Kylie Minogue, renowned worldwide as the Princess of Pop, has a fascinating—and unexpected—piece of family history dating back over two centuries. On September 7, 1816, Dinah Riddiford, an ancestor of Kylie Minogue, was hanged at Gloucester Gaol at the age of 69, possibly making her the oldest woman ever executed in England. Her execution became infamously known as “The Granny Hanging.”
The crime that led to this grim fate was reported in contemporary broadside sheets, early precursors to today’s tabloids. These accounts revealed that Dinah, along with her son Luke, was found guilty of breaking into the home of Mr. Daniel Reed and stealing two sides of bacon. Further investigations noted Dinah’s role in harboring her son and concealing stolen property, actions carried out without the knowledge of her husband.
Genealogy research confirmed that Kylie Minogue, along with her sister Dannii and other members of the Minogue family, are descendants of Dinah Riddiford on their mother’s side. Notably, her execution was reportedly publicized with her body displayed atop the main gates of Gloucester Gaol—a shocking but common practice of the era.
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In a twist connecting history and modern celebrity, a rare 19th-century broadside titled “The True and Particular Account of John Williams and Dinah Riddiford” is set to appear at auction. The piece is part of a private collection of early 1800s crime sheets to be sold by Chorley’s Auctioneers in Prinknash, Gloucestershire, on March 3. Expected to fetch between £400 and £600, these pamphlets captivated the Georgian public with tales of crime, political unrest, and scandal.
The collection also includes other gripping stories, such as the “Tewkesbury Tragedy,” where Susannah Shaw was murdered by Samuel Gray, a naval officer who deceived her with false promises of marriage, only to fatally stab her and conceal her body beneath a tree.
Political turmoil is also documented in these broadsides. For instance, an 1831 pamphlet describes the brutal aftermath of the Bristol Riots, where four men were hanged after citizens took control of the city in protest over parliamentary reforms. Sir Charles Wetherell, Bristol’s Recorder, reportedly fled in disguise amid the chaos.
Werner Freundel, Director of Chorley’s, describes these broadsides as “the tabloids of their day,” delivering vivid accounts of crime, punishment, and political upheaval directly to the public. He likens them to a printed version of today’s true crime podcasts, sensational and widely consumed by eager readers.
This remarkable link between an infamous criminal case of 1816 and the global pop icon Kylie Minogue adds a captivating chapter to both their stories—showing that headline-making runs in the family, albeit in very different ways.