The Secrets of London’s Grisly Execution Sites

foreign London is one of the most historic cities in the world which means it's been home to some of the most famous executions in history today I'm going to show you some of London's most famous execution sites many of which have hidden in plain sight I hope you made us certain stuff for this is not for the faint-hearted [Music] just next to Saint Bartholomew's hospital is one of London's most famous and oldest execution sites Smithfield this area is said to be haunted by the tortured Souls who met their end here the area was originally known as smooth feel since it was a large expanse of grass and during the Medieval Era The Elms of Smithfield was one of the most bustling places in London there was jousting livestock grazing here there were summer Feats and then the odd execution some of the most famous people to have met their end at Smithfield include Scottish Rebel William Wallace who was hung drawn and quartered in 1305 and the leader of the 1381 peasants Revolt watt Tyler who was publicly decapitated here after fleeing from an earlier bloody exchange with the Lord mayor of London [Music] many of the Marion Martyrs that's the Protestant slaughtered under Queen Mary Tudor met their demiser too since Bartholomew's Hospital features this plaque to commemorate sever of them it was erected in 1870 by the Protestant Association of London after Smithfield fell from favor as an execution hotspot in the 1400s the Roman Road Junction at tyburn which is located near to today's Marble Arch became the center of public executions prisoners were taken in public recession from Newgate Prison via Saint Giles in the fields in Oxford Street which was then called tyburn road to be hanged here at Thai burn tree which was a large triangular Gallows with three legs that allowed many people to be hanged at the same time today it's marked by these three oak trees many famous people met their ends here at tyburn even the exhumed body of Oliver Cromwell was symbolically hanged here in 1661. and londoners with their Gallows humor brought tyburn into common conversation phrases such as take a ride to tyburn and dance the Thai burn jig where well-known phrases in London at the time this is London's Central criminal court but for many years this was the site of London's most notorious prison Newgate new gate prison was commissioned in the 12th century by King Henry II and used for more than 700 years until 1902 and it struck fear Into the Heart of many in Londoner with stories of conditions being so bad that prisoners went insane and even resorted to cannibalism inmates in the prison have included Casanova Rob Roy William Kidd Ben Johnson and even Daniel Defoe and outside the prison was a Gallows it's estimated that between 1790 and 1902 over 1 000 people were executed here of course public executions were some of the most popular form of public entertainment and on execution days Newgate became jam-packed with thousands of Spectators a grand stage was erected to give the crowds a best view possible and if you had the money The Magpie and stump Public House would happily rent out an upstairs room and provide a good hanging breakfast London was once home to the world's largest port and with that came a seedy underbelly of smuggling and piracy during the 15th century the admiralty decided it was time to crack down Pirates found guilty and sentenced to death would be paraded from Marshall sea prison in southwark they went across London Bridge past the Tower of London and finally arrived at whopping the streets would be lined with Spectators and the Thames was full of boats eager to catch a glimpse of The Condemned on the way to their execution prisoners were permitted one final Court of Ale from this Pub the Turks head then they were brought down these steps and taken somewhere along the riverfront a place known as execution dock they would then be hanged with a short rope this prolonged the pain of the execution since it didn't break the neck straight away afterwards the dead would be left until three Tides had washed over them some were the most feared and famed pirates of the age including Captain Kidd who's executed here in 1701. [Music] the next stop on our Grizzly Trail is the Tower of London very few people were actually executed within the grounds of the Tower of London although this was the case with Anne Berlin and Lady Jane Gray [Music] the last person to be executed in the Tower of London was Joseph Jacobs in 1941 who was executed by firing squad for being a German spy who was captured after parachuting into England during World War II most who are executed in the area met their maker on this site an area of higher ground Northwest of the Tower this is Tower Hill and the executions would have taken place in full public view as was the case with Thomas Cromwell and Sir Thomas Moore a memorial stands on the site today it reads to commemorate the tragic history and in many cases the martyrdom of those who for the sake of their faith country or ideals Stakes their lives and lost on this site more than 125 were put to death the names of some of whom are recorded here next up is Lincoln's Inn Fields one of London's largest public squares this Bandstand was Once Upon a Time the site of many gruesome executions Anthony babington the leader of the 1586 babington plot to assassinate Queen Elizabeth the First and replace her with Mary Queen of Scots was hung drawn and quartered here after being convicted of high treason today the area is a popular lunch destination for city workers and all that serves as a marker of The Field's Grizzly past is the Bandstand which stands on the site of the former scaffold [Music] I'm standing in front of the Palace of Westminster and in Old Palace yard it was here that in 1606 Guy Fawkes was hung drawn and quartered in the view of the building he had been sentenced to death for trying to blow up and just 12 years later Sir Walter rally was also executed here with his final words being strike man strike heard by many within the crowd his wife carried his decapitated head around with her for many years afterwards [Music] the first execution took place here in 1678 a poor lady named Sarah Elston was burned at the stake for killing her husband and later on more than a hundred men and women were executed at The Gallows on the site of Saint Mark's Church later there were 17 Jacobite Rebels also hanged drawn and quartered here after the unsuccessful 1745 uprising so there you have it the most grisly historic tour of London thanks so much for watching and don't forget to click subscribe

Channel: History Hit

Views: 52,257

Keywords: history hit, history hit youtube, london execution, london execution dock, london execution sites, tower of london execution block, tower of london execution site, tyburn executions, history of executions, execution sites london, history of london executions, famous executions, top 10 famous executions, most famous executions, wapping execution dock, pirate execution sites, london pirate execution, alice loxton, alice loxton history hit, alice loxton history documentary]

Id: 2KMMMyHTNyw

Length: 8min 26sec (506 seconds)

Published: Wed Aug 16 2023