Executions: 700 Years of Public Executions in London

Grizzly but fascinating exhibition at the Museum of Docklands looking at public executions in London from 1186 to 1868.

This show was beautifully designed and full of interesting stories. It was in an expanded gallery so I rather miss-paced my trip and spent two hours in the show as when I came to the end of the usual space I realised there was a lot more!

You wound around various spaces starting with a section on different types of executions, leading through executions sites in London, a look at the rituals involved, a section on what happened to the bodies and finishing with an analysis of what has happened since the last public execution in 1868.

They made good use of popular prints, always telling the stories behind them and I've come away with lots of names to look up. It was obvious that a lot of excellent research had gone into the show. They also made documents come alive by focusing on the people mentioned and it was a touching idea to have inmates of HMP Pentonville reading out some of the last letters from the condemned with prison noises in the background.

I loved the section on the effect of these events on the London economy with people selling broadsheets and food to the thousands who waited hours to witness the deaths. I was fascinated by the landowners around Tyburn who put up and managed stands for the crowds with the site reverting to farmland afterwards.

The show was very moving and confirmed to me the hideousness the death penalty and the awful rituals that grow up around it.

Closes 16 April 2023

Review

Evening Standard

https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/exhibitions/bloody-london-how-700-years-of-executions-shaped-the-capital-b1032184.html

 

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