![Tyburn gallows 1746](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a6/Tyburn_gallows_1746.jpg)
Tyburn was a
manor (estate) in the county of
Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...
, one of two which were served by the parish of
Marylebone
Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary.
An Civil parish#Ancient parishes, ancient parish and latterly a ...
.
The parish, probably therefore also the manor, was bounded by Roman roads to the west (modern
Edgware Road
Edgware Road is a major road in London, England. The route originated as part of Roman Watling Street and, unusually in London, it runs for 10 miles in an almost perfectly straight line. Forming part of the modern A5 road, Edgware Road undergoes ...
) and south (modern
Oxford Street
Oxford Street is a major road in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, running from Tottenham Court Road to Marble Arch via Oxford Circus. It is Europe's busiest shopping street, with around half a million daily visitors, and as ...
), the junction of these was the site of the famous Tyburn Gallows (known colloquially as the "Tyburn Tree"), now occupied by
Marble Arch
The Marble Arch is a 19th-century white marble-faced triumphal arch in London, England. The structure was designed by John Nash (architect), John Nash in 1827 to be the state entrance to the cour d'honneur of Buckingham Palace; it stood near th ...
. For this reason, for many centuries, the name Tyburn was synonymous with
capital punishment
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...
, it having been the principal place for execution of London criminals and convicted
traitors, including many religious
martyr
A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...
s. It was also known as 'God's Tribunal', in the 18th century. Tyburn took its name from the
Tyburn Brook
Tyburn Brook was a small tributary stream to the West Bourne or Westbourne and ran mainly in Hyde Park for a few hundred metres south by south-west. It has lost its catchment to natural drainage into the gravelly topsoil and to surface water, f ...
, a tributary of the
River Westbourne
The Westbourne or Kilburn is a culverted small River Thames tributary in London, rising in Hampstead and Brondesbury Park and which as a drain unites and flows southward through Kilburn and Bayswater (west end of Paddington) to skirt underne ...
. The name Tyburn, from Teo Bourne, means 'boundary stream',
[Gover, J. E. B., Allen Mawer and F. M. Stenton ''The Place-Names of Middlesex''. Nottingham: English Place-Name Society, The, 1942: 6.] but Tyburn Brook should not be confused with the better known
River Tyburn
The River Tyburn was a stream (bourn) in London, its main successor sewers emulate its main courses but it resembled the Colne in its county of Middlesex in that it had many distributaries (inland mouths). It ran from South Hampstead, through M ...
, which is the next tributary of the
River Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...
to the east of the Westbourne.
History
The manor of Tyburn, along with neighbouring
Lisson was recorded in the
Domesday Book
Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...
of 1086, and were together served by the
parish
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...
of
Marylebone
Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary.
An Civil parish#Ancient parishes, ancient parish and latterly a ...
, itself named after the stream, the original name of the parish was simply Marybourne, the stream of St Mary; the French "le" appeared in the 17th century, under the influence of names like
Mary-le-Bow. Domesday showed that the manor was held, both before and after the Norman Conquest, by the
Barking Abbey
Barking Abbey is a former royal monastery located in Barking, in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. It has been described as having been "one of the most important nunneries in the country".
Originally established in the 7th century, fr ...
nunnery. The Domesday survey records it as having eight households, suggesting a population of 40. In the 1230s and 1240s, the manor was held by Gilbert de Sandford, the son of
John de Sandford John de Sandford (died 2 October 1294) was Archbishop of Dublin.
He was brother of Fulk Basset, archbishop of Dublin, and hence nephew of Sir Philip Basset (d. 1271), the justiciar, and of Fulk Basset, Bishop of London from 1241 until his death ...
, who had been the
chamberlain
Chamberlain may refer to:
Profession
*Chamberlain (office), the officer in charge of managing the household of a sovereign or other noble figure
People
*Chamberlain (surname)
**Houston Stewart Chamberlain (1855–1927), German-British philosop ...
to
Eleanor of Aquitaine
Eleanor ( – 1 April 1204; french: Aliénor d'Aquitaine, ) was Queen of France from 1137 to 1152 as the wife of King Louis VII, Queen of England from 1154 to 1189 as the wife of King Henry II, and Duchess of Aquitaine in her own right from ...
. In 1236, the city of London contracted with Sir Gilbert to draw water from Tyburn Springs, which he held, to serve as the source of the first piped water supply for the city. The water was supplied in lead pipes that ran from where
Bond Street Station
Bond Street is a London Underground and Elizabeth line station in Mayfair, in the West End of London. Entrances are on Oxford Street, near its junction with New Bond Street, and on Hanover Square.
The station is on the Central line, between ...
stands today, 800 m east of
Hyde Park
Hyde Park may refer to:
Places
England
* Hyde Park, London, a Royal Park in Central London
* Hyde Park, Leeds, an inner-city area of north-west Leeds
* Hyde Park, Sheffield, district of Sheffield
* Hyde Park, in Hyde, Greater Manchester
Austra ...
, down to the hamlet of Charing (Charing Cross), along
Fleet Street
Fleet Street is a major street mostly in the City of London. It runs west to east from Temple Bar at the boundary with the City of Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the London Wall and the River Fleet from which the street was na ...
and over the Fleet Bridge, climbing
Ludgate Hill
Ludgate Hill is a street and surrounding area, on a small hill in the City of London. The street passes through the former site of Ludgate, a city gate that was demolished – along with a gaol attached to it – in 1760.
The area include ...
(by gravitational pressure) to a public conduit at
Cheapside
Cheapside is a street in the City of London, the historic and modern financial centre of London, which forms part of the A40 London to Fishguard road. It links St. Martin's Le Grand with Poultry. Near its eastern end at Bank junction, where ...
. Water was supplied free to all comers.
The junction of the two Roman Roads had significance from ancient times and was marked by a monument known as ''Oswulf's Stone'', which gave its name to the
Ossulstone
Ossulstone is an obsolete subdivision (hundred) covering 26.4% of – and the most metropolitan part – of the historic county of Middlesex, England.British History Online Hundreds of Middlesex/ref> It surrounded but did not include the ...
Hundred
100 or one hundred (Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101.
In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to de ...
of
Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...
. The stone was covered over in 1851 when
Marble Arch
The Marble Arch is a 19th-century white marble-faced triumphal arch in London, England. The structure was designed by John Nash (architect), John Nash in 1827 to be the state entrance to the cour d'honneur of Buckingham Palace; it stood near th ...
was moved to the area, but it was shortly afterwards unearthed and propped up against the Arch. It has not been seen since it was stolen in 1869.
Tyburn gallows
![Tyburn tree](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8/Tyburn_tree.jpg)
Although executions took place elsewhere (notably on
Tower Hill
Tower Hill is the area surrounding the Tower of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is infamous for the public execution of high status prisoners from the late 14th to the mid 18th century. The execution site on the higher grou ...
, generally related to treason by gentlemen), the Roman road junction at Tyburn became associated with the place of criminal execution after most were moved here from
Smithfield in the 1400s. Prisoners were taken in public procession from
Newgate Prison
Newgate Prison was a prison at the corner of Newgate Street and Old Bailey Street just inside the City of London, England, originally at the site of Newgate, a gate in the Roman London Wall. Built in the 12th century and demolished in 1904, t ...
in
the City, via
St Giles in the Fields
St Giles in the Fields is the Anglican parish church of the St Giles district of London. It stands within the London Borough of Camden and belongs to the Diocese of London. The church, named for St Giles the Hermit, began as a monastery and ...
and
Oxford Street
Oxford Street is a major road in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, running from Tottenham Court Road to Marble Arch via Oxford Circus. It is Europe's busiest shopping street, with around half a million daily visitors, and as ...
(then known as Tyburn Road). From the late 18th century, when public executions were no longer carried out at Tyburn, they occurred at
Newgate Prison
Newgate Prison was a prison at the corner of Newgate Street and Old Bailey Street just inside the City of London, England, originally at the site of Newgate, a gate in the Roman London Wall. Built in the 12th century and demolished in 1904, t ...
itself and at
Horsemonger Lane Gaol
Horsemonger Lane Gaol (also known as the Surrey County Gaol or the New Gaol) was a prison close to present-day Newington Causeway in Southwark, south London. Built at the end of the 18th century, it was in use until 1878.
History
The gaol was b ...
in
Southwark
Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...
.
The first recorded execution took place at a site next to the stream in 1196.
William Fitz Osbert
William Fitz Osbert or William with the long beard (died 1196) was a citizen of London who took up the role of "the advocate of the poor" in a popular uprising in the spring of 1196. Popular revolts by the poor and peasants in England were rare ...
, populist leader who played a major role in an 1196 popular revolt in London, was cornered in the church of
St Mary-le-Bow. He was dragged naked behind a horse to Tyburn, where he was
hanged
Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging i ...
.
In 1537, Henry VIII used Tyburn to execute the ringleaders of the
Pilgrimage of Grace
The Pilgrimage of Grace was a popular revolt beginning in Yorkshire in October 1536, before spreading to other parts of Northern England including Cumberland, Northumberland, and north Lancashire, under the leadership of Robert Aske. The "most ...
, including Sir Nicholas Tempest, one of the northern leaders of the Pilgrimage and the King's own
Bowbearer In Old English law, a Bowbearer was an under-officer of the forest who looked after all manner of trespass on vert or venison, and who attached, or caused to be attached, the offenders, in the feudal Court of Attachment.
The bow was a renowned En ...
of the
Forest of Bowland
The Forest of Bowland, also known as the Bowland Fells and formerly the Chase of Bowland, is an area of gritstone fells, deep valleys and peat moorland, mostly in north-east Lancashire, England, with a small part in North Yorkshire (however ro ...
.
In 1571, the Tyburn Tree was erected near the junction of today's
Edgware Road
Edgware Road is a major road in London, England. The route originated as part of Roman Watling Street and, unusually in London, it runs for 10 miles in an almost perfectly straight line. Forming part of the modern A5 road, Edgware Road undergoes ...
,
Bayswater Road
Bayswater Road is the main road running along the northern edge of Hyde Park in London. Originally part of the A40 road, it is now designated part of the A402 road.
Route
In the east, Bayswater Road originates at Marble Arch roadway at ...
and
Oxford Street
Oxford Street is a major road in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, running from Tottenham Court Road to Marble Arch via Oxford Circus. It is Europe's busiest shopping street, with around half a million daily visitors, and as ...
, 200 m west of
Marble Arch
The Marble Arch is a 19th-century white marble-faced triumphal arch in London, England. The structure was designed by John Nash (architect), John Nash in 1827 to be the state entrance to the cour d'honneur of Buckingham Palace; it stood near th ...
. The "Tree" or "Triple Tree" was a form of
gallows
A gallows (or scaffold) is a frame or elevated beam, typically wooden, from which objects can be suspended (i.e., hung) or "weighed". Gallows were thus widely used to suspend public weighing scales for large and heavy objects such as sacks ...
, consisting of a horizontal wooden triangle supported by three legs (an arrangement known as a "three-legged mare" or "three-legged stool"). Multiple criminals could be hanged at once, and so the gallows were used for mass executions, such as on 23/06/1649 when 24 prisoners (23 men and 1 woman) were hanged simultaneously, having been conveyed there in eight carts.
After executions, the bodies would be buried nearby or in later times removed for
dissection
Dissection (from Latin ' "to cut to pieces"; also called anatomization) is the dismembering of the body of a deceased animal or plant to study its anatomical structure. Autopsy is used in pathology and forensic medicine to determine the cause o ...
by
anatomists. The crowd would sometimes fight over a body with surgeons, for fear that dismemberment could prevent the resurrection of the body on Judgement Day (see
Jack Sheppard
Jack Sheppard (4 March 1702 – 16 November 1724), or "Honest Jack", was a notorious English thief and prison escapee of early 18th-century London.
Born into a poor family, he was apprenticed as a carpenter but took to theft and burglary in ...
,
Dick Turpin
Richard Turpin (bapt. 21 September 1705 – 7 April 1739) was an English highwayman whose exploits were romanticised following his execution in York for horse theft. Turpin may have followed his father's trade as a butcher ea ...
or
William Spiggot
William Spiggot (also spelled Spigget) was a highwayman who was captured by Jonathan Wild's men in 1721. During his trial at the Old Bailey, he at first refused to plead and was therefore sentenced to be pressed until he pleaded. This was calle ...
).
The first victim of the "Tyburn Tree" was
John Story, a
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
who was convicted and tried for treason.
A plaque to the ''Catholic martyrs'' executed at Tyburn in the period 1535–1681 is located at 8 Hyde Park Place, the site of Tyburn convent. Among the more notable individuals suspended from the "Tree" in the following centuries were
John Bradshaw,
Henry Ireton
Henry Ireton ((baptised) 3 November 1611 – 26 November 1651) was an English general in the Parliamentarian army during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, and the son-in-law of Oliver Cromwell. He died of disease outside Limerick in November 16 ...
and
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...
, who were already dead but were disinterred and hanged at Tyburn in January 1661 on the orders of the
Cavalier Parliament
The Cavalier Parliament of England lasted from 8 May 1661 until 24 January 1679. It was the longest English Parliament, and longer than any Great British or UK Parliament to date, enduring for nearly 18 years of the quarter-century reign of C ...
in an act of posthumous revenge for their part in the beheading of King
Charles I Charles I may refer to:
Kings and emperors
* Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings
* Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily
* Charles I of ...
.
The gallows seem to have been replaced several times, probably because of
wear
Wear is the damaging, gradual removal or deformation of material at solid surfaces. Causes of wear can be mechanical (e.g., erosion) or chemical (e.g., corrosion). The study of wear and related processes is referred to as tribology.
Wear in m ...
, but in general, the entire structure stood all the time in Tyburn. After some acts of
vandalism
Vandalism is the action involving deliberate destruction of or damage to public or private property.
The term includes property damage, such as graffiti and defacement directed towards any property without permission of the owner. The term f ...
, in October 1759 it was decided to replace the permanent structure with new moving gallows until the last execution in Tyburn, probably carried out in November
1783.
The executions were public spectacles which attracted crowds of thousands. Spectator stands provided deluxe views for a fee. On one occasion, the stands collapsed, reportedly killing and injuring hundreds of people. One such event was depicted by
William Hogarth
William Hogarth (; 10 November 1697 – 26 October 1764) was an English painter, engraver, pictorial satirist, social critic, editorial cartoonist and occasional writer on art. His work ranges from realistic portraiture to comic strip-like s ...
in his satirical print ''The Idle 'Prentice Executed at Tyburn'' (1747).
Tyburn was commonly invoked in
euphemism
A euphemism () is an innocuous word or expression used in place of one that is deemed offensive or suggests something unpleasant. Some euphemisms are intended to amuse, while others use bland, inoffensive terms for concepts that the user wishes ...
s for capital punishment—for instance, to "take a ride to Tyburn" (or simply "go west") was to go to one's hanging, "Lord of the Manor of Tyburn" was the public hangman, "dancing the Tyburn jig" was the act of being hanged. Convicts would be transported to the site in an open ox-cart from Newgate Prison. They were expected to put on a good show, wearing their finest clothes and going to their deaths with
insouciance.
On 19 April 1779,
clergyman
Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...
James Hackman
James Hackman (baptized 13 December 1752, hanged 19 April 1779), briefly Rector of Wiveton in Norfolk, was the man who murdered Martha Ray, singer and mistress of John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich. Rawlings, Philip, ''Hackman, James (bap. 1752, ...
was hanged there following his 7 April murder of
courtesan
Courtesan, in modern usage, is a euphemism for a "kept" mistress (lover), mistress or prostitute, particularly one with wealthy, powerful, or influential clients. The term historically referred to a courtier, a person who attended the Royal cour ...
and
socialite
A socialite is a person from a wealthy and (possibly) aristocratic background, who is prominent in high society. A socialite generally spends a significant amount of time attending various fashionable social gatherings, instead of having traditio ...
Martha Ray
Martha Ray (1746 – 7 April 1779) was a British singer of the Georgian era. Her father was a corsetmaker and her mother was a servant in a noble household. Good-looking, intelligent, and a talented singer, she came to the attention of many of ...
, the mistress of
John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich
John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, PC, FRS (13 November 1718 – 30 April 1792) was a British statesman who succeeded his grandfather Edward Montagu, 3rd Earl of Sandwich as the Earl of Sandwich in 1729, at the age of ten. During his life ...
. The Tyburn gallows were last used on 3 November 1783, when
John Austin John Austin may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* John P. Austin (1906–1997), American set decorator
* Johnny Austin (1910–1983), American musician
* John Austin (author) (fl. 1940s), British novelist
Military
* John Austin (soldier) (180 ...
, a
highwayman
A highwayman was a robber who stole from travellers. This type of thief usually travelled and robbed by horse as compared to a footpad who travelled and robbed on foot; mounted highwaymen were widely considered to be socially superior to footp ...
, was hanged; for the next eighty-five years hangings were staged outside
Newgate prison. Then, in 1868, due to public disorder during these public executions, it was decided to execute the convicts inside the prison.
The site of the gallows is now marked by three young oak trees that were planted in 2014 on an island in the middle of Edgware Road at its junction with Bayswater Road. Between the trees is a roundel with the inscription "The site of Tyburn Tree". It is also commemorated by the Tyburn Convent,
[Tyburn Convent website](_blank)
Retrieved 10/8/07 a Catholic convent dedicated to the memory of martyrs executed there and in other locations for the Catholic faith.
Although most historical records and modern science agree that the Tyburn gallows were situated where Oxford Street meets Edgware Road and Bayswater Road, in the January 1850 issue of ''
Notes and Queries
''Notes and Queries'', also styled ''Notes & Queries'', is a long-running quarterly scholarly journal that publishes short articles related to " English language and literature, lexicography, history, and scholarly antiquarianism".From the inne ...
'', the book collector and musicologist
Edward Francis Rimbault
Edward Francis Rimbault (13 June 1816 – 26 September 1876) was an English organist, musicologist, book collector and author.
Life
Rimbault was born in Soho, London, to a family of French Huguenot extraction that had emigrated to England in 1685 ...
published a list of faults he had found in
Peter Cunningham's 1849 ''Handbook of London'', in which he claimed that the correct site of the gallows is where 49
Connaught Square
Connaught Square in London, England, was the first square of city houses to be built in Bayswater. It is named after a royal, the Earl of Connaught who was from 1805 until death in 1834 the second and last Duke of Gloucester ''and'' Edinburgh, ...
later was built, stating that "in the lease granted by the Bishop of London, this is particularly mentioned".
Process of executions
Tyburn was primarily known for its gallows, which functioned as the main execution site for London-area prisoners from the 16th through to the 18th centuries. For those people found guilty of capital crimes who could not get a pardon, which accounted for approximately 40%, a probable destiny was to be hanged at Tyburn. Other contemporary methods of punishment that may have been used as alternatives to Tyburn included execution, followed by being hung in chains, where the crime was committed; or burning at the stake; and being
drawn and quartered, of which the latter two were common in cases of
treason
Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...
.
The last days of the condemned were marked by religious events. On the Sunday before every execution, a sermon was preached in
Newgate's chapel, which those unaffiliated with the execution could pay to attend. Furthermore, the night before the execution, around midnight, the sexton of
St Sepulchre's church, adjacent to Newgate, recited verses outside the wall of the condemned. The following morning, the convicts heard prayers and, those who wished to do so, received the sacrament.
On the day of execution, the condemned were transported to the Tyburn gallows from
Newgate in a horse-drawn open cart. The distance between Newgate and Tyburn was approximately , but due to streets often being crowded with onlookers, the journey could last up to three hours. A usual stop of the cart was at the Bowl Inn in
St Giles
Saint Giles (, la, Aegidius, french: Gilles), also known as Giles the Hermit, was a hermit or monk active in the lower Rhône most likely in the 6th century. Revered as a saint, his cult became widely diffused but his hagiography is mostly lege ...
, where the condemned were allowed to drink strong liquors or wine.
Having arrived at Tyburn, the condemned found themselves in front of a crowded and noisy square; the wealthy paid to sit on the stands erected for the occasion, in order to have an unobstructed view. Before the execution, the condemned were allowed to say a few words—the authorities expected that most of the condemned, before their death, before commending their own souls to
God
In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...
, would admit their guilt. It is reported that the majority of the condemned did so. A noose was then placed around their neck and the cart pulled away, leaving them hanging.
Instances of
pickpocketing have been reported in the crowds of executions, a mockery of the deterrent effect of
capital punishment
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...
, which at the time was considered proper punishment for theft.
Social aspects
Sites of public executions were significant gathering places and executions were public spectacles. Scholars have described the executions at Tyburn as "carnivalesque occasion
in which the normative message intended by the authorities is reappropriated and inverted by an irreverent crowd" that found them a source of "entertainment as well as conflict." This analysis is supported by the presence of shouting street traders and food vendors and the erection of seating for wealthier onlookers. Additionally, a popular belief held that the hand of an executed criminal could cure cancers, and it was not uncommon to see mothers brushing their child's cheek with the hand of the condemned.
[Tales from the Hanging Court, Tim Hitchcock & Robert Shoemaker, Bloomsbury, pp. 309, 316;] The gallows at Tyburn were sources of cadavers for surgeons and anatomists.
Executioners
* "The hangman of London " Cratwell – 1 September 1538
[
Hall. Hen. VIII an. 30, cited in ''A New Dictionary of the English Language'', Charles Richardson (1836) William Pickering, London. Vol 1 p. 962, col 1]
*
Thomas Derrick
Thomas Derrick was an English executioner ''c.'' 1608.A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, Francis Grose
In English history, executioner was not a commonly chosen career path because of the risk of friends and families of the deceased kno ...
* Gregory Brandon 1625 (or earlier) – ?, after whom the phrase the "Gregorian tree" was coined.
[Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable]
* Robert Brandon – 1649 "Young Gregory" alongside his father at least part of the period.
*
Edward Dun
*
Jack Ketch
John Ketch (died November 1686), generally known as Jack Ketch, was an infamous English executioner employed by King Charles II. He became famous through the way he performed his duties during the tumults of the 1680s, when he was often mentio ...
1663 – early 1686, reinstated briefly in late 1686
*
Paskah Rose
Paskah Rose (died 28 May 1686), also known as Pascha Rose, was an English executioner briefly during 1686, successor to Jack Ketch.
Rose was a butcher by trade. He had been Ketch's assistant during the period of the Bloody Assizes. When Ketch was ...
1686 – 28 May 1686
* Richard Pearse (?) 1686–?
* Unknown or unknowns
*
John Price 1714–16
*
William Marvell
William Marvell was an English executioner in the eighteenth century.
Marvell, a blacksmith by trade, conducted hangings at Tyburn starting in 1715. He lost his job due to debt in November 1717, and two years later he was convicted of theft after ...
1716 – November 1717
* John Price 1717–18
* William Marvell (?) 1718
* Bailiff Banks ?–1719
* Richard Arnet 1719 –
* John Hooper ? – March 1735
* John Thrift March 1735 – May 1752
* Thomas Turlis 1754–1771
* Edward Dennis 1771 – 21 November 1786
Notable executions
See also
*
Thomas Derrick
Thomas Derrick was an English executioner ''c.'' 1608.A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, Francis Grose
In English history, executioner was not a commonly chosen career path because of the risk of friends and families of the deceased kno ...
an executioner at Tyburn.
*
Carthusian Martyrs of London
The Carthusians, also known as the Order of Carthusians ( la, Ordo Cartusiensis), are a Latin enclosed religious order of the Catholic Church. The order was founded by Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns. The order has it ...
*
Last dying speeches
*
Ordinary of Newgate's Account
''The Ordinary of Newgate's Account'' was a sister publication of the ''Old Bailey's Proceedings'', regularly published from 1676 to 1772 and containing biographies and last dying speeches of the prisoners executed at Tyburn during that period. Th ...
Notes
References
*
External links
Connected Histories*
{{Coord, 51, 30, 48, N, 0, 9, 37, W, region:GB_type:city, display=title
Areas of London
Execution sites in England
History of the City of Westminster
London crime history