"Tyburn Tree": How executions took place on London's main gallows

In the Middle Ages, a person’s life was worth next to nothing in England. Both noble lords and simple peasants were executed for treason, apostasy, or even a careless word against the monarch. A commoner could end up on the gallows for vagrancy or petty theft. For several centuries, the main place for carrying out sentences in London was the gallows known as the Tyburn Tree.

Tyburn is now part of the London Borough of Westminster. Walking along the streets of this part of the British capital without a guide, few people pay attention to the round memorial signs built into the pavement. There are three of them, arranged in a triangle. In the center of each is a cross, and around the circle is the inscription: "Site of the Tyburn Tree."

A casual passerby is unlikely to notice this sign - Britain is full of memorable trees. But here we are not talking about an oak or an elm under which a king once dined or Robin Hood robbed bishops. "Tyburn Tree" was the name given to London's main gallows in the Middle Ages and early modern period.

The first execution near the village of Tyburn, located at that time five kilometers from the city limits, took place back in 1196. Why the authorities chose this place is unknown, but the tradition of carrying out sentences here was established for a long time. For many centuries, people were hanged on gallows that were built specifically for executions. The "Tyburn Tree" itself appeared only in 1571.

Then a permanent gallows was erected on this site from wooden beams in the form of a prism with a triangular base. Because of its three supports, it was also called a "three-legged filly". The gallows was quite high, and in good weather it could be seen from the western outskirts of London. In general, the place was not chosen by chance - there was a road leading to the city nearby. For travelers, this structure served as a terrible reminder: in the capital, criminals are not treated with ceremony.

The gallows' design allowed for the execution of several people at once - such mass executions were commonplace at the time. For example, in the summer of 1649, 24 people were hanged on the "Tyburn Tree" in one day. The first person to test the new structure on himself was Dr. John Story on June 1, 1571. He was accused of apostasy and spying for Spain for his connections with the Catholic opposition. The last victim was the robber John Austin, who was hanged on November 3, 1783.

Executions in England were very democratic: a simple vagabond as well as a noble aristocrat could be hanged on the same gallows. In 1541, Baron Thomas Dacre went hunting with friends. In the excitement, they drove into someone else's lands, where foresters tried to reason with them. But the young nobles grabbed their weapons and killed one of the foresters. The trial was fair - all participants were found guilty of poaching and murder. They were sentenced to hang, despite their titles and high positions.

In 1760, Earl Ferrers shot his footman in a fit of anger. The court did not look for excuses for the aristocrat and sentenced him to death. Around the same time, Saltychikha lived in the Russian Empire, who killed more than 130 peasants before she was brought to trial. Earl and peer of England Ferrers was hanged on the "Tyburn Tree", to which he arrived in a gilded carriage. The only difference between the execution of a nobleman and the execution of a market thief was that the earl was hanged on a silk rope.

But can the English judicial system of that time be called fair? Hardly. Even children who stole some trifle could end up on the gallows. The death sentence was handed down for the slightest offenses - for example, for a joke about the king or a member of his family.

Not only living criminals were sent to the Tyburn Tree, but also dead ones. The most famous case is that of the Lord Protector of England, Oliver Cromwell, who once ordered the execution of King Charles I. In 1661, three years after his death, Cromwell's body was dug up from his grave, hanged at Tyburn, then dumped in the river, and quartered. Such posthumous executions were not uncommon.

Executions at Tyburn were considered one of the favorite entertainments of Londoners. On execution days, crowds of people would gather in the field near the gallows - sometimes up to 100 thousand onlookers, especially if the criminal in question was a famous one. The villagers were happy with this influx of "tourists" and made a good profit by providing them with food, drink and places for a better view.

Before the executions, the people of Tyburn erected wooden stands for spectators, from where the action could be seen much better than from the ground. Seats in the stands were sold for money. Sometimes the boards could not withstand the weight of the audience and the structure collapsed, maiming and killing dozens of onlookers. Despite the risk, there were always plenty of people willing to pay for a good view.

Whole families came to watch the next villain being hanged. Children were encouraged to attend the executions, as everyone believed that the spectacle had an educational character. On the occasion of the execution of the sentence, London workshops and workshops arranged a day off for apprentices. This custom was ridiculed by the artist William Hogarth, who created the engraving "The Execution of the Idle Schoolboy at Tyburn" in 1747.

The Tyburn Tree played an important role in London life, giving rise to a whole layer of folklore steeped in dark humour. Songs and poems were dedicated to the gallows, and phrases such as "going to Tyburn" or "master of the Tyburn estate" did not mean anything good.

The condemned were transported from London prisons to the place of execution in carts pulled by oxen. Spectators were expecting a thrilling spectacle, where the main condition was a courageous death without tears and begging for mercy. "He died well," they said of those who accepted their fate with dignity. If the condemned showed cowardice, he was pelted with insults.

It was considered good manners for a condemned man to appear at the gallows "in full dress". To do this, they put on their best clothes, carefully combed their hair and polished their shoes. Particular importance was attached to the last words of the condemned man. Usually they were written down on paper in advance so that the text could be read to the public.

The last execution at Tyburn Tree took place on November 3, 1783, when the robber John Austin was hanged. After that, executions were moved to the city centre, to Newgate Prison. Around the same time, the famous Montfaucon gallows in Paris was torn down. In 1863, the era of public executions and hanging of criminals in Newgate Prison itself, without a crowd of spectators, came to an end.

The Tyburn Tree has become a symbol of a dark era, when public executions were not only part of punishment, but also entertainment for thousands of people. These events reflect a peculiar worldview of that time, where cruelty was combined with the idea of an educational demonstration. What do you think, could such public executions really serve as a lesson for society, or is it rather an indicator of its cruelty? Share your thoughts in the comments!