This small brick-paved monument marks the site of the infamous scaffold at Tower Hill. The first permanent scaffold was set up in 1465 during the reign of King Edward IV. But the first recorded execution was that of Sir Simon Burley in 1388. It was on Tower Hill that most of the prisoners held in the Tower of London and condemned to die would meet their ends. Executions within the Tower were reserved for royalty and not in view of the public. Executions on Tower Hill were for the nobility and the public did attend. The Tower of London was used to imprison only the aristocracy. Ordinary people were generally sent to Newgate Prison (now the Old Bailey)and executed at Tyburn 3 miles away (where Marble Arch now stands). But there were cases of the lesser nobility being executed at Tyburn and of commoners held in the Tower.Those executed here include John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, 1553, His grandson Lord Guilford Dudley, 1554, Sir Thomas More, 1535, John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, 1535, Henry, Earl of Surrey (son of the Duke of Norfolk), 1547, Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset, 1552 and Thomas Cromwell, Earl of Essex, 1540.
This small brick-paved monument marks the site of the infamous scaffold at Tower Hill. The first permanent scaffold was set up in 1465 during the reign of King Edward IV. But the first recorded execution was that of Sir Simon Burley in 1388. It was on Tower Hill that most of the prisoners held in the Tower of London and condemned to die would meet their ends. Executions within the Tower were reserved for royalty and not in view of the public. Executions on Tower Hill were for the nobility and the public did attend. The Tower of London was used to imprison only the aristocracy. Ordinary people were generally sent to Newgate Prison (now the Old Bailey)and executed at Tyburn 3 miles away (where Marble Arch now stands). But there were cases of the lesser nobility being executed at Tyburn and of commoners held in the Tower.Those executed here include John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, 1553, His grandson Lord Guilford Dudley, 1554, Sir Thomas More, 1535, John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, 1535, Henry, Earl of Surrey (son of the Duke of Norfolk), 1547, Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset, 1552 and Thomas Cromwell, Earl of Essex, 1540.
Bio by: Kieran Smith
Advertisement
See more Tower Hill Execution Site memorials in:
Explore more
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
