THE case of Eugene Aram was one of the most notorious murder trials of the 18th-century - an outwardly respectable scholar convicted of killing his associate in crime.

The schoolteacher from Knaresborough was tried at York Assizes in 1759, and three days later his body was hanging on his home town’s Thistle Hill, left to rot in iron bands as a warning to others.

But questions as to his guilt still continue now and whether his conviction was safe or not have been endlessly debated ever since.

And now his case is to be argued once again - by 21st-century lawyers using the original records - when his trial is restaged at the Courthouse Museum in Ripon on June 13.

“The judge at the time described his defence as one of the most ingenious piece of reasoning he had ever heard,” said museum curator Anthony Chadwick.

“But will it be enough to persuade a modern jury?”

The public will be able to decide for themselves when they sit in the Georgian courtroom for the reconstruction.

Volunteers will be in costume and acting the parts while lawyers argue the case from 7pm.

Contact Ripon Museums to reserve a ticket at £4 per person on 01765-690799.

For more details visit riponmuseums.co.uk