The Tyburn on Knavesmire set for a makeover (From York Press)
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The Tyburn on Knavesmire set for a makeover
8:32am Friday 3rd September 2010 in
AN HISTORIC York landmark with an ugly past is set to get a facelift.
The Tyburn, on Knavesmire, hosted executions in the city for more than four centuries, including the hanging of infamous highwayman Dick Turpin.
The site is currently marked by a small paved area and a plaque, but councillors have agreed to fund improvements to the site. The Dringhouses and Woodthorpe Ward Committee has pledged £1,500 for a clean-up, including replanting in the spring and the repair of a bench.
It is also hoped there will be enough funding for a new bench and information board to explain the history of the site to visitors.
Executions at the Tyburn took place until 1801, when the events were moved to the castle.
It was 1739 when notorious highwayman Dick Turpin was executed there for horse theft.
The Liberal Democrat councillor for Dringhouses and Woodthorpe Ward, Tom Holvey, said: “The Tyburn is an important part of local history so I am pleased that the ward committee is able to fund these improvements.”
“The site has a fascinating, if gruesome, history so I am pleased that the improvements look set to include a new information board to explain that history to residents and visitors. Dringhouses has a rich history and is a key gateway to the city so it is important that we invest in restoring the site and promote pride in the area.”
Comments(15)
Zetkin
says...
8:46am Fri 3 Sep 10
`
Some have theorised that the gallows actually stood on or near the site of the old public toilets/changing rooms/whatever the building is now.
El Capistrano
says...
8:47am Fri 3 Sep 10
pedalling paul
says...
9:14am Fri 3 Sep 10
Boatie
says...
10:05am Fri 3 Sep 10
Yosser Hughes
says...
10:22am Fri 3 Sep 10
pedalling paul wrote:Paul, do you think you are on the gameshow "Eggheads"?
The gallows comprised three posts joined at the top by a triangular horizontal beam. Hence its name of the tripletree or "Three legged mare." So scope to hang several miscreants at the same time.
Ignatius Lumpopo
says...
10:42am Fri 3 Sep 10
Soothsayer17
says...
10:43am Fri 3 Sep 10
Dick Turpin wrote:Ha ha ha.
Yes, I still remember the day very well. I think to myself nowadays I would only get community service.
Woody Mellor
says...
10:45am Fri 3 Sep 10
Also think twice when your near that site as in the early days the corpses (or what was left of them) were buried in the ground around the gallows.
whitehorse
says...
12:02pm Fri 3 Sep 10
Woody Mellor wrote:I'd hate to be a builder/developer in York. Imagine every time you break the surface, somethings going to pop up and put a proper hold on your project plan. Interesting information about the Tyburn though and nice to see signboards going up. Nearby Hob Moor also has an interesting history so it would be good to see some sort of trail going around this area.
Not only hangings were carried out there, but also burnings and the most terrifying, hung, drawn and quartering. Also think twice when your near that site as in the early days the corpses (or what was left of them) were buried in the ground around the gallows.
jumpersforgoalposts
says...
1:18pm Fri 3 Sep 10
i don't think it is in dringhouses, i know the dringhouses and woodthorpe ward extended to cover the area but i think the tyburn is in micklegate or micklegate stray
Pedro
says...
4:03pm Fri 3 Sep 10
tonezzzznoddedoff
says...
4:18pm Fri 3 Sep 10
Woody Mellor
says...
5:00pm Fri 3 Sep 10
Pedro wrote:Just one little thing I have to pick you up on there. I doubt the hangings would of taken place on race days because executions drew such vast crowds in there own right and disorder became a regular problem amongst the sozzled spectators. (a bit like the races today!) That's one of the reasons it was moved to within the castle walls. But before it went behind the castle walls of which you can still see it today,the double doors facing the car park at the end of the women's prison, opposite Crown Court. Ever noticed those doors and how high up they are? Well, that's the last drop. But before that the gallows were actually behind and to the side of Crown Court in front of the old castle corner tower, where the trees are planted, and the crowds would watch from what is now St Georges car park.
It wasn't a gallows as we now understand it. It was a big pile of wood with crossbeams. A prisoner was forced to climb a ladder and be shaken off. The actual place it took place moved around, but was generally in that area and always near the road. Hangings used to take place during race days (to draw crowds) and the embankment was then an ad-hoc grandstand (the races used to go round the "other way" in those days.)
Yorkshire Volunteer
says...
5:58pm Sat 4 Sep 10
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Coun Tom Holvey at The Tyburn, which is due for a facelift
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Dick Turpin says...
8:36am Fri 3 Sep 10