Gallows

A structure used for execution by hanging. Gallows generally comprised two upright pieces of wood and a cross piece from which the noose was suspended. Gallows do not usually survive but traces of their existence may be found in the mound upon which the gallows may have stood, or in a place name such as ‘Gallows Road’ or ‘Forches’ deriving from the latin ‘furcus’, an old term for gallows. Several such place-names are known in Buckinghamshire, such as Gallows Road of Bicester Road just outside Aylesbury, Gallow's Hill in Ivinghoe or Hangman's Hill in Newton Longville. Gallows were often at cross-roads, such as the one in Chearsley.