The job of an executioner in medieval England was detestable. Nobody invited them to their homes. They were not allowed to go to the church, and some schools did not even take the children of executioners. Faced with social ostracism, executioners were compelled to associate with individuals who were considered undesirable by society and forced to inhabit the underworld along with prostitutes, lepers, and criminals. It was from such an unsavory background emerged Jack Ketch.
The execution of the Duke of Monmouth by Jack Ketch. Etching by Jan Luyken.
Source: amusingplanet.com