How many people have been executed at the tower of London?

Question

And when was the last execution?

Answer 1

Lower-class criminals were usually executed by hanging at one of the public execution sites outside the Tower. High-profile convicts, such as Thomas More, were publicly beheaded on Tower Hill. Seven nobles (five of them ladies) were beheaded privately on Tower Green, inside the complex, and then buried in the "Chapel Royal of St. Peter ad Vincula" (Latin for "in chains," making him an appropriate patron saint for prisoners) next to the Green. Some of the nobles who were executed outside the Tower are also buried in that chapel. (External link to Chapel webpage) The names of the seven beheaded on Tower Green for treason are:

William Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings (1483)
Anne Boleyn (1536)
Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury (1541)
Catherine Howard (1542)
Jane Boleyn, Viscountess Rochford (1542)
Lady Jane Grey (1554)
Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex (1601)

The Queen Anne Boleyn, beheaded in 1536 for treason against King Henry VIII, is said to be seen walking around the tower carrying her head under her arm.

George, Duke of Clarence, the brother of Edward IV of England, was executed for treason in the Tower in February 1478, but not by beheading (and probably not by being drowned in a butt of Malmsey wine, despite what Shakespeare wrote). When Edward IV died, he left two young sons behind: the Princes in the Tower. His brother Richard, the Duke of Gloucester, was made regent until the older of his two sons, Edward V, should come of age. According to Thomas More's History of Richard III Richard hired men to kill them, and, one night, the two princes were smothered with their pillows. Many years later bones were found buried at the foot of a stairway in the Tower, which are thought to be those of the Princes. Richard was crowned King Richard III of England. The last execution at the Tower was that of German spy Josef Jakobs on the 14 August 1941 by firing squad formed from the Scots Guards.

Answer 2

Tower Of London Executions

Answer 3

If you really mean IN the Tower - ie on Tower Green, then the answer is John Devereux, Earl of Essex, in 1601. Only seven people have been executed IN the Tower (including Anne Boleyn). Most executions were held in public, on Tower Hill, just outside the walls. No count is available, but of the hundreds who met their ends there the best-known are William Wallace, Thomas More and Guy Fawkes.

Answer 4

I think the last was in the second world war when a spy was shot by firing squad in the castle ditch.
See below for a list of executed (being a palace there can't have been many commoners executed within it's precincts)

Interestingly the Kray twins were imprisoned in the tower of London after having gone AWOL from the army.

Answer 5

Hard to get an exact number. I keep coming across 7 on the tower green and many more at various sites around the towers. And the above person is correct that the last execution was in 1941: "The last execution at the Tower was that of German spy Josef Jakobs on August 14, 1941 by firing squad"

http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Tower_of_London#Executions
(Under 2.2 "Executions")


http://www.hauntedcastlesandhotels.com/England/tower.htm

Answer 6

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Answer 7

Since the Tower of London's early construction by William the Conqueror in 1078 a record of every prisoner held within its grounds has been kept in what is known as The Book of Prisoners. Although referred to as The Book of Prisoners it is actually made up of several books containing prisoners names, date of imprisonment, place of imprisonment and their eventual fate....the best i can give you is the small section from one of "Book of Prisoners" dating 1100-1671.

hope its of some use!

Answer 8

The bones of approximately 1500 people have been discovered below Saint. Peter's of Vincula chapel within the Tower of London

Answer 9

Not sure but it was really a slaughter house for humans.. They didnt need much of an excuse to hang you in those days.. Criminals of todays world are more worthy of hanging than the poor people who they hanged for stealing an apple.. I thing they used to chop of the head more so than hanging..

Answer 10

Too many to count