Execution Scaffold, Block, and Axe -- White Tower, Tower of London, Tower Hamlets, London, UK
N 51° 30.473 W 000° 04.538
30U E 702933 N 5710360
A fragment of the scaffold, the Executioner's axe and the Executioner's block from the last executions on Tower Hill are on display in the White Tower
Waymark Code: WMT1G2
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 09/09/2016
Views: 3
A rather grim display of items and souvenirs from the last public execution on Tower Hill are on display on the top floor of the White Tower of the Tower of London.
The executioner's block, executioner's axe, and a piece of the scaffold from the beheading of Simon Fraser, 11th baron Lovat, are displayed here, with some horrific instruments of torture.
An interpretive sign for the axe and block reads as follows:
"Prisoners of noble birth found guilty of treason were beheaded with an axe. This oak block weighs 56.7kg (125lbs). Its curved cut-outs accomodated the head and upper chest, exposing the neck. According to tradition, it was used at the last public beheading on Tower Hill: Simon Fraser, 12th Baron Lovat on 9 Apr 1747. The axe dates from the 16th century and weighs 3.2kg (7lbs)."
Nearby, a fragment of the scaffold used that bloody day is encased in a tube. A small inset plaque reads as follows:
"A piece of English Elm from the upright of the scaffold which formerly stood on Tower Hill. The last executions on it were those of Lords Kilmarnock and Balmerino AD 1746.
Discovered 1862.
Presented to the Governors of the Tower by
The late Miss J. Ward Johnson 1949"
The waymark coordinates are for the entrance to the White Tower, inside the Tower of London.
Type of Device: execution
What is the approximate age?: 01/01/1500
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Associated Website: [Web Link]
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