Tyburn facts for kids

Tyburn was a large estate in the county of Middlesex, which is now part of London. It was one of two areas served by the parish of Marylebone.

The Tyburn area was located near two old Roman roads. These roads are now known as Edgware Road and Oxford Street. The place where these roads met became famous for the Tyburn Gallows, also called the "Tyburn Tree." Because of this, for many centuries, the name Tyburn meant a place where people were executed. It was the main site for executions of criminals and people accused of treason in London, including many religious martyrs. Tyburn got its name from the Tyburn Brook, a small stream that flowed into the River Westbourne. The name "Tyburn" means 'boundary stream'.

The Tyburn Gallows: A Famous Execution Site

The village of Tyburn became well-known for centuries as the place where London's main public executions by hanging took place.

Executions happened at Tyburn until the late 1700s. Prisoners were brought from Newgate Prison in the City of London, traveling through St Giles in the Fields and along Oxford Street. After 1783, executions were moved to Newgate Prison itself and to Horsemonger Lane Gaol in Southwark.

The first recorded execution at Tyburn happened near the stream in 1196. A man named William Fitz Osbern, who led protests in London, was executed there.

In 1571, the famous "Tyburn Tree" was built near where Marble Arch is today. The "Tree" was a new kind of gallows. It was a horizontal wooden triangle supported by three legs. This design was sometimes called a "three-legged mare" or "three-legged stool."

The "Tree" stood in the middle of the road. It was a major landmark in west London and a clear symbol of the law to everyone who passed by. After executions, the bodies were usually buried nearby.

The first person executed on the "Tyburn Tree" was Dr. John Story. He was a Roman Catholic who did not agree with Queen Elizabeth I. Other famous people executed there included John Bradshaw, Henry Ireton, and Oliver Cromwell. They were executed in January 1661 by order of King Charles II. This was done as a punishment because they had been involved in the execution of his father, King Charles I.

These executions were public events, and many thousands of people would gather to watch them.

The Tyburn gallows were used for the last time on 3 November 1783. On that day, John Austin, a highwayman (a type of robber), was executed. Today, the spot where the gallows stood is marked by three brass triangles on the pavement. You can find them on an island in the middle of Edgware Road, where it meets Bayswater Road. The Tyburn Convent, a Catholic convent, also remembers the martyrs who were executed there and in other places for their Catholic faith.

Tyburn is still the point where Watling Street, a very old road now known as the A5, officially ends. This road continues in straight sections all the way to Holyhead.

Images for kids

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  William Hogarth's The Idle 'Prentice Executed at Tyburn, from the Industry and Idleness series (1747)

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  Stone marking the site of the Tyburn tree on the traffic island at the junction of Edgware Road, Bayswater Road and Oxford Street

See also

In Spanish: Tyburn para niños