"Drawing and quartering was part of the penalty anciently ordained in England for treason. It is the epitome of "cruel and unusal" punishment and was reserved for traitors because treason was deemed more heinous than murder and other capital crimes.
"Until 1870 the full punishment for the crime was that the culprit be dragged on a hurdle to the place of execution; that he be hanged by the neck but not until he was dead; that he should be disembowelled and his entrails burned before his eyes; that his head be cut off and his body divided into four parts (quartered). Women were generally burned at the stake rather than being subjected to this punishment. There is confusion among modern historians about whether "drawing" referred to the dragging to the place of execution or the disembowelling. "
"As a form of judicial execution, hanging in England is thought to date from the Saxon period, c. 400 AD, although it had earlier been used in the Persian Empire. British hangmen are recorded from Thomas de Warblynton in the 1360s, with complete records from the 1500s to the last hangmen, Robert Leslie Stewart and Harry Allen who conducted the last British executions in 1964.
"Early methods of hanging simply involved a slip knot on a rope placed around the victim's neck, with the loose end thrown or tied to a tree branch; the criminal was then drawn up and slowly strangled. Early refinements were to make the culprit climb a ladder or stand in a cart which was subsequently removed.... As the number of executions increased, the tree was replaced by a purpose-built gallows which usually comprised of two posts joined by a crossbeam -- virtually every major town and city in Britain had its own gallows.
"Until 1808 the death penalty was inflicted in England for some 200 offences, including:
* being in the company of gypsies for one month, * vagrancy for soldiers and sailors, * "strong evidence of malice" in children aged 7-14 years old.
"Between 1832 and 1834 Parliament abolished the death penalty for:
* shoplifting goods worth five shillings or less, * returning from Transportation, * letter-stealing, and * sacrilege. "
The link above shows the location of Tyburn gallows, which was the main execution site in London and was at the end of Oxford Street roughly where Marble Arch is now.
If you look at the little drawing you will see that the Gallows was triangular, enabling up to thirty felons to be hanged simultaneously.
On the figure of Tyburn Tree this site hangs a collection of links to 17-18c resources on a topic that runs its twisted course down to public lynchings and internet beheadings.
"In Tangier the courts martial from 1663-1669 awarded six sentences of death for acts of neglect on sentry duty, insubordination and violence to superiors. In five cases execution was by shooting, and in one by hanging. There were seven sentences of death for desertion and theft from comrades, all carried out by the less honourable method of hanging, which was also awarded for rape, acting as a spy, and unauthorised plunder....
[The sentence "for being asleep upon the centinels post" was] "to be whipt by the Executioner forward and backward through the Parade drawne in two ranks, his lashes soundly laid on" (the same punishment was awarded for the same crime in the Roman Legions)."
"Soldier Running the Gauntlet, 1695. (French) This was the usual punishment for stealing from fellow-soldiers. While exemplary punishment could be extremely severe, harsh practices such as floggings were considered 'inhumane' as normal punishment. Engraving after Guérard." http://www.kipar.org/military-his…
See the link below, and several others if you Google "Halifax Gibbet", for an unusual provincial mode of public execution in England, only a few years before the time of Pepys' Diary.
Paul Dyson noted "an unusual provincial mode of public execution in England, only a few years before the time of Pepys’ Diary." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hali…
As a rather large city, London required several places of execution, prior to convicts and felons being deported first to America and then to Australia.
In summary, the Tower of London was generally reserved for traitors, Execution Dock at Wapping for pirates, Smithfield for heretics and witches, whilst the Tyburn Gallows was used to stretch the necks of general felons and all round bad-boys. As such, it would have been the most overworked place of execution in London.
In operation from 1196, the already infamous Tyburn Tree received some serious modernising in 1571. A triangular-shaped gallows was erected which reached approximately 6 metres in height. The 3-sided design reflected the need to hang more than a single person at a time. In fact, each beam could accommodate eight people at once; in total twenty-four could swing together in one go.
As many as 12 hanging days would occur each year, each one being declared a public holiday for the labouring classes. Released from Newgate Prison, the condemned were taken to Tyburn on a cart and had to ride with the hangman and the prison chaplin. Peace-officers would lead the procession while immediately behind the cart marched a troop of soldiers and constables.
The procession passed through Holborn, St. Giles and Tyburn Road (Oxford Street). Stops made at inns on the way allowed prisoners the chance to indulge in a drop or two of the hard stuff. It was not uncommon for prisoners to arrive at the scaffold drunk and disorderly.
One of the most famous hangings was that of Oliver Cromwell, although he had died a few years earlier and been laid to rest at Westminster Abbey, following the Restoration in 1660, his body was exhumed and gibbeted at Tyburn.
There's an interview with David A. Guba, Jr. (PhD, Temple University) is a historian of drugs, violence, and colonialism in modern France & Europe and an Assistant Professor of History at Bard Early College in Baltimore, Maryland. He is the author of “Axed from History: Executioners in Early Modern Europe,” published online * , which explores the largely ignored and mythologized history of the men (and women) who served as executioners in Early Modern Europe. His research in this area focuses on the lives and legacies of the Sanson family of executioners, who supplied 7 consecutive generations of axmen to the French state from the reign of Louis XIV through the Revolution to the reign of Louis Philipe I (1684-1847) at: https://www.cassidycash.com/ep-14…
* I have been unable to find this textbook on line. If you find it, please share.
Unfortunately the interview is now behind a paywall, so I excerpted the part on the recruitment of executioners at https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…
11 Annotations
First Reading
steve h • Link
Drawing and quartering
"Drawing and quartering was part of the penalty anciently ordained in England for treason. It is the epitome of "cruel and unusal" punishment and was reserved for traitors because treason was deemed more heinous than murder and other capital crimes.
"Until 1870 the full punishment for the crime was that the culprit be dragged on a hurdle to the place of execution; that he be hanged by the neck but not until he was dead; that he should be disembowelled and his entrails burned before his eyes; that his head be cut off and his body divided into four parts (quartered). Women were generally burned at the stake rather than being subjected to this punishment. There is confusion among modern historians about whether "drawing" referred to the dragging to the place of execution or the disembowelling. "
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draw…
steve h • Link
Hanging
"As a form of judicial execution, hanging in England is thought to date from the Saxon period, c. 400 AD, although it had earlier been used in the Persian Empire. British hangmen are recorded from Thomas de Warblynton in the 1360s, with complete records from the 1500s to the last hangmen, Robert Leslie Stewart and Harry Allen who conducted the last British executions in 1964.
"Early methods of hanging simply involved a slip knot on a rope placed around the victim's neck, with the loose end thrown or tied to a tree branch; the criminal was then drawn up and slowly strangled. Early refinements were to make the culprit climb a ladder or stand in a cart which was subsequently removed.... As the number of executions increased, the tree was replaced by a purpose-built gallows which usually comprised of two posts joined by a crossbeam -- virtually every major town and city in Britain had its own gallows.
"Until 1808 the death penalty was inflicted in England for some 200 offences, including:
* being in the company of gypsies for one month,
* vagrancy for soldiers and sailors,
* "strong evidence of malice" in children aged 7-14 years old.
"Between 1832 and 1834 Parliament abolished the death penalty for:
* shoplifting goods worth five shillings or less,
* returning from Transportation,
* letter-stealing, and
* sacrilege. "
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hang…
Glyn • Link
Tyburn gallows = http://www.motco.com/Map/81002/Se…
The link above shows the location of Tyburn gallows, which was the main execution site in London and was at the end of Oxford Street roughly where Marble Arch is now.
If you look at the little drawing you will see that the Gallows was triangular, enabling up to thirty felons to be hanged simultaneously.
Terry Foreman • Link
Tyburn Tree and Public Execution in Early Modern England
http://tyburngallows.googlepages.…
On the figure of Tyburn Tree this site hangs a collection of links to 17-18c resources on a topic that runs its twisted course down to public lynchings and internet beheadings.
[Link updated from http://www.evergreen.loyola.edu/~… on 26 May 2009. P.G.]
Terry F • Link
Hanging at Tyburn, c.1700
Attributed to Marcellus Laroon II
http://www.kipar.org/period-galle…
Terry F • Link
Justice and Discipline in Tangier and throughout the British Army http://www.kipar.org/military-his…
"In Tangier the courts martial from 1663-1669 awarded six sentences of death for acts of neglect on sentry duty, insubordination and violence to superiors. In five cases execution was by shooting, and in one by hanging. There were seven sentences of death for desertion and theft from comrades, all carried out by the less honourable method of hanging, which was also awarded for rape, acting as a spy, and unauthorised plunder....
[The sentence "for being asleep upon the centinels post" was] "to be whipt by the Executioner forward and backward through the Parade drawne in two ranks, his lashes soundly laid on" (the same punishment was awarded for the same crime in the Roman Legions)."
"Soldier Running the Gauntlet, 1695. (French) This was the usual punishment for stealing from fellow-soldiers. While exemplary punishment could be extremely severe, harsh practices such as floggings were considered 'inhumane' as normal punishment. Engraving after Guérard." http://www.kipar.org/military-his…
Paul Dyson • Link
See the link below, and several others if you Google "Halifax Gibbet", for an unusual provincial mode of public execution in England, only a few years before the time of Pepys' Diary.
http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry…
Terry Foreman • Link
Charlie Mitchell’s “Public Execution in Early Modern England” has for several years been the best internet site on the subject.
http://tyburngallows.googlepages.…
Terry Foreman • Link
Subject: Executions
Paul Dyson noted "an unusual provincial mode of public execution in England, only a few years before the time of Pepys’ Diary."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hali…
Third Reading
San Diego Sarah • Link
Historic UK has an excellent summary about execution sites around London:
https://www.historic-uk.com/Histo…
The intro:
As a rather large city, London required several places of execution, prior to convicts and felons being deported first to America and then to Australia.
In summary, the Tower of London was generally reserved for traitors, Execution Dock at Wapping for pirates, Smithfield for heretics and witches, whilst the Tyburn Gallows was used to stretch the necks of general felons and all round bad-boys. As such, it would have been the most overworked place of execution in London.
In operation from 1196, the already infamous Tyburn Tree received some serious modernising in 1571. A triangular-shaped gallows was erected which reached approximately 6 metres in height. The 3-sided design reflected the need to hang more than a single person at a time. In fact, each beam could accommodate eight people at once; in total twenty-four could swing together in one go.
As many as 12 hanging days would occur each year, each one being declared a public holiday for the labouring classes. Released from Newgate Prison, the condemned were taken to Tyburn on a cart and had to ride with the hangman and the prison chaplin. Peace-officers would lead the procession while immediately behind the cart marched a troop of soldiers and constables.
The procession passed through Holborn, St. Giles and Tyburn Road (Oxford Street). Stops made at inns on the way allowed prisoners the chance to indulge in a drop or two of the hard stuff. It was not uncommon for prisoners to arrive at the scaffold drunk and disorderly.
One of the most famous hangings was that of Oliver Cromwell, although he had died a few years earlier and been laid to rest at Westminster Abbey, following the Restoration in 1660, his body was exhumed and gibbeted at Tyburn.
San Diego Sarah • Link
There's an interview with David A. Guba, Jr. (PhD, Temple University) is a historian of drugs, violence, and colonialism in modern France & Europe and an Assistant Professor of History at Bard Early College in Baltimore, Maryland. He is the author of “Axed from History: Executioners in Early Modern Europe,” published online * , which explores the largely ignored and mythologized history of the men (and women) who served as executioners in Early Modern Europe. His research in this area focuses on the lives and legacies of the Sanson family of executioners, who supplied 7 consecutive generations of axmen to the French state from the reign of Louis XIV through the Revolution to the reign of Louis Philipe I (1684-1847) at:
https://www.cassidycash.com/ep-14…
* I have been unable to find this textbook on line. If you find it, please share.
Unfortunately the interview is now behind a paywall, so I excerpted the part on the recruitment of executioners at
https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…
If you want to look up the details of any execution, you'll probably find it at
http://www.executedtoday.com