 Halifax Gibbet

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 axe or sword.Halifax was once part of the Manor of Wakefield, where ancient custom and law gave the Lord of the Manor the authority to execute summarily by decapitation any thief caught with stolen goods to the value of 13½d or more, or who confessed to having stolen goods of at least that value.