Three Gory Ways to be Executed - Who suffered what & why

The use of capital punishment for punishing convicted murderers was abolished under the Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act in 1965. Listed below are three figures whose 'crimes' saw them condemned to death in a variety of excruciating and dehumanising ways.

1. Hanged drawn and quartered - Sir William Wallace met this gruesome fate in 1305. His head was cut off and displayed on London Bridge. Wallace's fate was typical for those found guilty of treason at the time.

What had he done? An army led by Wallace and Andrew Murray had defeated the English at the battle of Stirling Bridge in 1297. At the Battle of Falkirk the English archers wrought their revenge, the following year. Wallace travelled to France, where he sought support from the French King, Philip IV. The English King Edward I succeeded in largely snuffing out Scottish resistance in 1304. Wallace was captured in August of the following year. He should not have been tried for treason as he had never sworn allegiance to Edward.

Wallace's brave resitance against the English has made him a Scottish hero.

Find out more about London Bridge and the once infamous Tower of London (pictured above) with The City & South Bank Circular tour (available in English, French, German and Spanish).

2. Burnt to death - George Marsh. Marsh was led through the streets while reading his bible, before he was burnt at the stake on Gallows Hill, Spital Broughton on 24th April, 1555.

What had he done? Marsh converted to Protestantism in his youth. The monarch of the day, Queen Mary was a devout Catholic, who earned the nickname 'Bloody Mary' for her treatment of Protestant preachers, whom she persecuted in an attempt to restore Catholicism. He made various trips to towns and villages in his native Lancashire, where he preached his - contenious - version of the faith. His preaching did not go unnoticed by the authorities. He surrendered to the authorities in March 1554. He refused to recant his beliefs. Marsh was sentenced to death in the Consistory Court of Chester Cathedral. Visitors can hear more about the city's rich heritage with the Chester Revealed audio guide.

3. Crushed to death - Margaret Clitherow. Clitherow was killed by an excruciating process whereby an 800lb weight was lowered on to her body, until she was crushed to death, on March 25, 1586, in the city of York.

What had she done? After her conversion to Catholicism, Clitherow refused to attend Church. She was accused of of harbouring Jesuit and seminary priests in her home on the Shambles in York. The harbouring of these types of non-Protestant priests had been made punishable by death in 1583. Clitherow refused to answer the charges; famously saying instead: "Having made no offence, I need no trial."

Clitherow was canonized by the Catholic Church in 1970 and is often referred to as the 'Pearl of York'. The feast day of Saint Margaret Clitherow is March 25th. Hear more about York's history with the Best of York, Walk Talk Tour.