Historic and Grisly London

We took the train to London recently with at least two destinations in mind and we only got lost twice.

On our way to the Museum of London we passed by an area called Smithfield.

“Smithfield is an area of the City of London. It is situated in the north-west part of the City, and is mostly known for its centuries-old meat market, today the last surviving historical wholesale market in Central London. Smithfield has a bloody history of executions of heretics and political opponents,[1] including major historical figures such as Scottish patriot William Wallace, Wat Tyler, the leader of thePeasants' Revolt, and a long series of religious reformers and dissenters.”


Remember to click on the image to enlarge it.

Within a few feet of this spot, John Rogers, John Bradford, and John Philpot and other servants of God suffered death by fire
for the faith of Christ in the years 1555, 1556 and 1557.


What devotion these men had!


Roman wall by the museum

The Museum of London had a temporary display about Charles Dickens which I especially enjoyed. I’ve read some of his books since we’ve been in England and picked up little details that would have been lost on me before we lived here.

I have a small bit of a family tie-in with him. From my great grandmother’s journal as she left England: “When the ship was in the London dock Charles Dickens came on board. His eyes were on everybody and as he was walking about he was writing all the time.”

The rest of the museum is quite large; at the Roman era we suffered museum burn out. We’ll return and finish it later.


After some confusion with the buses we arrived at Marble Arch located in a corner of Hyde Park.


“The area around Marble Arch today was once the home of Tyburn Gallows. The original site is marked by a triangular plaque on the roadway.

Prisoners were dragged up from Newgate Prison and stood upon a wooden cart. The horses were then whipped and ran away, leaving them to dangle from a noose. An estimated 50,000 people were put to death between 1300 and 1783.”

The Tyburn Tree

Our destination in this area was a pub named the Tyburn for a geocaching event. It seems that every place we went today has a grisly past!


I'm sure glad my husband didn't auction me at the wife sale in Smithfield!