Building Rating 60% of readers like the Ancient Scaffold.
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T his piece of anti-architecture is important because it no longer exists. It is a plaque in a walkway near Tower Bridge. The inscription reads, "Site of ancient scaffold. Here the Earl of Kilmarnock and Lord Balmerino suffered 18th August 1746." This is the site of the last public hanging in London. It was the last because at the time hangings had become spectator sports, and bleachers had to be erected to accommodate the crowds. When the moment for this double execution came, the audience leaned forward en masse, causing the risers to collapse, killing a number of people in the audience.