James Cliffen

James Cliffen (died 24 March 1785) was a British footpad and murderer who killed Peter Seamen while robbing him and his brother Henry Seamen in Yaxham, Norfolk in January 1785. He was found guilty on 21 March that year before being executed at Norwich Castle Hill on 24 March and then gibbeted at the parish boundary between Yaxham and Mattishall for around 25 years.

Murder of Peter Seamen In January 1785, the footpad James Cliffen conducted a violent robbery on a footpath at Yaxham, Norfolk, during which he beat the brothers Peter and Henry Seamen,

Execution and gibbeting On 24 March 1785, though he continually pleaded that he was innocent, on a gibbet that measured in height.

The gibbet and Cliffen's remains were a local landmark for around 25 years, visible across the moor and on William Faden's 1797 map of the county. Cliffen's body was buried around 50 years after his gibbeting, though five years after this his bones were ploughed up and his skull passed into private possession.