This plaque shows the site of the scaffold used for the private executions on the Tower Green. It's position relative to the Chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula can be seen in the Chapel photo if you look to the far bottom left.
Seven famous prisoners were executed here (see below). The private executions took place on the Tower Green within the walls of the Tower to avoid embarrassing the prisoner- or the monarch. Normally, the executions took place outside on Tower Hill and were usually viewed by thousands of spectators.
This plaque shows the names of those executed on the Tower Green along with the dates.
It reads:
On this site stood a scaffold on which were executed: Queen Anne Boleyn 19 May 1536 Second wife of Henry VIII Margaret, Countess of Salisbury 28 May 1541 Last Plantagenet Princess Queen Katherine Howard 13 Feb 1542 Fifth wife of Henry VIII Jane, Viscountess Rochford 13 Feb 1542 Wife of Anne Boleyn's brother Lady Jane Grey 12 Feb 1554 Uncrowned Queen of 9 days Robert Devereux 25 Feb 1601 Earl of Essex Lord Hastings was also beheaded near the spot in 1483
The Queen's House
The Queen's House is currently the home of the Resident Governor of the Tower of London. Originally, the Lieutenant of the Tower lived here and was the custodian of several famous prisoners: Lady Jane Grey, Guy Fawlkes and the last prisoner held in the Tower: Rudolf Hess in 1941. Anne Boleyn is said to have stayed here before her execution as well.
