Olde London Punishments

This book contains all manner of grim and ancient punishments from London’s long and bloody history. Over the centuries, many hundreds have expired inside the capital’s dank, rat-infested cells, or whilst ‘dancing the Tyburn jig’ at the end of a swinging rope, and many of the sites in this book have become bywords for infamy. From the Tower and Newgate prison to the Clink and the Fleet, this book explores London’s criminal heritage; also including the stocks and pillories that lie, almost forgotten, in churchyards and squares across the City, and the many shocking punishments exacted inside the region’s churches, workhouses and schools, it is a heart-breaking survey of our nation’s penal history. Richly illustrated, and filled with victims and villains, nobles, executioners and torturers, it will delight historians, residents and visitors alike.