Maiden (guillotine)
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The Maiden is an early form of guillotine, or gibbet, that was used between the 16th and 18th centuries as a means of execution in Edinburgh, Scotland. The device was introduced in 1564 during the rei
'The Maiden' on display at the National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh (July 2011)
Blade of The Maiden
James Douglas, 4th Earl of Morton
Halifax Gibbet
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The Halifax Gibbet was an early guillotine used in the town of Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. Estimated to have been installed during the 16th century, it was used as an alternative to beheading by
Maiden (guillotine)
…David Hume of Godscroft's 1644 History of the House of Angus said that Morton was responsible for its introduction, and had based the concept on the Halifax Gibbet: "the Maiden, which he himself had caused make after the patterne which he had seen in Halifax in Yorkshire". Although there was no other support for…
A replica of the Halifax Gibbet on its original site, 2008, with St Mary's Catholic church, Gibbet Street, in the background
Print of the Halifax Gibbet in use, from Thomas Allen's A New and Complete History of the County of York (1829)