Tyburn (stream)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Tyburn is a stream in London, which runs underground from South Hampstead through St. James's Park to meet the River Thames at Pimlico near Vauxhall Bridge. It is not to be confused with the Tyburn Brook which is a tributary of the River Westbourne.
Before it was covered over, the Tyburn originally arose from the confluence of two precursor streams from the hills of Hampstead. At what is now St. James's Park, it split into three branches, two of which formed the island of Thorney on which Westminster Abbey was built. The Tyburn is now completely enclosed and flows through underground conduits for its entire length.
The Tyburn gave its name to the eponymous village of Tyburn, originally a manor of Marylebone, which was recorded in the Domesday Book and which stood approximately at the west end of what is now Oxford Street. It also gave its name to the predecessors of Oxford Street and Park Lane, which were formerly called Tyburn Road and Tyburn Lane respectively.
Tyburn gained notoriety as the site of the Tyburn gallows, which was the principal place of execution in the county of Middlesex from the 12th century to the 18th century, after which they took place at Newgate Prison. The gallows were originally situated next to the Tyburn stream but were moved further away in the 16th century to a site near the modern-day Marble Arch.
