Tyburn Turnpike and Oxford Street

The Tyburn Turnpike, at the junction of the Oxford Road (now Bayswater Road) and Oxford Street, was described at the time as: the grandest passage into our immense metropolis. Oxford-street, from its uniform breadth, its commodious and spacious foot-way, and great extent, being one mile and a quarter, is allowed to be one of the finest streets in Europe. Oxford Street follows the route of a Roman road, the via Trinobantina, and became one of the major routes in and out of the city. In the late 18th century many of the surrounding fields were purchased by the Earl of Oxford, and the area was developed, with many shops appearing from the Regency period onwards.
A turnpike is a gate set across the road to stop carts until a toll was paid, and the money collected was used to maintain the highway. The Tyburn Turnpike was near to where the "Tyburn Tree" was erected. This was the gallows on which, until 1783, public hangings took place in London. A plaque commemorating the gallows lays near to Marble Arch.


Nearest tube Marble Arch.