Last Words
What sad stories these objects tell. They’re from Tyburn Gaol in London, the notorious 18th century execution place for between 40,000 and 60,000 condemned prisoners, mostly commoners, who would have fallen foul of the harsh laws of the time, which saw over 350 crimes punishable by death. See that big key? The sound of it turning in its lock might have been one of the last things many of those poor souls ever heard ...
On Sunday evening condemned men and women gathered around their coffins and listen to a lengthy sermon on the Sunday before they were taken to the “Tyburn tree”. The 'execution bell' was rung outside the condemned cell at midnight and the bellman would repeat the following verse three times in the hope that the prisoners would seek redemption.
All you that in the condemned hold do lie
Prepare you, for tomorrow you will die.
Watch all, and pray, the hour is drawing near
That you before th' Almighty must appear
Examine well yourselves, in time repent,
That you may not t'eternal flames be sent;
And when St Sepulchre's bell tomorrow tolls,
The Lord have mercy on your souls!
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Join Dr Tom Trnski, Research Manager and John Early, Curator of Entomology and get closer to the stories, tales and historical information for this unique collection of objects.
Click to listen or
to save to your computer or media player - right click link and select "Save Target As" (3.14 mb). Download before you visit the Museum.
Download the Audio Tour Transcript (pdf 152kb) |
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