Fischberg Flashback 15: Pilgrim's Progress

 Original date of post: October 26, 2013

Well, this midterm break has been slowly progressing.  What have I been doing since I returned from Paris?  Doing laundry, trying to work, and playing video games, of course!  Translation: I’ve been indoors a lot lately.  Fortunately, I was able to finally get some fresh air--by visiting a series of Criminal Justice Pilgrimage locations!

My excursions kept me in the City of London all afternoon.  I started off by arriving at Newgate Street via Tube (I played video games on the ride--I played a lot of video games this week is the point I’m trying to make), where I was able to find the Central Criminal Court, aka the Old Bailey!  Later (hopefully this week), I plan on going inside this historic court and writing all about it.  While I was there, I also discovered two other CJP places: the Giltspur Street Compter (which was a gaol and debtor’s prison from 1791 to 1853) and Newgate (a gate in the walls surrounding the City of London that was used as a prison and was eventually expanded into what was later known as Newgate Prison, a building that outlasted it).

As you can see, both places have been demolished and there are only plaques making their sites.

After this, I took a stroll southeast and found that perennially falling down structure, London Bridge.  Once again, I had found another CJP location!  What does London Bridge have to do with criminal justice?  Simple: Starting with the aftermath of William Wallace’s execution, it became a tradition to put the severed heads of executed (by beheading or drawing and quartering) traitors up for display on London Bridge on the tops of pikes.  This is especially jarring if you remember that London Bridge was the only way to cross the Thames for centuries, meaning that any northern Londoner that wanted to see a play at the Globe would have to pass under the watchful eyes of decapitated traitors.  To get a sense of this creepiness, imagine that the following two photos are filled with heads on pikes across the bridge.

(London Bridge is in the background here)

After enjoying London Bridge, I then continued east, eventually reaching the Tower of London and Tower Hill.  Now, I was interested in scouting out Tower Hill, as it had been a place of execution for detainees of the Tower and I was hoping to find the scaffold site.  Not finding what I was looking for, I finished my excursion and returned to Eastcote via the Tube.  Of course, when I later looked up Tower Hill, I found out that I had seen the scaffold site but had completely ignored it!  Ah well, there’s always next time…

Anyhoo, this was an all-around fun and successful trip.  I’m back in the CJP saddle!

Modern reflections:

Not a lot to add here.  I'm impressed by my younger self's tenacity in tracking down pilgrimage sites.  As predicted here, I would indeed return to the Old Bailey...