By Ellie Cawthorne

Published: Wednesday, 19 October 2022 at 12:00 am


From grisly medieval punishments to the justice doled out to celebrity criminals in the Victorian era, public executions were a spectacle that shaped the landscape of London for centuries. Curator Beverley Cook tells Ellie Cawthorne about a new Museum of London Docklands exhibition that delves into this history, examining some notorious criminal cases, and highlighting historical objects that shine a light on executions that took place in the capital, from artworks and ballad sheets to relics grabbed from the gallows.