The gallows

A tree was the earliest form of gallows with prisoners being either hauled up manually by the hangman or turned off from a ladder or the tail of a cart. Two trees with a beam between them formed the gallows for 33 year old Mary Blandy's execution at Oxford on April the 6th, 1752.

In other places more conventional gallows were built, having either a single upright with a projecting beam cross braced to it or two uprights and a cross beam where more than one person could be hanged at a time.

Both types still required the use of a ladder or a cart to get the criminal suspended. Many of these gallows were not permanent and were dismantled after each execution. In some cases, the gallows was erected near to the scene of the crime so that the local inhabitants could see justice done.

In 1571, the famous "Triple Tree” was set up at Tyburn to replace previous smaller structures and was, at least once, used for the hanging of 24 prisoners simultaneously. This was on the 23rd of June 1649 when 23 men and one woman were executed for burglary and robbery, having been conveyed there in 8 carts. Another mass execution took place on March 18th, 1740 when the famous pickpocket and thief, Jenny Diver, was hanged before a huge crowd, together with 19 other criminals. Tyburn’s "Triple Tree" gallows remained in use until the end of 1759 and consisted of 3 tall (approx. 12 foot high) uprights joined at the top with beams in a triangular form to provide a triple gallows under which 3 carts could be backed at a time. The structure was removed, as it had become a cause of traffic congestion, and was replaced by a portable gallows. At the end of 1783 executions were transferred to Newgate prison (where now stands the Old Bailey in London).

On Monday 21st ofApril 1760 a new design gallows was used to execute

Newgate

The Earl of Ferrers at Tyburn. It comprised a scaffold covered in black baize reached by a short flight of stairs. Two uprights rose from the scaffold, topped with a cross beam. Directly under the beam there was a small box like structure, some 3 feet square and 18 inches high, which was designed to sink down into the scaffold and thus leave the criminal suspended. This was the forerunner of the "New Drop" gallows.