Towards the end of his career the feeling began to be expressed in the press that Calcraft's age was catching up with him. On 15 November 1869, aged 69, Calcraft executed Joseph Welsh, for murder, at Maidstone Gaol. Reporting on the execution The Times commented that "the adjustment of the rope was slow and bungling, and such as to show that Calcraft's age has unfitted him for his occupation".
