Lucy Quits (TV)

The night scene where Lucy leaves the cab and Lockwood follows her, was filmed on the south-eastern corner of South Carriage Drive, in Hyde Park, actually a short walk from Tyburn Gallows’ original location (it’s not quite as close as Lockwood suggests). This scene only exists in the TV episode. In the books, the trio all go to Deprac for Lucy’s interview, so Lockwood and Lucy are not alone to have the conversation, although the trio walk back through Green Park.

The scene was shot in an open area of the park just off South Carriage Drive (which is the street where the night cab stops), close to Hyde Park Corner tube station. In the classic long shot where Lucy and Lockwood stand together, Lockwood holding the flare aloft, watching the ghosts approach, you can see the big houses at the top of Knightsbridge behind them. 

As for Tyburn, it was a once a village (mentioned in the Doomesday Books), located next to the area which is now Marble Arch. The village took its name from one of the many “lost” rivers of London. The river ran from Hampstead through Lockwood and Co “territory” in the form of Marylebone, Mayfair and St James’. After passing through Green Park it enters the Thames at four different sites. Much of it, however is now a wastewater channel.

The exact location of  “Tyburn Gallows”, is near Marble Arch tube station in the north-east corner of the park. It was the site of executions for general felons from 1196 to 1783. Prisoners would be brought by cart from Newgate Prison where they were hung at the infamous “Tyburn Tree” – not an actual tree, but a three-branched scaffold designed for executions. In 1571, it was upgraded from a standard scaffold to a triangular-shaped gallows which allowed up to 24 people to be hung at one time.

Today the site is marked by a circular plaque in a traffic island at the junction of Edgware Road and Bayswater Road, Marble Arch. 

Did You Know?
– There were up to 12 hanging days a year and it became a popular social event. Public holidays were declared for labourers. However, large crowds attracted pickpockets and petty criminals.
– Hangings at Tyburn were often slow and painful. There are reports of crowds pulling on the legs of the condemned and of the hangman jumping on the shoulders of the prisoners to hasten death.
– After their execution, prisoners were left on display as a deterrent to others for hours, sometimes days.