Routes

Planner

Features

Updates

App

Get the App

Combe Gibbet

Combe Gibbet

Highlight • Monument

Combe Gibbet

Name: Combe Gibbet
Rating: 2

Recommended by 89 hikers

This Highlight is in a protected area

Please check local regulations for: North Wessex Downs National Landscape

Save

Location: Inkpen, South East England, England, United Kingdom

Save

See hikes here

Take Me There

Routes here

Best Hikes to Combe Gibbet

5.0

(15)

hikers

1. Combe Gibbet loop from Linkenholt

13.4km

03:48

300m

Intermediate hike. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.

Navigate

Send to Phone

Save

Intermediate

4.8

(16)

hikers

2. Combe Gibbet loop from West Woodhay

7.79km

02:12

160m

Intermediate hike. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.

Navigate

Send to Phone

Save

Intermediate

5.0

(13)

hikers

3. Combe Gibbet – The Jack Russell Inn loop from Inkpen

16.6km

04:39

330m

Intermediate hike. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.

Navigate

Send to Phone

Save

Intermediate

Tips

Dan Hobson

August 18, 2020

Combe Gibbet is a macabre monument on the top of Gallows Down. The structure was erected in 1676 to hang the bodies of George Broomham and Dorothy Newman. Broomham and Newman were having an affair and were hanged for murdering Broomham's wife Martha and their son Robert, after they discovered them together on the downs. You are afforded wonderful views from the monument.

Mike Cree

May 23, 2025

The Murders and Gibbeting:
The Crime: George Bromham, a married farm labourer from Combe, and Dorothy Newman, a widow from Inkpen, were having an illicit affair. To be together, they murdered George's wife, Martha Bromham, and their son, Robert. Accounts vary, but it's believed they waylaid Martha and Robert and beat them to death with staves near where the gibbet now stands. One dramatic, though likely far-fetched, version suggests George killed his wife by thrusting her head into a hornet's nest.
The Witness: The crime was reportedly witnessed by a villager known as "Mad Thomas," who alerted the authorities.
Trial and Execution: George Bromham and Dorothy Newman were tried at Winchester Assizes. They were found guilty and hanged in Winchester on March 3, 1676.

Mike Cree

May 23, 2025

The Gibbet's Purpose: After their execution, their bodies were brought back to Inkpen and prepared for public display. A large, double gibbet was hastily erected on the long barrow. The bodies of George and Dorothy, bound in chains, were then displayed on either side of the gibbet on March 6, 1676, as a stark and gruesome warning to the local community to deter similar crimes. The location was chosen due to its prominence and being on the border of the two parishes, as there was a dispute over which parish should bear the cost of the gibbet.

Details

Informations

Elevation 270 m

Weather

Today

Friday 24 October

11°C

7°C

10 %

If you start your activity now...

Max wind speed: 20.0 km/h

Most visited during

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

See hikes here

Take Me There

Location: Inkpen, South East England, England, United Kingdom

Other Popular Places to Check Out

Orpheus Mosaic at Littlecote Roman Villa

Donnington Castle

Wilton Windmill

St Barnabas Church, Faccombe

Cows by the Stream in The Chase

St Michael and All Angels Church, Highclere

Penwood Forest

Meadows and Views of Charldown Top Copse

View of the Kennet and Avon Canal in Hungerford

View of North Wessex Downs from Faccombe Road

Woods in North Wessex Downs

St Michael's Church, Inkpen

Combe Gibbet

1. Combe Gibbet loop from Linkenholt

2. Combe Gibbet loop from West Woodhay

3. Combe Gibbet – The Jack Russell Inn loop from Inkpen

Other Popular Places to Check Out

We value your privacy ⛰️

We value your privacy ⛰️