And here comes the chopper to chop off your head

Condemned prisoners were led from Newgate Prison to Tyburn to be executed. Thousands of people would line the streets to watch the procession and gather to watch the execution. It became a spectator sport as the condemned were expected to make an effort by putting on their finest clothes for example. The crowd would cheer a 'good dying' i.e. with a lack of struggle, protest and concern or jeer at signs of fear or weakness.

In the junction between what is now Oxford Street and Edgeware Road there is a plaque reading "The Site of Tyburn Tree" the name given to the gallows constructed in this location. The first recorded execution was William Fitz Osbert (or William with the Long Beard) in 1196 for instigating a popular uprising in London. The last was in 1783 when the highwayman, John Austin was hanged.

The most famous person to be hanged at Tybrun was Oliver Cromwell who, nearly 3 years after his death and burial at Westminster Abbey, was disinterred and hanged for treason.