Plaque

(lost) Tower of London execution site - c.1910

Inscription

Site of the scaffold on which were executed Queen Anne Boleyn, Queen Katherine Howard, Lady Jane Grey & others.

This image came from Twitter via Londonist, and from the children's clothes must be about 1910.

2020: Terje Hartberg contacted us via Twitter directing us to this Flickr stream which has a photo of this plaque in 1939, from a different angle. The frame of the plaque has changed since the earlier photo but that's all. Thanks Terje.

Site: Tower of London execution site (5 memorials)

EC3, Tower Green, Tower of London

Members of royalty sentenced to death were spared the ordeal of public execution on Tower Hill. This spot, inside the very secure Tower of London, was reserved just for them, and apparently the executions took place under cover. Excavations have confirmed the existence of a building here.

But one also hears that Lady Jane Grey's prison windows looked out over Tower Green and that she must have seen her scaffold being erected, which would not have been the case had it been enclosed.

2017: Within a few weeks we came across not just one but two predecessors to the glass cushion which has been here since 2006.

2023: We watched the 1946 short documentary film 'Prisoners of the Tower' from which we captured images of 2 other plaques at the site.

2023: Using Museum of London data Londonist have analysed the who, why, where, when and how of London executions. To see the more than 100 executees on London Remembers click here.

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This section lists the subjects commemorated on the memorial on this page:
Tower of London execution site - c.1910

Subjects commemorated i

Anne Boleyn

Second wife of Henry VIII and so Queen of England, 1533 to 1536.  Though marr...

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Lady Jane Grey

Married to Lord Guilford Dudley.  Her husband’s father persuaded the dying Ed...

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Catherine Howard

As lady-in-waiting to Anne of Cleves Catherine attracted Henry's ever-roving ...

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This section lists the other memorials at the same location as the memorial on this page:
Tower of London execution site - c.1910

Also at this site i

Anne Boleyn beheaded - 1946

Anne Boleyn beheaded - 1946

This image comes from the 1946 short documentary film 'Prisoners of the Tower...

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Tower of London execution site

Tower of London execution site

Catling wrote the poem as well as creating the sculpture. Doesn't that cushio...

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Tower of London execution site - 1972

Tower of London execution site - 1972

In the first 2 minutes of the 1972 CCF film "The Boy Who Turned Yellow" some ...

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Tower scaffold - 1946

Tower scaffold - 1946

See Anne Boleyn's plaque for when/how this plaque was displayed.

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Nearby Memorials

Bishop Challoner

Bishop Challoner

WC1, Old Gloucester Street, 44

Bishop Richard Challoner, 1691 - 1781, vicar-apostolic of the London District, died here.

1 subject commemorated
Betty Westgate

Betty Westgate

CR0, Colworth Road, 1

Betty Westgate MBE, 1919 - 2000, a pioneer and campaigner for breast cancer support and education. Founded Breast Cancer Care from this h...

2 subjects commemorated
Britannia Theatre

Britannia Theatre

N1, Hoxton Street, 115-117

On this site stood The Britannia Saloon, opened 1841, rebuilt in 1858 and renamed The Britannia Theatre. Demolished in 1941. London Borou...

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator
River Effra - Vassall Road

River Effra - Vassall Road

SW9, Vassall Road

The hidden River Effra is beneath your feet.

1 subject commemorated, 3 creators
Harry Vane

Harry Vane

NW3, Greenhill, Vane House

Sir Harry Vane, statesman, lived here. Born 1612. Beheaded 1662. {Almost hidden in the decorative border:} Erected by the Society of Arts

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator

Previously viewed

Princess Mary, Duchess of Teck

Princess Mary, Duchess of Teck

Born as Princess Mary Adelaide Wilhelmina Elizabeth in Hanover, Germany. Father was Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge. Also known as Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge. Died White Lodge, Richmond...

Person, Royalty, Germany

1 memorial
Floods of 1953

Floods of 1953

From Thamesweb: "In January 1953, the east coast of England was devastated by some of the worst flooding in recent memory. A number of extreme weather events combined to cause major flooding in are...

Event, Tragedy

1 memorial
Sir John Steell

Sir John Steell

Born John Robert Steell, Aberdeen. Queen Victoria's official sculptor in Scotland, his work includes the Walter Scott statue at the Scott Monument in Edinburgh and Robert Burns in Albert Square, Du...

Person, Sculpture, Scotland

2 memorials
James Crosby & Sons Ltd

James Crosby & Sons Ltd

Information about this company is difficult to come by. Andrew Behan found this image at Britain From Above where it is captioned "The James Crosby & Sons Ltd Works off Bridges Road, Ellesmere ...

Group, Engineering

1 memorial
Soho Fire Station - King's Cross fire

Soho Fire Station - King's Cross fire

W1, Shaftesbury Avenue, Soho Fire Station, 126

From Emergency we know that this plaque was erected on or before 19 July 2017.

2 subjects commemorated, 1 creator