Hanging Stanes

In the hush of this seemingly ordinary street, a chilling tale unfolds. The Hanging Stanes of Edinburgh whisper of a dark chapter in the city’s history. These unassuming stones, embedded in the pavement of Braid Road, mark the site of Edinburgh’s last public hanging for highway robbery. On a frigid January day in 1815, two Irish immigrants, Thomas Kelly and Henry O’Neil, met their fate here. Their crime? The robbery of a carter named David Loch just weeks before, near this very spot. Kelly and O’Neil, already notorious for similar offenses, were swiftly apprehended. Their trial was quick, perhaps unfairly influenced by prejudice against the Irish. The judge, in a dramatic display of justice, decreed that they be hanged not at the usual gallows, but here, at the scene of their crime. A somber procession, complete with magistrates, clergymen, and a morbidly curious crowd, marched the condemned men from the Old Tolbooth in the city center, several miles to this spot. In the biting snow, Kelly and O’Neil were hanged, their bodies left dangling as a grim warning. The story of the Hanging Stanes became ingrained in local lore. Some, believing the men were unjustly punished, whispered that the cement around the stones never fully dried. The cobblestones themselves represent the gibbets from which they were hanged. As you stand here, on Braid Road, let the weight of this story sink in. Imagine the procession, the crowd, the final moments of Kelly and O’Neil. The Hanging Stanes serve as a stark reminder of a harsher time, a tangible link to a chilling piece of Edinburgh’s past.