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Executions: 700 Years of Public Punishment in London
A fascinating record of how London and Londoners were shaped by nearly 700 years of public executions.
More frequent in London than in any other city or town in Britain, these morbid spectacles often attracted tens of thousands of onlookers at locations across the capital and were a major part of Londoners' lives for centuries. From Smithfield to Kennington, Tyburn to Newgate Prison, public executions became embedded in London's landscape and people's lives. Even today, hints of this dark chapter in London's history can still be seen across the city.
Featuring the lives and legacies of those who died or who witnessed public executions first hand from 1196 to 1868, this book tells the rarely told and often tragic human stories behind these events. It includes a range of fascinating objects, paintings and documents, many from the Museum of London's collections, such as the vest said to have been worn by King Charles I when he was executed, portraits of 'celebrity criminals', and last letters of the condemned.
From the sites of execution to the thriving 'gallows' economy, the book reveals the role that Londoners played as both spectators and participants in this most public demonstration of state power over the life and death of its citizens.
More frequent in London than in any other city or town in Britain, these morbid spectacles often attracted tens of thousands of onlookers at locations across the capital and were a major part of Londoners' lives for centuries. From Smithfield to Kennington, Tyburn to Newgate Prison, public executions became embedded in London's landscape and people's lives. Even today, hints of this dark chapter in London's history can still be seen across the city.
Featuring the lives and legacies of those who died or who witnessed public executions first hand from 1196 to 1868, this book tells the rarely told and often tragic human stories behind these events. It includes a range of fascinating objects, paintings and documents, many from the Museum of London's collections, such as the vest said to have been worn by King Charles I when he was executed, portraits of 'celebrity criminals', and last letters of the condemned.
From the sites of execution to the thriving 'gallows' economy, the book reveals the role that Londoners played as both spectators and participants in this most public demonstration of state power over the life and death of its citizens.
- GenresHistoryNonfiction
144 pages, Paperback
Published December 13, 2022
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June 17, 2023
Executions: 700 Years of Public Punishment in London is a publication which was made to accompany a major exhibition at the Museum of London Docklands. Like many such exhibition books, it covers more or less the same material as the exhibition and shows many of the objects from the exhibition in a photographic format. At the same time, a book has the space and time to elaborate and provide fuller details on many aspects of the exhibition, and I think this book does an excellent job both making the exhibition available to those who might have missed it and providing more information for those like myself who saw the exhibition. The subject matter is deeply fascinating, if slightly macabre, and I think the book does a very good job balancing between general history and bringing individual fates to life. My one complaint is that, while the book is subtitled "700 Years of Public Punishment in London", the vast majority of its content focuses on the last three centuries. There's a little information on executions during the Tudor era, but the main focus is on the late Stuart and Georgian periods and there's vanishingly little on the medieval era. That said, the book is a fascinating and informative read, well-written and presented in a respectful manner. I would recommend it to people with an interest in the darker sides of history.
Displaying 1 of 1 review