The book I’m reading at the moment, or rather listening to on BorrowBox, is The Strange Adventures of H, written by Sarah Burton. It opens in 17th century London, with a scene of a man being despatched at Tyburn. While the narrator’s voice provides a vivid description of the hangman’s efforts to bring the prisoner’s life to an end, my mind splits in two; one half listens and the other half travels back in time to where the action was taking place in the story, and to where I stood in 2019.
The Subject of my Book
I was conducting research for a book I want to write. It’s about Edward, an 18th century furniture dealer, who became well-respected and so well-known that he supplied goods to royalty. When he’d made his money, he bought a house on the north corner of Hyde Park near Marble Arch. From archive documents I’d obtained the exact address; I wanted to see where the house had stood, to explore if it was possible to identify its location all these hundreds of years later. To my astonishment the house was actually there, and from the pavement it looked as though the original facade was intact.
The property is only a few steps away from where all the hangings took place, and the Tyburn ‘tree’, as the gallows were known, was a famous city landmark being the primary place of public execution from the 1100s through to 1783.
It seemed strange to me that someone should want to buy a house in such a location. Edward was born in 1755 so he would have been familiar with the site and what it stood for, perhaps he’d even observed some of the final hangings that took place there. But, as I’d got to know him through my research, I sensed he was a person with an eye for a good deal and perhaps real estate in the vicinity of the Tyburn tree was relatively cheap at the time.
A Name Change
I understand that some rebranding occurred shortly after the hangings ceased—a name change. Tyburn Lane became Park Lane! This was a good move. Today, of course, Park Lane is one of the most upmarket locations in London!
Searching for the Stone
Up near Marble Arch, the Tyburn tree is commemorated by a circular stone in the ground. You could easily miss the spot. It took me ages to find it… but that got me into some interesting conversations with garbage workers, people waiting at bus stops, and builders renovating a nearby house. Even a pair of council gardeners who were weeding a pond next to Marble Arch didn’t know where the stone was laid and, as it happens, they were only across the street from it. Eventually I found it, on a traffic island at the junction of Edgware Road, Marble Arch, and Bayswater Road; it was surrounded by three recently planted trees.
On the Traffic Island
Once I’d crossed on to the island, I stood there motionless while pedestrians moved in every direction around me. I sought peace in the chaos. Had to wait ages in order to take a photo with no-one actually walking over the stone!
The words inscribed on the roundel say: THE SITE OF TYBURN TREE.
I tried to summon ghosts of the past, then the ground rumbled beneath my feet. But I wasn’t manifesting tortured souls. I think the tube train—the Piccadilly Line—must run under the road. It was eerie though.
With my head bowed I wondered if Edward had paused here, in this exact spot, on his daily walk to his retail emporium in Oxford Street. He might have experienced a shiver occasionally. Or was it a cool wind?
Changing my stance, I looked up to a blue sky, and there I saw three massive tower cranes overhanging the spot. It gave me goosebumps imagining a hoist rope lowering from each boom with a noose at its end.
Place Writing as a Genre
One of the key methodologies of Place Writing is revisiting—going back to a site more than once, letting it speak differently each time. I’ve been back twice since I took these photographs in 2019 and I’ll go back again when I resurrect the draft of this book. I’ll return to the Tyburn stone to take new soundings, and I won’t be looking for Edward or his house this time, or even for the gallows. When I stand there I’ll look inward to find changes in my own self. And I’ll look outward for changes in the setting. And, I wonder, will the cranes still be there?
As always, I look forward to chatting with you in the comments.
Credits, Notes and Links
Images are my own. John Roque’s map of 1746, Public Domain.
The Strange Adventures of H, written by Sarah Burton, available free via UK libraries on BorrowBox.
Writing Prompt
For this week’s writing prompt compost a short piece, (max 500 words), that references a street scene. Research facts or use your imagination to reveal something unique about the place.
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Is there a place called Tyburn Hill in London?
Wow, this is incredible to know! I stayed on that street in 2003 and had no idea where I was.