The Beheading of the Rebel Lords on Great Tower Hill

The Hanoverian government issued swift and brutal retribution after the defeat of the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion at the Battle of Culloden. The rebellion's leader, ‘Bonnie’ Prince Charlie, fled to Rome and safety, but many of his supporters and commanders were arrested, imprisoned and sentenced to death for treason.

For their part in the rebellion, William Boyd, 4th Earl of Kilmarnock and Arthur Elphinstone, 6th Baron Balmerino, were beheaded on Tower Hill on 18th August 1746. The crowd were impressed by the dignity of the two men. Kilmarnock comforted the executioner before Balmerino affirmed his commitment to Jacobitism, declaring: ‘If I had a thousand lives, I would lay them all down in the same cause.’ Kilmarnock was executed first, with one swift blow. Balmarino was less fortunate. It took three strikes of the axe to sever his head.