For hundreds of years the Old Bailey's 'Dead Man's Walk' struck fear into the hearts of murderers, rapists and other wretched criminals
And now these behind the scenes pictures capture why the path in the world's most famous criminal court would terrify even the most hardened crook.
The Central Criminal Court in London is where hundreds met their death and many trod the 'dead man's walk' after a judge ordered their execution.
The condemned would take their last steps between the prison and the court, to an open square outside Newgate Prison, which conveniently stood next to the Old Bailey, where they would be publicly hanged.
The High Bailiff of Southwark Charles Henty, the man running the smooth operation of the Old Bailey, described the last walk of many an evil criminal.
He said: 'The prisoner would walk south along the path, which was covered by arches that had doorways in them.
'At the end you would turn west, and this is called 'the birdcage' because at the top would be an open space, covered with a net, and it would be a prisoner's last chance to see natural daylight.
'After that they would walk through an exit and have a hood place on your head as you stepped onto the scaffold.
'There you would be hanged and meet your maker.
'Occasionally they would also cut the prisoner's head off and show it to the crowd.'
Although a public hanging was meant to deter citizens from crime, macabre crowds would gather to watch the gruesome spectacle.
Chaotic crowds assembled to hurl abuse at the walking dead, who would be showered with rotten food and rocks.
The wealthy could afford to rent 'window boxes' in the galleries that overlooked the gallows, so they could see the hanging without being crushed and enjoy a better view.
Such was the popularity of seeing criminals hang, 28 people died in a crush in 1807 after a crowd grew out of control.
Mr Henty said: 'The hangings were very popular with the public.
'But crowd control was problematic.'
By 1868, the constant swell of baying crowds and subsequent disorder led to public executions being stopped, and instead the condemned would hang inside Newgate Prison.
The last person to be executed at the Old Bailey was George Woolfe, for the murder of his girlfriend Charlotte Cheeseman on May 6, 1902.
And the last person to be publicly executed was Michael Barrett, who was led to the gallows on May 26, 1868 outside the Old Bailey.
The last woman to be publicly executed was Catherine Wilson, who the judge in her trial branded as 'the greatest criminal who ever lived', Murderpedia reported.
She was a nurse who is thought to have poisoned up to seven of her patients after convincing them to leave their money to her in their wills.
Found guilty of only one murder, her public hanging outside the Old Bailey attracted a crowd of up to 20,000 people in 1862, and her death was the last hanging of a female that the public ever saw.
The huge surge of people gathering outside to heckle and abuse those who were about to be hanged forced the prison to build a tunnel linking a nearby church and the court, Mr Henty said.
'It meant that the priest could get to the prisoner and read them their last rites without having to push through the crowd,' he said.
Charles Henty, whose title also includes Secondary of London and Under Sheriff, said that thousands have died outside the imposing court.
He said: 'I gather there were about 559 people put to death here 1783-1799, and 621 hangings at Newgate 1800-1899, 543 of the latter were in public.
'But by the 19th century execution was turning against public opinion, people began to write that it wasn't seemly, and this was not how a civilised society should operate.'
These photographs show the labyrinth of dingy corridors and cramped cells that many would have seen as they waited for judgement.
The original Old Bailey courthouse was built in 1539 but the grisly history of the court goes back much further as the site had been occupied by the notorious Newgate gaol from medieval times, Old Bailey Online said.
In 1902 George Woolfe, 21, met his maker after a gruesome attack on his girlfriend, Charlotte Cheeseman, after growing tired of her. In her book, The Old Bailey: Eight Centuries of Crime, Cruelty and Corruption, Theresa Murphy writes how the killer stabbed his lover 17 times, beat and kicked her, and then dumped her body in a ditch on a cold January night in 1902. A boy found the factory worker's body in Tottenham Marshes, and police eventually found her killer in February. Woolfe was the last man to be hanged at the Old Bailey, and he was executed on May 6, 1902.
The last woman to hang was Charlotte Wilson, who was hanged for one murder in 1862, but is believed to have killed up to six others. She was a nurse who would care for wealthy patients, and convince them to leave her money in their will. Then she is accused of poisoning them, and benefiting from their deaths when she received her inheritance. She was caught by police after attempting to poison a woman with sulphuric acid, and was condemned to a public hanging in October 1862.
Sources: Murder UK and Random HouseThe courthouse is located just off of Newgate Street and prisoners would await their trial under the shadow of the courthouse, as the notorious Newgate Prison was conveniently located next to the Old Bailey.
Thankfully for present day criminals, the Execution Room that was contained within the ramp from Newgate Street into the cell complex was demolished as part of the renovations between 1902 and 1907 before the current court was opened.
The grim confines of Newgate prison was demolished in 1904, and in its place is a complex of 74 cells that is contained within the current building.
For many criminals, the noose was where they met their end, as flouting common law was originally punishable by hanging.
But from the middle of the eighteenth century, the law began to curb the use of the death penalty - to the relief of many a felon.
However, just because someone avoided the rope, they were still handed a variety of violent punishments.
Many defendants received more than one punishment and it typically involved a mixture of spending time in the pillory, imprisonment, whipping, fines and providing sureties for good behaviour.
The court has been rebuilt several times between 1674 and 1913, and the latest courthouse was designed by Edward Mountford and opened by King Edward VII in 1907, the City of London said.
The medieval courthouse was built to make the accused confront the witness testifying them.
In the early 19th century, before gas lighting became popular, a mirrored reflector was placed above the dock, in order to reflect light from the windows onto the defendant's face.
In the early 19th century, before gas lighting became popular, a mirrored reflector was placed above the dock, in order to reflect light from the windows onto the defendant's face.
This was meant to highlight the accused's facial expression, so a judge and jury could examine the truth of their accounts, Old Bailey Online reported.
The court earned its distinctive name after the street in which it was located, which follows the line of the original fortified wall, or 'bailey', of the City.
The Old Bailey has seen many notorious criminals stand in its docks - including East End gangsters Ronnie and Reggie Kray.
After years spent wreaking havoc, violence and crime across the capital, the Kray twins were arrested on May 9, 1968.
Once they were detained in police custody, witnesses slowly started to develop the confidence to give evidence of the truth to the police team.
The subsequent trial lasted 39 days at the Old Bailey and the Kray twins were sentenced to life imprisonment
Now the ancient court, after years of surviving on antiquated facilities, will undergo a makeover.
The City of London Corporation, which owns the building, along with the Ministry of Justice, is embarking on a £37m modernisation plan to overhaul antiquated facilities.
Mr Henty said: 'This is a very grand and imposing building, so it does have still have a gravitas, and it can be a very sombre and intimidating place for visitors.
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