Tower Hill: The Scaffold of the Nobility

Tower Hill, just northwest of the Tower of London, served as London’s primary execution site for high-ranking prisoners from 1388 until 1747. While common criminals were hanged at Tyburn, those of noble birth—lords, earls, dukes, and even queens’ relatives—were granted the “privilege” of beheading at Tower Hill. Over 125 people lost their heads on this spot, making it one of the most psychically charged locations in London. Today, an office building and memorial mark the site, but the ghosts of the executed remain.

The History

The Execution Site

Tower Hill was chosen for its proximity to the Tower of London:

• High-status prisoners were held in the Tower
• Executions took place on a public scaffold just outside
• Crowds of thousands gathered
• A wooden scaffold was erected for each execution
• The condemned walked from the Tower to the hill
• Death was usually by axe, sometimes requiring multiple blows

Notable Executions

Over 400 years, Tower Hill witnessed the deaths of:

• Sir Thomas More (1535) - refused to accept Henry VIII as head of the Church
• Thomas Cromwell (1540) - Henry VIII’s chief minister
• Archbishop William Laud (1645) - executed during the English Civil War
• The Duke of Monmouth (1685) - illegitimate son of Charles II, took five axe blows to kill
• The Jacobite Lords (1746-1747) - Scottish nobles who supported Bonnie Prince Charlie
• Countless others - traitors, conspirators, and those who displeased monarchs

The Public Spectacle

Executions were major events:

• Crowds of 10,000 or more
• Vendors selling food and souvenirs
• The condemned often gave speeches
• Bodies displayed as warnings
• Heads mounted on London Bridge
• A carnival atmosphere mixed with horror

The Last Execution

The final Tower Hill execution was in 1747:

• Executions then moved inside the Tower
• The site was gradually built over
• A memorial now marks the location

The Hauntings

The Procession

The walk from Tower to scaffold:

• Phantom processions reported
• Figures in Tudor and Stuart dress
• Walking slowly, surrounded by guards
• Some appear resigned, others defiant
• The final journey replays

Sir Thomas More

The famous humanist and saint:

• A scholarly figure in Tudor dress
• Seen near the memorial
• Appears calm and composed
• Some witnesses report him making the sign of the cross
• His execution was particularly controversial

The Duke of Monmouth

His botched execution haunts the site:

• It took five blows of the axe to kill him
• His ghost appears in agony
• The sound of the axe striking
• Screaming and pleading
• The executioner’s incompetence replays eternally

The Scaffold Itself

The wooden platform manifests:

• Witnesses see a temporary structure
• Crowds surrounding it
• The executioner in a mask
• The block where victims knelt
• Straw to catch the blood
• Then it vanishes

The Jacobite Lords

Scottish nobles executed after the 1745 rebellion:

• Men in Highland dress
• Appear proud and defiant
• Some singing Gaelic songs
• Refusing to show fear
• Their courage in death impressed observers

The Headless Figures

Multiple reports of decapitated apparitions:

• Bodies walking without heads
• Carrying their own heads
• Blood on Tudor and Stuart clothing
• The moment of execution frozen in time

The Crowds

The spectators manifest:

• Thousands of ghostly onlookers
• Cheering and jeering
• The carnival atmosphere
• Vendors selling refreshments
• The execution as entertainment

The Memorial Site

Near the modern memorial:

• Overwhelming feelings of dread
• Sudden cold spots
• The sense of violent death
• Office workers report experiences
• The ground remembers

Documented Activity

Tower Hill has extensive paranormal documentation:

• Centuries of witness accounts
• Modern sightings continue
• Photographs showing anomalies
• EVP recordings
• The area’s history makes it a hotspot
• Multiple ghosts from different eras

The Memorial

A modern memorial marks the site:

• Plaque lists some of those executed
• Located near Trinity Square Gardens
• Office buildings surround it
• Workers report phenomena
• Visitors feel the weight of history

Cultural Significance

Tower Hill represents:

• Over 400 years of high-level political executions
• The power of the monarchy
• The cost of treason and religious conviction
• English history’s bloodiest chapters
• 125+ lives ended for political reasons

The Privilege of the Axe

Noble birth granted “privileges”:

• Beheading rather than hanging
• Death by axe was considered more honorable
• But the axe often required multiple blows
• The “privilege” was still a brutal death
• Many ghosts seem to question this honor

---

Tower Hill witnessed the execution of 125 nobles, traitors, and religious martyrs over 400 years. Sir Thomas More, the Duke of Monmouth, and countless others lost their heads on the scaffold that stood here. Now covered by offices and marked only by a memorial, the site remains psychically active. The executed still walk from the Tower to the scaffold, still deliver their final speeches, still face the executioner’s axe. The privilege of noble birth granted them beheading—but it couldn’t grant them peace.