Behind locked doors at the Old Bailey: Exclusive pictures reveal 363-year-old 'dead man's walk' where Britain's most evil killers were led to the gallows
High Bailiff of Southwark, Charles Henty stands next to Dead Man's Walk
For hundreds of years the Old Bailey's 'Dead Man's Walk' struck fear into the hearts of murderers, rapists and other wretched criminals.
And now these behind the scenes pictures capture why the path in the world's most famous criminal court would terrify even the most hardened crook.
The Central Criminal Court in London is where hundreds met their death and many trod the 'dead man's walk' after a judge ordered their execution.
The condemned would take their last steps between the prison and the court, to an open square outside Newgate Prison, which conveniently stood next to the Old Bailey, where they would be publicly hanged.
The High Bailiff of Southwark Charles Henty, the man running the smooth operation of the Old Bailey, described the last walk of many an evil criminal.
He said: 'The prisoner would walk south along the path, which was covered by arches that had doorways in them.
'At the end you would turn west, and this is called 'the birdcage' because at the top would be an open space, covered with a net, and it would be a prisoner's last chance to see natural daylight.
'After that they would walk through an exit and have a hood place on your head as you stepped onto the scaffold.
'There you would be hanged and meet your maker.
'Occasionally they would also cut the prisoner's head off and show it to the crowd.'
Although a public hanging was meant to deter citizens from crime, macabre crowds would gather to watch the gruesome spectacle.
- Criminals would walk through covered archway to the noose
- Crowds would gather to pelt condemned with rotten food and rocks
- Behind the scenes pictures show the grim pathway in London court
High Bailiff of Southwark, Charles Henty stands next to Dead Man's Walk
For hundreds of years the Old Bailey's 'Dead Man's Walk' struck fear into the hearts of murderers, rapists and other wretched criminals.
And now these behind the scenes pictures capture why the path in the world's most famous criminal court would terrify even the most hardened crook.
The Central Criminal Court in London is where hundreds met their death and many trod the 'dead man's walk' after a judge ordered their execution.
The condemned would take their last steps between the prison and the court, to an open square outside Newgate Prison, which conveniently stood next to the Old Bailey, where they would be publicly hanged.
The High Bailiff of Southwark Charles Henty, the man running the smooth operation of the Old Bailey, described the last walk of many an evil criminal.
He said: 'The prisoner would walk south along the path, which was covered by arches that had doorways in them.
'At the end you would turn west, and this is called 'the birdcage' because at the top would be an open space, covered with a net, and it would be a prisoner's last chance to see natural daylight.
'After that they would walk through an exit and have a hood place on your head as you stepped onto the scaffold.
'There you would be hanged and meet your maker.
'Occasionally they would also cut the prisoner's head off and show it to the crowd.'
Although a public hanging was meant to deter citizens from crime, macabre crowds would gather to watch the gruesome spectacle.
