Tower Hill, where many heads rolled

Visitors to the Tower of London may not be aware that many victims of the axe who were executed here did not die within the confines of the walls but on Tower Hill, which is just to the north of the Tower walls, on the other side of what is now a busy main road (but conveniently close to Tower Hill Underground station).

Tower Hill

A small paved area marks the spot where the scaffold stood on which non-royal victims met their end – it was “legitimate” royals, such as Ann Boleyn and Lady Jane Grey, who were beheaded privately within the Tower walls. The site was used between 1388 and 1747 for this purpose.

A plaque on the site reads: “To commemorate the tragic history and in many cases the martyrdom of those who for the sake of their faith, country or ideals staked their lives and lost. On this site more than 125 were put to death, the names of some of whom are recorded here.”

The names include those of Sir William Stanley in 1495, Sir Thomas More in 1535, and the Duke of Monmouth in 1685.

Sir William Stanley was a noted turncoat. He had supported the Yorkist cause during the Wars of the Roses but changed sides at the Battle of Bosworth and, by so doing, ensured the victory of Henry Tudor who then became King Henry VII. Henry heaped many favours on him but was astounded when Stanley later threw his weight behind the claims of Perkin Warbeck to be one of the “Princes in the Tower” and therefore the rightful king. Stanley was therefore executed for treason.

Sir Thomas More lost his head because of his opposition to King Henry VIII over the king’s desire to divorce Queen Catherine and marry Ann Boleyn.

The Duke of Monmouth was an illegitimate son of King Charles II who launched an abortive rebellion against his uncle King James II. Being the child of a royal mistress rather than a wife meant that Monmouth did not have enough royal blood to qualify for a private execution.

The last person to lose his head on Tower Hill was Lord Lovat, who was condemned in 1747 for his part in the 1745 Jacobite rebellion. He achieved a grim sort of revenge when a temporary stand, set up to give spectators a better view, collapsed under the weight of around a thousand anti-Jacobites. At least a dozen people were killed. Lord Lovat was reported to have been amused by the incident, remarking “The more mischief, the better sport”.

© John Welford