Day in the Life of a Tudor Executioner

After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal

History Hit

Myths, Folklore, Mystery, History, Ghosts, Society & Culture, Murder, Ufos, True Crime, Paranormal, Supernatural, Serial Killers

4.6 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 10 November 2025

⏱️ 43 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Did they wear black hoods? Whose axe did they use? How did you get the job in the first place? Today Anthony Delaney takes Maddy Pelling inside the world of the Tudor Executioner.

Research by Phoebe Joyce, edited by Tim Arstall, produced by Freddy Chick.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, we're your host's Anthony Delaney and Maddie Pelling.
0:03.7	And if you would like After Dark myths, misdeeds and the paranormal, ad free and get early access, sign up to History Hit.
0:11.1	With a History Hit subscription, you can also watch hundreds of hours of original documentaries with top history presenters and enjoy a new release every week.
0:20.7	Sign up now by visiting historyhit.com forward slash subscribe. top history presenters and enjoy a new release every week.
0:24.8	Sign up now by visiting historyhit.com forward slash subscribe.
0:32.9	He lurked in the margins, ignored, strangely invisible given his profession.
0:41.4	No one was watching him as he woke somewhere in London before the dawn and made his way through the frosty streets to the tower.
0:46.5	No one cared as he nodded at acquaintances and received his orders.
0:54.0	He was alone when he and his axe were reunited and as he sharpened its edges. Even as he took his place on the scaffold,
0:57.2	he was unremarked by the chroniclers that were present. It was only as he raised that glinting
1:04.1	axe up into the sky that suddenly, for an instant, he appeared in full colour.
1:11.7	All eyes riveted on him and the blade of Tudor justice held in his hand.
1:22.2	Tudor history is full of stories of execution.
1:26.3	But one figure always gets forgotten,
1:29.2	the man who swings the axe,
1:31.9	who were the Tudor executioners?
1:34.5	How did you become one?
1:36.0	And what did they do on Execution Day?
1:39.1	This is a day in the life of a Tudor executioner.
1:42.5	Welcome to After Dark.
1:44.0	Music day in the life of a Tudor period, a constant threat and a constant possibility.
2:15.7	The list of famous names murdered in this way is long.
	...

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