The Execution Axe And Block Of The Tower Of London

Today inside of the Tower of London there is an executioner's axe and block that is on display and it holds a dark history. This was the weapon used to take the head off the final person to be executed by axe on Tower Hill, Simon Fraser the 11th Lord Lovat. The block was also used in this execution, but the axe dates back to the Tudor period and it may have been the weapon used to executed Queens and many important people inside the Tower of London.
Join us today as we look at, 'The Execution Axe And Block Of The Tower Of London.'
To support please make sure to subscribe.

[@deadhorse1391]

For many years I was a professional blacksmith that made mostly Axes and knives ( most 1700s antiques) and I once had a customer have me make him an accurate copy of this axe and block. I have made similar axes but not real easy to make. The wood block was a real pain to make. The customer was happy I used to make small copies , about what you would use on a treasonous rabbet , they were fun to make and sold well too

[@janduplessis5190]

Seems like an unwieldy forward heavy axe with poor balance. The long blade would tend to twist to a side when you swing it hard. Also a very thin round handle that might twist in the axeman's hands. All this would make accurate cutting difficult.

[@JodyParsons]

Chopping firewood made me appreciate a good nicely made axe and handle

[@pikachu6031]

It was and did! Mary Queen of Scot’s Execution was a truly brutal affair. At the first attempt, the executioner missed the target and struck her lower neck/upper back. “Ouch”….The second blow only partially removed Mary’s head. It took one more final blow to remove her head completely from her body……Can you imagine seeing this?…Mary, apparently “Moaned” loudly after the first strike of the huge axe….”I’ll bet she did”!…….Absolutely horrific…

[@Garbagejuicewaterfall]

Nice

[@andersnoren6070]

In Sweden, the executioner would use a short handled hewing axe with a very wide blade. Executions were still botched some times and the axe was eventually replaced with the guillotine.

[@myrants5836]

I've seen this myself. I took a close look at it and you can see the edge is still very sharp. Impressive given the age and considering how much use it must have had.

[@stephencresswell4760]

You can sharpen any axe, of any age.

[@myrants5836]

@@stephencresswell4760 Yes I'm fully aware of that. I sharpen plenty of blades on a regular basis. However, it's not advisable to sharpen antique blades like this. You can cause more damage, deterioration and vastly devalue the item. I would suggest this blade has remained this sharp for an extremely long time. It's a testament to the quality of the metal and how well this has been looked after by the curators.

[@markbeale7390]

? ?? Wouldn't required sharpening since last deployment ¿

[@kasauerkrautimgulasch]

This may sound a bit surprising, but you can sharpen blades and normally a cutting edge will not become dull from standing around.

[@markbeale7390]

@kasauerkrautimgulasch Yep I agree 👍

[@michaelmartin9090]

There are 2 cut marks the block. 1 was a practice swing, the other, the real killing swing. Which one is which? You can decide for yourself. The block on display was used only once.

[@louisavondart9178]

I have seen other beheading axes that had the blade offset to the right of the handle. It's difficult to see but I think this one is as well. I believe that it would make the " job " far more difficult in that the blade does not follow the swing of the handle in a straight line. Very strange design.

[@billcarrell8622]

The offset axe was used by woodsman. Not for felling trees, but for squaring of beams and lumber. That type of axe was used because at one time it was the only one they could find. It turned out if you didn't understand how to use it, you could and many did, botch the decapitation horribly.

[@paulnolan1352]

Thanks for the history lesson. The Axe seems light at seven pounds.

[@stephencresswell4760]

Light? 7lbs is a big axe.

[@MidMo4020]

There is a place called the Kriminalmuseum in Rothenburg Germany. It has everything regarding torture and execution. They have a heading block too.. but it doesn’t look as nice as this one. The one I saw had very obvious marks in it. And it was really interesting to look closer and realize many of those marks.. were mistakes…ouch 😵

[@haroldpearson6025]

There is a similar axe in Warwick Castle.

[@colinchaves9285]

Queen Anne Boleyn was executed by sword and not by the axe due to her rank and status as queen to Henry VIII

[@brandrider21]

That had nothing to do with it . Katherine Howard was queen of England too and she was executed with an axe. The reason Anne was not executed with an axe is because Henry gave her one last parting kindness . It had nothing to do with her status as Queen

[@user-kh3nz9lb2k]

Imagine being decapitated in one blow and your head falling into a basket. Since the eyes are connected to the brain directly and the fact that the brain still continues to function until oxygen starved. Once your head is severed, you would see it fall into the basket then, when the executioner raised your head aloft to face the crowd. you would likely see your headless body on the block and then the crowd jeering and shouting at your demise. Imagine the horror.

[@OzBloke]

Hmmm - could be, but I think loss of consciousness would be almost instant due to immediate blood pressure loss.

[@user-kh3nz9lb2k]

@@OzBloke fair point

[@skycloud4802]

After around 5 seconds or so.

[@harikrishna69]

Is this Harry H Corbett reading?

[@AB-ye7bw]

What is the object in the lower right corner next to the ax?

[@TheFortress]

Hi! This is part of the wooden scaffold of Tower Hill encased in a strange scroll like glass vial.

[@patrickcarter4012]

That block and axe was actually used??? Man thats crazy.

[@andyreese278]

Nope. Can't listen to this dude's voice

[@purefoldnz3070]

may I axe you a question?

[@kkupsky6321]

Is that the original handle? Bit short. No?

[@sparsh415]

I stood in front of this as a child over 40 years ago and it made me go cold then thinking what it was used for and still does as a 54 year old today.

[@MrsJHarrington]

Very interesting and informative!

[@MrMrbrianbechtel]

It would need to be this long to make sure it could clear through the entire neck before hitting the handle. If I was going to design an ax for this purpose it would look like this

[@jerrym.8071]

The last time I took a tour at the tower of london, they said that the people getting beheaded chose their killer and if you were Rich enough, you could afford a French axeman because they were the best and had the sharpest axes. So I doubt that axe was actually the one used all the time.

[@MarlinWilliams-ts5ul]

Is this where Sir Walter Raliegh lost his head?

[@WadeWeigle]

It looks perfect for its job. Honestly if the haft of the axe was any shorter it would be difficult to use. As it is, it’s a perfect length. The blade of the axe is also well suited to the task. The broad blade means you’ll get the whole of the neck in one swing. The weight on the blade means you don’t have to exert too much effort bringing the blade down to get a good deep cut. It’s honestly well thought out and looks to be quite a good tool for the job.

[@balancedactguy]

The Germans were STILL beheadiing people with a axe up to the time Adolf Hitler took power (Jan of 1933) . Their axe had a shorter, heavier wood handle and a very sharp , heavy blade. The shortness of the handle made for a shorter more accurate travel and such beheadings were noted for their efficiency. After Hitler came to power he commissioned 5-6 Modern Guillotines to be made and distributed about Germany. During his reign an estimated 25,000 beheadings took place.

[@exilbayer6377]

I guess you have never used an axe yourself?!? Having worked a lot with axes, I cannot imagine a worse shape for it´s purpose: This axe simply lacks many centuries of knowledge in axe-buildig! The weight is way to light for it´s size (10 pounds might be right), the handle is way to thin and has no curve. The optimal length of the handle depends on the size of the user. In this case, he should be at least 1,90m, which is slightly above the average of these times... The breadth of the blade is the bare minimum to do the job. But the biggest problem is the balance of the blade: All the weight is below the handle, which makes it almost impossible, to have control over the start of the acceleration period, which starts behind the shoulders, using such a long handle. The length of the blade will make it cant, if it doesn´t hit the neck in a perfect(!) angle. But already the slightest tilt will cause disaster... Finally, the almost straight edge gives it a very bad cutting performance (think about the guilletine). Honestly: I never understood, why so many beheadings were so horribly botched. Until I have seen this axe! Now I don´t understand, that some of them were not...

[@bahoonies]

A TV programme was made some years ago to test how effective the Tower of London axe was. They had a replica made and used it on watermelons. It tended to twist and did not strike with great accuracy because of the length and round profile of the haft. In Prussia (later Germany) the axe or richtbeil was used as the method of execution right up into WW2. The executioner Karl Gröpler used it to behead Benita Falkenhayn and Renate von Natzmer in 1935. It is believed that the last axe execution in Germany was carried out in 1944. The axe differs greatly from the one in the Tower. The head weighs about 12 pounds and has a flat cutting edge more than 12 inches long. The haft is short with a flat rather than round profile so it does not turn in the hand. The axe did not have to be raised over the executioner's head as the weight of the blade was sufficient for it to fall and behead the victim. The executioner just had to raise it to shoulder height and guide the blade as it fell. There is a written record of watching a German executioner practising using turnips shortly before WW2. Execution with the axe was fast and very accurate. Descriptions of executions with the axe in Germany say that from the moment the victim was handed over to the executioner and his team, everything happened very quickly. In contrast to the axe, a swordsman had to have considerably more skill to avoid a botched execution.

[@brinta2868]

@@exilbayer6377 *its purpose *its size Otherwise, great comment. That axe seems very unfit for the job.

[@exilbayer6377]

@@brinta2868 Mamma??? You have YT up there??? And still checking my spelling. Now even in English... 😂😂😂 Many might be pissed now, but an honest "Thank you!!!" for this comment! As a non-native -writer i was always struggling with it`s and its... Over the years if have forgotten the "its", but something felt wrong. Not always, only sometimes... Now I remember,. And now I will never forget it again.

[@TheCelticgirl62]

This was used on my ancestor Simon Fraser Lord Lovat!!

[@secretagent86]

We need an omg option i sure do not want to put up a like

[@borleyboo5613]

And on mine……King Dick of Wigan. 😊

[@Wormweed]

Looks like an axe that would twist in your hands upon impact, but i'm no executioner so maybe it doesn't 🤷‍♂️

[@barrymcguire7987]

They should DNA test the ax and block

[@xavierhucklenbruch1798]

Yes... but compair the results to what ?

[@robertwilliamson922]

@@xavierhucklenbruch1798 compare to descendants

[@lukealadeen7836]

Why though?

[@ziggypop79]

Handle looks too thin

[@ukspizzaman]

That axe looks too small. Norwegian execution axes had a huge blade, extending over the handle. This one looks like botched executions were common.

[@michaeltovey02607]

Could come in handy if Megs visits the UK again.

[@mickzammit6794]

In the days before football and television the English entertained themselves viewing a good old gore fest.

[@DarkAngelOfTexas]

🤪🪓

[@danfn2r72]

Tower Hilllllll

[@stephencresswell4760]

Two types of block were used, high and low depending on the victim’s sex and age.

[@Leon-lt5gv]

Who owned the axe ' the head of state 🤣

[@spitfeueranna]

The English monarchy was insane.

[@Unpainted_Huffhines]

Fun fact: the Tower of London features no actual towers.

[@djbullets5850]

You surely cant be that stupid?🤦‍♂️

[@TheBergmark]

The axe seems not wery good balanced to me🤔

[@robertwilliamson922]

You held it ?

[@TheBergmark]

@@robertwilliamson922 no, but I have used axes a lot, both for splitting wood and cleaving big animals and that axe looks like it would be "wobbly" to use, but maybe i am totally wrong about that, i guess i will never know.

[@nigellacey559]

Great voice

[@bw2442]

Allways trying to make an impression on the masses that no one resists the state.

[@karlmartell9279]

This thing is clearly a fake or has never been used once as there are no traces of the ax in the oak wood on the top at all.

[@captainxhulio2929]

If I had to guess it's probably a restored or duplicated piece. I've seen alot of "artifacts" and even some "monuments" that upon further research learned that it was either a copy or a restored piece. I could see this particular piece being cracked or missing its handle, etc. and being restored. Usually I see things that are copies of an artifact that is stored away.

[@gonefishing167]

🙏🙏🙏👵🇦🇺

[@davem8836]

You'd think in a modern society people would want to forget this kind of thing. Displaying execution equipment of any kind is just plain weird.

[@bahoonies]

It's called history, and like present times, there are good and bad parts to it.

[@djbullets5850]

Its called history 🤣ffs.

[@3skirk]

Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it

[@DamnDannyx]

are you an AI? its just on multiple videos you just sort of ramble on stating the obvious with no real insight or further content. These videos mostly contain meandering subjecture for around ten mins, all that we could have summised ourselves from looking at the picture you posted. - just a pointer :)

[@MrMrbrianbechtel]

Why not do some DNA testing on it

[@JonathanLane-ji4kw]

With all due respect, the narration is somewhat tedious. Very much like the person is trying not to sound like he's reading a script but failing to do so.

[@brinta2868]

It sounds tedious to me because he pauses after a certain number of syllables. It's almost like he's reading a poem with a fixed meter: da - DA - da - DA - da - DA - da - DA (pause) da - DA - da - DA - da - DA - da - DA (pause) Etc.