Flowers placed at base of fence around a sports pitch in Newington Gardens, London Borough of Southwark.

A notice attached to the fence reads:

In  memory of our gay martyrs

On Sunday 27th September at 2 pm we have laid a wreath and lit candles in memory ofe two men hanged on this site for sodomy at Horsemonger Lane Gaol in 1809 and 1833.  A third slit his own throat with a penknife to escape a similar fate.

In all, over 40 men were killed in the UK for this ‘unmentionable’ crime in this period.  The youngest was 16.

The last two, James Pratt and John Smith, were kept here in 1835 for three weeks before trial at the Old Bailey and execution at Newgate.

These martyrs must never be forgotten

photographed 30 September 2026