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The human race has always had a strangely voyeuristic
tendency. From the Coliseum of Rome where
gladiators fought to the death to the present days obsession
with fly on the wall television shows like Big Brother.
Public executions were (and still are in some countries) one
of the most macabre and fascinating displays of the publics
fascination with other peoples suffering. Every town
or city square in England has its tales of public hangings,
whippings and the pillory, and every old cross road’s holds
a legend about the gibbet cage that hung there to warn other
criminals of there impending fate if they continued in their
wicked ways. However there is one place that sticks
out above all the rest, both for its notoriety, the amount
of executions that took place there and the pomp and
ceremony that went along with it, Tyburn.
The site of Tyburn Tree or “the three legged mare” that sent
so many thousands to their deaths is today little known by
the many Londoners who walk over it each day. But between
1169 when the first recorded Tyburn execution took place
until 1783 when hangings were moved to just outside Newgate
prison it is estimated that between 40,000 – 60,000
criminals were executed at Tyburn, many of them poor folk
who had no defence in court. The Tyburn Fair as it became
known, usually held on a Monday was far from a solemn affair
that struck terror into the hearts of the populace. It was
indeed a merry gathering with street hawkers and
entertainers, a carnival-esque atmosphere of drunken revelry
topped by the display of the condemned’s last moments on
there journey from Newgate and on the scaffold itself. This
last journey taken
by so many was one of odd ceremonies, excessive drinking for
the condemned as well as the crowd, and a
sense of pomp and flair and often even theatre.
The story of the
journey to the “Deadly Nevergreen” begins at that other
place of notoriety Newgate Gaol.
Situated in the midst of the grimy, overcrowded streets of
17th century London, on the south west corner of Newgate
Street at its junction with Old Bailey, sat a building of
such ill-repute & dread that it would go down in history as
one of the worse of its kind. Many of its tightly packed
inmates lived in some of the most dismal conditions in the
country. It was even said that you could hear the crunch of
the cockroaches under your feet as you walked the corridors.
Yet it also housed its own tavern and brothel and for the
right amount of coin you could gain yourself almost any
luxury! A hanging session at Tyburn came after one of the
eight sittings at the Old Bailey and typically a period 5 to
7 days elapsed between sentencing and execution.
During this time it was not uncommon for rumours about the
condemned to spread. The printers of broadsheets would
publish the often wildly inaccurate and imaginative storeys
of the prisoners’ lives and crimes. If the prisoner was well
to do they could spend their last days feasting with their
friends and relatives in revelry or, if a famous prisoner
like a highwayman, they might entertain members of the
public who bribed the turnkey for an audience and then
boasted to their friends of meeting the famous criminal in
person. A few would stay in quiet contemplation
praying for their immortal soul but for most the constant
sounds of the gaol, warders shouting, chains rattling, doors
opening and closing and the screams of inmates made their
last days on earth a not too pleasant experience.
 On
the last night the Chaplin would offer the final sacrament
and at midnight a bell was tolled at St Sepulchres Church
nearby (they were paid £50 a year for this service). In the
morning the prisoner would make his or her way to the press
room where the irons were struck from their wrists and they
dressed for their final day. It was the perk of the hangman
to sell their last set of clothes so some donned there
finest with the
hope the hangman would do a good job, while others trying to
thwart the hangman wore nothing but a cheap shirt. After
being bound in a way that allowed some movement of the arms,
an official called the “Knight of the Halter” would attach a
halter around the neck of the prisoner. The under sheriff
would then make a ceremonial demand for custody and receipt
was given
for the body. It was then the procession would begin as the
condemned would “Go West” towards Tyburn. Most
prisoners rode in a horse drawn cart with their coffin as a
seat though some well-to-do condemned would hire coaches to
take them. The cart was draped in black and there was even a
pecking order for seating. Famous criminals like
highwaymen got to sit at the front while petty criminals
were the back. As the procession started to arrange itself
the great bell of St Sepulchre would sound again and the
City Marshal and Under Marshal would take their places. With
them were a force of constables and “Javelin Men” who
carried long sticks to beat their way through the crowd
breaking heads and noses as they went. The Chaplin took his
place on the cart with the prisoners in a often futile
attempt to get them to repent, as well as the Ordinary whose
job it was to gather whatever information he could about the
condemned to sell in broadsheets (they would sometimes print
the last confession several days before the condemned had
even a chance to make one!). On occasion family and friends
of condemned would ride with them.
As the procession
started out the scene was one not un-akin to a modern
carnival. All along the route the crowd would shout and
jostle for position while hawkers sold their wares, pies,
sweetmeats, or broadsheets.
Musicians played while prostitutes looked for customers and
petty criminals made their living cutting purses
and picking pockets (young thieves at the hangings were
called Tyburn Blossoms). The mood of the crowd
could vary greatly depending on who and for what the
condemned were going to hang. If they were disliked
by the London mob then there would be jeering, shouting,
spitting, and the throwing of every kind of projectile from
rotten fruit to excrement. People would climb onto roof tops
or lean out of windows for a good view. If the prisoner was
popular, especially if it was someone who had made the
authorities look stupid (Highwaymen were particularly liked)
then there would be cheering and happy banter as the crowd
passed them ale and food in return for lucky gifts like a
lock of hair or handkerchief.
The journey of 3
miles had not long started off when it stopped at St
Sepulchres. The bellman would ring his hand bell and intone
a speech asking for salvation and mercy for the condemned,
the bellman would then give the prisoners colourful nosegays
(a very useful gift for someone about to hang of course!)
The procession
would then continue down Snow Hill, turn left and cross
Fleet Ditch by a stone bridge, and then back uphill to High
Holborn. It then manoeuvred through the narrow streets of St
Giles High Street, and onto the last part of the journey the
old Tyburn Road (now London’s famous Oxford Street) along
the waythe procession would stop several more times
-principally at several taverns or Inn’s so the condemned
could have a drink! This was good business for the inn
keepers as the crowds surged into their establishments to
get a closer peak at the prisoners. At St Giles in the
Fields the whole procession would stop to allow the
marshals, constables and javelin men to take a mug or two of
ale as well as the prisoners. While this was happening some
prisoners would enjoy their short moments of stardom blowing
kisses or making lewd gestures to pretty girls while others
simply cried in the back of the cart awaiting their fate.
Some might give speeches or make jokes such as they would
“Buy them all a pot of ale on the way back” some where so
drunk by this point that they could hardly stand up let
alone speak!
As the procession entered what is now the junction of
Edgware Road, Park Lane and Oxford Street the “Triple Tree”
or “Three Legged Mare” as it was called would have come into
sight. Originally prisoners had just been hung from a tree
at but in the 16th century the three legged gallows that
could hang up to 24 people was constructed. It was
triangular, 18 feet high with the crossbeams nine feet each
and able of holding the weight of 8 prisoners on each one.
Gathered around the “Deadly Nevergreen” as it was known, was
the crowd eager for the entertainment to begin. Yet again it
would be a chaotic scene with food vendors, drunken brawls,
augments, shouting, cutpurses at work and broadsheet sellers
crying out the prisoners’ wicked tales. The roofs of all the
surrounding building would be full of people trying to get a
good view and many houses or inns with upper storeys would
hire their rooms out to the well off, even a grandstand was
built at one stage for the highest paying customers! As the
procession made its way through the crowd the cry of “Hats
Off, Hats Off” would be heard (not out of any respect but
just because those at the back wanted a better view) and
slowly they would arrive at the gallows and the waiting
hangman.
Once in position
the Hangman would place the nooses around their necks as the
prisoner’s friends and family would jostle for position at
the front to give moral support in their last moments. A
homing pigeon was then released to confirm to safe arrival
to the warders back at Newgate and the ordinary would often
be seen getting in the way trying to extract any last minute
tit bits for his broadsheets. Finally the moment came
when the condemned were allowed to make there last speeches,
some would repent, many simply could not be heard over the
noise of the crowd but some amused the crowds with black
gallows humour. One William Borwick had the crowd in
fits of laughter when he critically looked at the rope, felt
it, tugged it then told the onlookers that he “hoped it was
strong enough as he hated to think it might break and he
fall breaking his bones and being crippled for life”. Others
made impassioned speeches to their innocence but more often
than not many would cry and cower their way to their end.
The crowd liked
someone who put down the authorities or made the powers at
be look stupid. They
disliked whimpering prisoners and applauded those who were
defiant. The mob was however not without compassion,
one young boy taken to the gallows with his father holding
him in the cart as he cried was met with total silence. When
the final moment arrived many would pay the hangman to do a
good job and make it quick. Finally the cart would move
forward when the hangman took the whip to the horse’s rump
and the condemned would drop from a short distance and
slowly choke to death. The prisoners were often left hanging
for an hour, the families and friends of the condemned
tugging on their legs to make it quicker while many in the
crowd would try to touch the dying man or press there
children against the “Death Sweats” which were supposed to
be a cure all!
While this was all
going on veterans of many hangings would give running
commentaries for the benefit of the crowd at the back. Once
the hour had passed and the condemned were truly dead you
think that it would all be over but alas the scene of chaos
was to continue. The hangman would try his best to get the
clothes from the dead body (it was his preserve to sell
these and make some extra cash) while at the same time the
familyor friends of the deceased would be trying their best
to spirit the body away before someone from the College of
Physicians got their hands on it for anatomical study in a
surgical theatre. Add into all this various people from the
crowd still trying to touch the “Death Sweats” or grab a
memento from the occasion like a strip of cloth from the
condemned’s clothes, a piece of the rope or a lock of hair
and you have all the ingredients for a riot. This is exactly
what the carnival like ending of a hanging at Tyburn Tree
often turned into, as people grabbed, pushed, punched and
fought their way to the body. These chaotic scenes were
regular occurrence in 17th Century London and continued
until 1783 when public executions were moved to
a site next to Newgate Gaol itself. The precautions needed
to prevent rescue attempts, lynching of prisoners
on route, and complaints about the noise from the crowds
that followed them put a stop to the merry Tyburn
Fair (much to the disappointment and grumbling of many a
Londoner, rich and poor alike I might add!).
Although not from
the 17th Century, the best images of proceeding at Tyburn
can be seen in some of William Hogath’s pictures. The
“Idle Prentice” below is probably one of the best examples
and close examination of the different characters and scenes
in the image at least give an idea as to the chaotic
atmosphere of a public hanging at Tyburn.
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