Note 132 — Chapter III
Reading edition
The Tybourn church was built by and belonged to, the De Veres; the excuse given for taking it down was, that “it stood in a lonely place near the highway, and that in consequence of its position it was subject to the depredations of robbers, who frequently stole the images, bells, and ornaments.” The most lonely place “near the highway” was beside the ancient Tybourn, where the gallows and gibbet were formed out of the adjacent elm, and near this spot, as I imagine, the ancient Tybourn church stood.