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Bridewell was a prison and hospital. The site was originally a royal palace (Bridewell Palace) but was transferred to the
Bride Well
.
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Bridewell, once a palace, later a prison, was an intriguing site in the early modern period. It changed hands several times before falling into the possession of the BrideWell.
The building was originally a palace built for
Saint Brides in Fleetstreet
(Stow 1:69). St. Bride’s Church was one of the oldest churches in London, taking its name from the house called Bridewell
(Stow 1:69). This house fell into ruin, but the property was acquired by Cardinal builded for the entertainement of the
(Stow 1:70). In
In the begynning of the springe time, The emperour taketh shippinge in Spaine to sayle into Englande, where he was royally receiued of
kynge Henry the eight , who had maried hys AunteKatherine , which amonges other kyndes of his princelike liberalite builded a goodlye lodginge purposely for him vpon the Riuer of Themse, called Bridewell, and from thens he sayled into Flaunders, where he was ioyefully receyued of almen.
kyng and many young gentlemen with hym, came to Bridewell, & there put hym, and .xv. other, al in Maskyng apparel
(Hall sig. Cliij) before taking the royal barge down the Thames for a large there he & his nobles put on there robes of parliament, and so came to the blacke Freers church, where a Masse of the holy ghost was solemplie song by the kynges Chappell
(Hall sig. Clxxxvii). In the yeare
(Stow 2:44).
Bridewell was also a site where
when he was .vi. yere of age, the kyng made hym knight, and called hym
lorde Henry Fitz Roy , andat the Manor or place of Bridewell, the saied Lorde ledde by twoo Erles, was created Erle of Notyngham, and then he was brought backe again by the saied twoo Erles: then the Dukes of Norffolke and Suffolk, led hym into the great chamber again and the kyng created hym, Duke of Richemond and Somerset.
of twoo yere old
who was given the title of Earle of Lincolne
(Hall sig. CXliij).
In
The
tenth of Aprill ,Sir George Baron (being Maior of this Citie) was sent for to the Court at White hall, and there at that time the king gaue vnto him, for the Comminaltie and Citizens to bee a Workehouse for the poore and idle persons of the Citie, his house of Bridewell.
However,
it had to be confirmed by
(Stow 2:45). Bridewell would become one of the most famous prisons of the early modern period, and its fame persisted into the Victorian era.
Bridewell vnto my memory comes next; Where idleneſſe and lechery is vext: This is a royall houſe, of ſtate and port, Which the eighth King Henry built, and there kept CourtKing Edward ſomewhat ere his timeleſſe fall,Gaue it away to be an Hoſpitall: Which vſe the City puts it well vnto, And many pious deeds they there doe doo: But yet for Vagabonds and Runnagates, For Whores, and idle knaues, and ſuchlike mates, ’Tis little better than a Iayle to thoſe, Where they chop chalke, for meat and drinke and blowes In this houſe thoſe that ’gainſt their wils doe dwell, Loue well a Bride (perhaps) but not Bridewell.
What was once a royal palace would now be known as the Bridewell Royal Hospital
and Bridewell Prison
. Bridewell, along with other prisons and hospitals, would be funded by the rents of Savoy lands. 700. Markes land late of the possessions of the house of the Sauoy
(Stow 2:45). The institute of Bridewell began operating only on Royal Charter; while it did not have the endorsement of a Parliamentary act, as pointed out by Griffiths in
Bridewell was one of London’s first prisons, and thus the term Ille send you to Bridewell
in
selected Latine and English phrases wherein the purity and propriety of both languages is expressed(Clarke 46). In his
Seruant, or slaue kept in person, & forced to worke: a Bridwell birde(
A prison, a jail; esp. a house of correction in which inmates are put to work(
I think you were broght vp in the vniuersitie of bridewell, you haue your rhetorick so ready at your toongs end(W.S. sig. F2v).
Most early modern literary texts depict Bridewell negatively; the prison is often the dwelling place for the morally unsound. For instance, in the ballad
be trydein Bridewell, including an
old Maltmanwho drinks while he works; a
Carrier that travels by night very latewho steals ale and rides boats on the Thames; and a
wench of plaine dealingwho practices prostitution (
beating hemp in Bridewell to choke theeues,likely put away for prostitution and put to work while serving her sentence (Dekker sig. L4v).
lash’d, and slash’d(Jonson sig. I4v). Being sent to Bridewell for punishment, as Griffths argues, was a common fate for women prosecuted in the
However, not all references to Bridewell were wholly negative. In
Your Bridewell? that the name? for beauty, strength, Capacity and forme of ancient building, (Beſides the Riuers neighbourhood) few houſes Wherein we keepe our Court can better it. This play depicts the institution in a favorable light.
In
Pilkington sig. O7rLooke into London, and see what hospitals be there founded in the Gospell time, and the poore in dede releued, youth godly brought vppe, and the idls set to worke. Poperye would some time fede the hungry, but seldome correct the vnprofitable drones that sucked the honye from the labouring bees, nor bring vp children in the feare of God, but to fill the bellye, and not to teache vertue is to encrease vice. Wel worth Bridewell therfore, for it is a good schole.
Accordingly, religious tracts held seemingly ambivalent views of Bridewell. While
broad Hell(Adams 7), in
To cure the Idle(Adams 22—23). While this remedy prescribed for idle persons might shock modern audiences, it was regarded as a likely sentence in the early modern period. In a didactic tract published by an anonymous writer titledthere is no medicine like a good whips, to let out his lazy bloud; and a good dyet of daily labour, which some skilfull Bedle must see him take; put him into the bath at Bridewell, to take away the numnesse of his joynts and scowre off his ruse, and so he may be recovered
would wrong no man sacretly, but in the streets kill them openly, and the loyalist replies,
Why truly it is the general report of the City, especially for these thrée v v v, Vice, Villany, and Vani[t]y, and for thrée b b b, Bloody, Base, and Busie, and for thrée t t t, Trouble, Treason, and Treachery, whereby you may search Bedlam, Bridewell and Newgate, and hardly find any to exceed them(
Bridewell was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in