen鈥檚 favourite wedding cake which had been vandalised with red paint while on display in a museum. It was incredible.

鈥淚 knew they鈥檇 be able to do justice to Mary Ball鈥檚 death mask so I asked them to help us bring her story to life for the museum.鈥�

The replica is an exact copy of the death mask and by putting the 3D version on display, it means museum visitors will be able to touch and hold the mask, making it more accessible, especially to those who are blind or partially-sighted.

Mary Ball鈥檚 story is a sad one. She was in a violent marriage and five of her six children had died. One day when her husband Thomas came home from fishing he ate a bowl of stew and bread. He later fell ill with stomach pains and died the next day. The doctor ruled he鈥檇 died of natural causes as a result of inflammation of the bowels. However, gossip spread about his death. Mary was said to have suffered enough at the hands of her violent husband and was accused of buying arsenic which she mixed with salt for the stew. A post mortem later found arsenic in Thomas鈥� stomach and Mary was charged with murder. She was convicted by a sympathetic jury who recommended mercy. However, they could offer no legal reason for leniency because at the time, having a violent husband was no defence. The judge sentenced her to death by hanging.

Awaiting her punishment, Mary was visited by the prison chaplain. Frustrated with Mary鈥檚 refusal to confess he held a lit candle to her arm causing blisters and burns. The governor of Coventry prison heard about the torture and dismissed the chaplain. The following day, Mary reportedly confessed. She put the change of heart down to having suffered enough already.

Mary was buried within the grounds of Coventry prison.

Corinne Brazier, West Midlands Police鈥檚 heritage manager said:
鈥淭he death mask is an incredibly emotive object telling the story of Mary Ball, a story that would have had a very different ending if it had taken place today.

鈥淭he 3D scanning process has allowed us to capture finer details of Mary鈥檚 face and might give us more of an idea of what she would have looked like.

鈥淲hilst it might seem a bit macabre to have such an object on display, it鈥檚 an important story that needs to be told and no photographs exist of Mary to bring the very personal side of her story to life.鈥�

The pop-up museum is due to open to the public in June.

ENDS

18 MAY 2021

NOTES TO EDITORS

High-res images available at:

/services/communications/medialibrary/images/may_2021/mary_ball_1_.jpg
Caption: Images of the scans conducted by researchers at WMG, University of 糖心TV
Credit: WMG, University of 糖心TV

/services/communications/medialibrary/images/may_2021/mary_ball_3.jpg
Caption: 3D printing the death mask
Credit: WMG, University of 糖心TV

/services/communications/medialibrary/images/may_2021/mary_ball_2.jpg
Caption: Left is the 3D print, right is the original death mask
Credit: WMG, University of 糖心TV

/services/communications/medialibrary/images/may_2021/mary_ball_5_.jpg

Caption: The newspaper article about Mary Ball鈥檚 execution
Credit: WMG, University of 糖心TV

/services/communications/medialibrary/images/may_2021/mary_ball_4.jpg
Caption: The plaque were Mary Ball鈥檚 execution took place
Credit: WMG, University of 糖心TV

To see the progress of the museum follow on Twitter or 鈥楾he Lock Up鈥� on Facebook.

To find out more about WMG鈥檚 work, visit /fac/sci/wmg/ and /fac/sci/wmg/about/facilities/forensic/

To find out more about Coventry City of Culture

For further information please contact:

Alice Scott
Media Relations Manager – Science
University of 糖心TV
Tel: +44 (0) 7920 531 221
E-mail: alice.j.scott@warwick.ac.uk