A shocking double murder near Wymondham took hold of Victorian England and pulled an audience of 15,000 people to a hanging.

With Stanfield Hall up for sale for £5.2million, we're taking a look back at the property's dramatic past.

On November 28, 1848, the Jermy family was holding a dinner party at the hall.

When the owner of Stanfield, Isaac Jermy, went outside for some evening air he was ambushed by a masked man.

 

Wymondham & Attleborough Mercury: James Bloomfield Rush was a tenant of the Jermy familyJames Bloomfield Rush was a tenant of the Jermy family (Image: Archant Library)

The assailant shot him before going inside to shoot Mr Jermy's wife, son (also called Isaac), and a maid.

While the two women were badly injured, Mr Jermy and his son both died.

The masked man was James Bloomfield Rush, the family's widowed tenant farmer of more than a decade.

He owed Mr Jermy a large sum of money with repayment due two days later.

Wymondham & Attleborough Mercury: Crowds outside Norwich CastleCrowds outside Norwich Castle (Image: Archant Library)

Wymondham & Attleborough Mercury: Emily Sandford was a witness at the trialEmily Sandford was a witness at the trial (Image: Archant Library)

It was Rush's plan to blame the deaths on rival claimants to the estate in order to avoid eviction, which would hurt his nine children and pregnant mistress, Emily Sandford.

He was arrested after being recognised by Mrs Jermy and the maid and put on trial in Norwich where he defended himself.

Rush intended for Ms Sandford, who was also the Jermy family governess, to provide him an alibi but she refused.

His closing speech lasted 14 hours but it took the jury just 10 minutes to come to a decision.

Wymondham & Attleborough Mercury: The grave stone of Rush at Norwich CastleThe grave stone of Rush at Norwich Castle (Image: Norfolk Museums Service)

Wymondham & Attleborough Mercury: Charles Dickens visited the hall after the murdersCharles Dickens visited the hall after the murders (Image: PA)

In 1849, he was convicted and hanged on the bridge outside Norwich Castle before being buried on the grounds.

His hanging was attended by 15,000 people including Charles Dickens who had already released Oliver Twist and A Christmas Carol at the time.

Dickens also visited the hall saying it "had a murderous look that seemed to invite such a crime".

A death mask was made of Rush's head to be studied by phrenologists, a pseudoscience that involves the measurement of bumps on the skull to predict mental traits such as criminality.

A waxwork of Rush was displayed in the Chamber of Horrors of Madame Tussauds in London from 1849 to 1971.