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

Lorne House

Lorne House

E5, Lower Clapton Road, 126-128

Not the style, but the high quality of this plaque reminds us of the one in Bessborough Gardens, unveiled by the Prince of Wales the year...

1 subject commemorated, 4 creators
Bridge House Estates housing - Silex Street

Bridge House Estates housing - Silex Street

SE1, Silex Street, Stopher House

The small black plaque above the door shows the Bridge House Estates symbol. A number of other blocks of flats in this area carry similar...

1 subject commemorated, 4 creators
St Luke's - 1870

St Luke's - 1870

EC1, Old Street

The facade of this building tells the history of the school. Each of the 4 gable ends carries a plaque with a dated event, reading from l...

1 subject commemorated
PP - 4D - Donald

PP - 4D - Donald

EC1, Edward Street

This garden acquired its name due to its popularity as a lunchtime garden with workers from the nearby General Post Office (long gone). ...

1 subject commemorated, 2 creators
Broderers' Hall

Broderers' Hall

EC2, Gutter Lane, Priest's Court, 33

Site of the Worshipful Company of Broderers' Hall, 1515 to 1940. Corporation of the City of London

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator