Tyburn tree

English

A public hanging at Tyburn tree, circa 1680

Alternative forms

• Tyburn Tree, Tyburn-tree

Etymology

So called because at one time, criminals were executed by being hung from elm trees along the banks of the Tyburn Brook (historically, often confused with the nearby Tyburn River), a tributary stream which ran through Hyde Park.

Proper noun

Tyburn tree

1. (historical) A gallows, situated at Tyburn, Middlesex, (present-day Greater London), that was used for public hangings from medieval times until 1783 (when executions were moved to Newgate Prison).

   Synonyms: Tyburn gallows, Middlesex gallows, Three-legged mare

   • 1889, G. B. Barton, History of New South Wales from the Records, Volume 1: Governor Phillip, 1783-1789, page 221:

     If he entered London by Oxford-street,Tyburn tree would certainly attract his attention, especially when ten or twelve criminals were about to suffer in the presence of a crowd of people gathered round it, indulging themselves in the sports and pastimes usual on such occasions.

   • 1896, Francis Watt, Tyburn Tree, W. E. Henley (editor), The New Review, Volume 15, William Heinemann, page 692,

     None can exactly fix the place of Tyburn Tree. […] Tyburn tree stood within a gunshot to the north-west of the Marble Arch.

   • 1898, Charles F. King, Roundabout Rambles in Northern Europe, Lee and Shepard, page 163,

     Just before turning from Hyde Park into this road,^{[Edgware Road]} Mr. French pointed out where the famous "Tyburn Tree" once stood.

     "What does that mean?" Fred asked.

     "‘The Tyburn Tree,’" replied Mr. French, "was sometimes called the ‘Three-Legged Mare’ because it was a triangle on three legs. It was where the public executions took place before 1783. It was selected because it was so remote from London."

Noun

Tyburn tree (plural Tyburn trees)

1. (obsolete, by extension) A gallows.
   • 1840, James W. Peppercorns (translator), Moses Maimonides, The Laws of the Hebrews, Relating to the Poor and the Stranger, Pelham Richardson, page civ,

     The wild Olive, and the Fig, were the Tyburn-trees of the Athenians.

   • 1853, Herman Melville, White Jacket: Or, The World in a Man-of-War, Volume 2, Richard Bentley, page 276,

     But Hogarth should have converted the ship's masts themselves into Tyburn-trees, and thus, with the ocean for a background, closed the career of his hero.