English Pilgrimages Part 2
By Harry Robertson
LONDON – The Martyrs of Tyburn ‘…I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained…’ (Revelation 6:9) For more than six hundred years from 1196, the wooden gallows situated at Tyburn Village, near where Marble Arch in London now is, was the hanging place for as many as 50,000 criminals, traitors, political foes and rebels.
The location of the gallows, known as Tyburn Tree, is today marked by a circular plaque embedded into the pavement on a traffic island at the entry to Edgware Road.
Tyburn Tree gallows was also the path to sainthood for many Catholic Martyrs – between 1535 and 1681 around 400 Catholics were executed there, of whom 105 are considered martyrs. (The word ‘martyr’ comes from a word originally meaning ‘witness’ and the brave souls were witnessing to their faith in Jesus Christ by laying down their lives for Him).
Tyburn Tree Altar at Ty
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