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TY - ELEC
A1 - University of Melbourne History 30073 2018 Students
ED - Jenstad, Janelle
T1 - Newgate
T2 - The Map of Early Modern London
ET - 7.0
PY - 2022
DA - 2022/05/05
CY - Victoria
PB - University of Victoria
LA - English
UR - https://mapoflondon.uvic.ca/edition/7.0/NEWG1.htm
UR - https://mapoflondon.uvic.ca/edition/7.0/xml/standalone/NEWG1.xml
ER -
This Death Some Strong and Stout Hearted Man Doth Choose: The Practice of Peine Forte et Dure in Seventeenth- and Eighteenth-Century England
Originally built as a Roman fortification for the provincial city of Londinium in the second century C.E., the London Wall remained a material and spatial boundary for the city throughout the early modern period. Described by high and great
(Stow 1:8), the London Wall dominated the cityscape and spatial imaginations of Londoners for centuries. Increasingly, the eighteen-foot high wall created a pressurized constraint on the growing city; the various gates functioned as relief valves where development spilled out to occupy spaces
The city of London, not to be confused with the allegorical character (
Located on Old Bailey near Newgate, the Sessions House served as the meeting place for the Chamberlain of London’s court. The mayor and justices of the City also kept sessions in the building’s Sessions Hall (Stow 1598, sig.
X6r). While the Sessions House was destroyed in the Great Fire of London, it was rebuilt in
Sessions H..
St. Paul’s Cathedral was—and remains—an important church in London. In
Aldgate was the easternmost gate into the walled
city. The name Aldgate
is thought to come from one of four sources:
Eastern gate
(Ekwall 36), ale
, public gate
or open to all
, or old gate
(Bebbington
20–21).
Located in Farringdon Within Ward, Ludgate was a gate built by the Romans (Carlin and Belcher 80). for his owne honor
(Stow 1:1).
Bowyer Row, according to Harben, ran east-west from Creed Lane to Ludgate (Harben). It was the unofficial yet descriptive name given to a section of Ludgate Street by early modern Londoners, so called of bowiers dwelling there in old time
(Stow 1598, sig. T1v).
According to
Tyburn is best known as the location of the principal gallows where public executions were carried out from the late twelfth century until the eighteenth (Drouillard, Wikipedia). It was a village to the west of the city, near the present-day location of Marble Arch (beyond the boundary of the Agas Map). Its name derives from a stream, and its significance to In the yeare
Smithfield was an open, grassy area located outside the Wall. Because of its location close to the city centre, Smithfield was used as a site for markets, tournaments, and public executions. From
Bridewell was a prison and hospital. The site was originally a royal palace (Bridewell Palace) but was transferred to the
Bride Well
.
East of the Spital Fields, also known as Stebanheath.
The city ditch was part of London’s medieval defence system that ran along the outside of the wall
from the Tower to Fleet River. According to much filth (conveyed forth of the Citie) especially dead dogs, were there laid or cast
(Stow 1633, sig. M1v). The ditch
was filled in and covered with garden plots by the time of
PLACEHOLDER LOCATION ITEM. The purpose of this item is to allow encoders to link to a location item when they cannot add a new location file for some reason. MoEML may still be seeking information regarding this entry. If you have information to contribute, please contact the MoEML team.
The Fleet, known as
Enduring for over three centuries, longer than any other London friary, Greyfriars garnered support
from both England’s landed elite and common Londoners. Founded in
Located in Farringdon Within Ward, Christ’s Hospital was a opened in
Although its name evokes the pandemonium of the archetypal madhouse, Bethlehem (Bethlem, Bedlam) Hospital was not always an asylum. As Priorie of Cannons with brethren and
sisters
, founded in one of the Sheriffes of London
(Stow 1:164). We know from
The gaol at Newgate, a western gate in the Roman Wall of London, was constructed in the twelfth century specifically to detain fellons and trespassors
awaiting trial by royal judges (Durston 470; O’Donnell 25; Stow 1598, sig. C8r). The gradual centralisation of the English criminal justice system meant that by the
The Julian calendar, in use in the British Empire until September 1752. This calendar is used for dates where the date of the beginning of the year is ambigious.
The Julian calendar with the calendar year regularized to beginning on 1 January.
The Julian calendar with the calendar year beginning on 25 March. This was the calendar used in the British Empire until September 1752.
The Gregorian calendar, used in the British Empire from September 1752. Sometimes
referred to as
The Anno Mundi (year of the world
) calendar is based on the supposed date of the
creation of the world, which is calculated from Biblical sources. At least two different
creation dates are in common use. See Anno Mundi (Wikipedia).
Regnal dates are given as the number of years into the reign of a particular monarch.
Our practice is to tag such dates with
Project Manager, 2022-present. Research Assistant, 2020-2022. Molly Rothwell was an undergraduate student at the University of Victoria, with a double major in English and History. During her time at MoEML, Molly primarily worked on encoding and transcribing the 1598 and 1633 editions of Stow’s
Project Manager, 2020-2021. Assistant Project Manager, 2019-2020. Research Assistant, 2018-2020. Kate LeBere completed her BA (Hons.) in History and English at the University of Victoria in 2020. She published papers in
Programmer, 2018-present. Junior Programmer, 2015-2017. Research Assistant, 2014-2017. Joey Takeda was a graduate student at the University of British Columbia in the Department of English (Science and Technology research stream). He completed his BA honours in English (with a minor in Women’s Studies) at the University of Victoria in 2016. His primary research interests included diasporic and indigenous Canadian and American literature, critical theory, cultural studies, and the digital humanities.
Data Manager, 2015-2016. Research Assistant, 2013-2015. Tye completed his undergraduate honours degree in English at the University of Victoria in 2015.
Director of Pedagogy and Outreach, 2015–2020. Associate Project Director, 2015. Assistant Project Director, 2013-2014. MoEML Research Fellow, 2013. Kim McLean-Fiander comes to
Janelle Jenstad is Associate Professor of English at the University of Victoria, Director of
Programmer at the University of Victoria Humanities Computing and Media Centre (HCMC). Martin ported the MOL project from its original PHP incarnation to a pure eXist database implementation in the fall of 2011. Since then, he has been lead programmer on the project and has also been responsible for maintaining the project schemas. He was a co-applicant on MoEML’s 2012 SSHRC Insight Grant.
Una McIlvenna is Hansen Lecturer in History at the University of Melbourne, where she teaches courses on crime, punishment, and media in early modern Europe, and on the history of sexualities. She has held positions as Lecturer in Early Modern Literature at Queen Mary University of London and the University of Kent. From 2011-2014 she was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow with the Australian Research Council’s Centre for the History of Emotions, based at the University of Sydney, where she began her ongoing project investigating emotional responses to the use of songs and verse in accounts of crime and public execution across Europe. She has published articles on execution ballads in
Playwright, poet, and author.
King of England and Ireland
King of England
Queen of England and Ireland
Personification of lawfulness and fairness. Appears as an allegorical character in mayoral shows and
Martyrologist. Author of
King of England and Ireland
King of England
Natural philosopher.
Clergyman and writer.
Historian and author of
Poet.
Personification of truth. Appears as an allegorical character in mayoral
shows and
Sheriff of London
King of England
Playwright.
Playwright. Husband of
Leader of the Peasants’ Revolt in
Personification of mercy. Appears as an allegorical character in mayoral shows.
Gorgon in Greek mythology.
King of Scotland, England, and Ireland
Leveller.
Pamphleteer. Author of criminal biographies.
Supposed witch.
Supposed witch. Accused of bewitching
Supposed witch. Accused of bewitching
Supposed bewitching victim of
Supposed bewitching victim of
Minister. Exorcised
Burglar and thief. Sentenced to death.
Burglar and thief. Sentenced to branding on the cheek.
Burglar and thief. Sentenced to a whipping.
Burglar and thief. Sentenced to a whipping.
Murderer. Prisoner of Newgate.
Murderer. Prisoner of Newgate.
Author.
Keeper of Newgate during the
Prisoner of Newgate.
Courtier and religious radical. Prisoner of Newgate.
Highwayman and writer.
Murder suspect.
Benefactor of St. Dunstan’s, Stepney.
Member of the
Steward of Newgate.
Victim of
Writer, trader, journalist, pamphleteer, and spy.
Fisherman. Prisoner of Newgate.
Priest. Prisoner of Newgate.
Prisoner of Newgate.
Author.
Watchman.
The
The
The
Student contributors enrolled in
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The gaol at Newgate, a western gate in the Roman Wall of London, was constructed in the twelfth century specifically to detain fellons and trespassors
awaiting trial by royal judges (Durston 470; O’Donnell 25; Stow 1598, sig. C8r). The gradual centralisation of the English criminal justice system meant that by the an emblem of hell itself
(Defoe 198).
The early architectural history of Newgate began in Roman Britannia (Rumbelow 15). The Roman settlement on the north bank of the Thames River would come to be known as
by inclosing of grounde, for so large a cemitorie, or church yarde: the high and large stréete stretching from Aldegate in the East, vntill Ludgate in the West, was in this place so crossed and stopped vp, that the carriage through the cittie Westwarde, was forced to passe without the saide churchyarde wall on the North side, through Pater noster row: and then south down Aue Mary lane, and againe West through Bowiar row to Ludgate
Which passage, by reason of so often turning, was very combersome, and daungerous both for horse and man. For remedie whereof, a new gate was made, and so called, by which men and cattell with all manner of carriages, might passe more directly[.]
men and cattell with all manner of carriagesthat
Between commanding them to repair the gaol at Newgate, for the safe keeping of his prisoners
(Thornbury). In
During the early fifteenth century, a new stone tower especially for women was built to the south of the gate. This decision was in reaction to a by reason of the fetid and corrupt atmosphere that is in the hateful gaol of Neugate, many persons who lately were in the said Prison of Ludgate, and who
(Riley). This event prompted Lord Mayor
less convenient chambers
south of the gate. This stratified system ensured that the class of prisoner housed in the gaol could determine the level of comfort they received (Bassett 239-240). The new rooms therefore allowed for a more organised prison but encouraged corruption among jailers.
Beneath the gate were basement cells used both as a reception area for new prisoners and to house those convicted of the worst crimes (Halliday 31). The majority of basement occupants were condemned criminals awaiting their executions, and the conditions reflected the status of the occupants. Poor air quality in the basements was an obvious issue quite soon after its construction. An open sewer ran through the basement, and cells were dark, damp and had very low air circulation (Halliday 31). Air quality became such an issue that a windmill was attached to the roof to pull air into the dungeons below. However, documentation in the London Metropolitan Archives records a payment made to a carpenter for repair of the windmill in leuill with the streetes and lanes
(Stow 1598, sig. B7r). After the renovation the prison was considered to be sufficiently strong and it was made illegal to put irons on freemen or women. However, some
It is now well fac’d and headed, / Charity helps much to a decayed estate(Lupton). He suggests that the works were paid for by a charitable person or organization.
During the early modern period, people were arrested for a number of varied crimes such as vagrancy, petty theft, and assault, along with more heinous crimes, known as felonies (Gamini). By
Throughout the medieval and early modern periods, Newgate was also one of the principal gaols in London (as well as the Fleet) for imprisoning civil debtors as surety for payment, and debtors could remain in Newgate indefinitely until they paid their fine or were freed by their creditors (Harding, Hines, Ireland, and Rawlings 12). Debtors constituted the largest group of offenders in Newgate (Durston 740; O’Donnell 25; Brodie, Croom, and O’Davies 11). In The Master debtors’ side is an absolute Paradise compared to the best of Sponging-Houses
(Langley 4). Sponging houses were unofficial places of confinement where debtors were taken by sheriffs and bailiffs under threat of being sent to a genuine prison; they were often overcharged for essentials, however, and Langley was of the opinion that it was cheaper to be sent to Newgate. However, it appears that the segregation was not thorough: an eighteenth-century commentator remarked that The debtor, rendered unfortunate by the vicissitudes of trade, undergoes the ignominy of being confined in the same prison with the most abandoned villains
(Chamberlain 14).
Theft was increasingly prosecuted during the early modern period. In early modern England the disparity between rich and poor increased significantly, and three quarters of assize court prosecutions involved property crimes (Bucholz and Key 188). As poverty was often associated with criminality, the most commonly prosecuted offenders of felonious crimes were the wage-dependent and unpropertied (Oberwittler 12). Crime and poverty were perceived outcomes of idleness and personal moral weakness (Dodsworth 586). Idleness manifested in various crimes, it was believed, the most prominent being begging and theft (Spierenberg 12). In his
This hath beene still the use, and ever will, That one mans welfare, comes from others ill. But (as I said) mans selfe is cause of all The miseries that to him can befall.
A focus on crime prevention through swift arrest, conviction and punishment served to exacerbate the already unfortunate reputation of the
The early modern period also witnessed a spike in accusations and persecutions of witchcraft, which saw numbers of accused awaiting trial and sentencing in Newgate. In
Minister of the word of God,
confession.
the Countess, and three other women, of bewitching her.
Early seventeenth-century England saw a dramatic shift in social attitudes towards capital punishment and criminal sentencing. Although idleness was still perceived to be a sign of criminality, hard labour as a form of imprisonment was suggested as an alternative to capital punishment and method of crime deterrence (Beattie 282). Bridewell Prison and Hospital was established in a former royal palace in
As the early modern period progressed, imprisonment as a form of punishment did increase. The terms varied from a few days to a year. The crimes and misconducts that were punished by imprisonment included breaches of peace; contempt for the orders governing everyday life and trade within the city; petty crimes; and disrespect for the governing body. In the case of
Prisons were privately owned and self-funded, and gaolers, or keepers, did not receive a salary, instead relying on prisoners’ fees to maintain a living and for the prison’s upkeep. Consequently, prisons functioned as a commercial enterprise in which every aspect of prison life incurred a fee, and a prisoner’s standard of living in Newgate was proportionate to the amount that he or she was willing or able to pay (Murray 151). Prisoners had to pay a fee to enter and exit the prison, and were also expected to pay for their food, drink, bedding, coals and candles. Several tiers of accommodation also existed at Newgate. Like all early modern prisons, Newgate was divided into various sections, the Master’s side, the Common’s side, and the Debtors’ side. In each side there would have been a range of accommodation with a sliding scale of appropriate fees. The wealthiest prisoners could lease well-appointed apartments in the Master’s side. Conversely, the poorest prisoners could expect to lodge in group chambers or spartan apartments on the Common’s side (Harding, Hines, Ireland, and Rawlings 88; Murray 151). Some of the chambers on the Common’s side were so notorious that they were given nicknames such as Bocardo
, Juliansboure
(Julian’s Hole), and the Dungeon
or the Hole
(Winter 84). Later, the prison would see the addition of the Press Yard for extremely wealthy prisoners.
Although officially the lead gaoler (the Sheriff or Keeper) was appointed by the London ancient times
, the gaolers of Newgate were notorious for their unscrupulous tyranny
(Babington 43; Griffiths 46). The anonymous
deliver’d up to the paws of the wolves, lurking continually in the lodge for prey, alluding to the keepers awaiting the payments they could retrieve from prisoners (Tuus inimicus 2). When a prisoner was delivered to Newgate, claimed the pamphlet, he was held down by two
Trunchion Officerswhile another two
picked his Pockets, claiming Six pence apiece as a privilege belong to their Office(Tuus inimicus 6). Extortion was not, however, the exclusive domain of the keepers. After the keepers collected their prize:
they turn [the prisoner] out to the convicts, who hover about him (like so many crows about a piece of Carrion) for Garnish, which is Six Shillings and Eight pence, which they, from an old Custom, claim by Prescription,for entering into the Society .
thrown into holes and dungeons(Whiston 13).to be devoured by famine and disease
The impact of the gaolers on prisoners’ lives is best glimpsed through a London mayoral proclamation from September Whereas of late, notorious mutinies and outrages have been committed by the prisoners within the gaol of Newgate, which is conceived to grow through the negligence of the keepers in suffering their prisoners to become drunk and disordered, permitting them wine, tobacco, excessive strong drink, and resort to women of lewd behaviour.
negligent
, but that they deliberately profited from supplying prisoners with such contraband and from condoning lewd
behaviour.
Some gaolers were especially noted for their cruelty.
Alexander the keeper of newgate, a cruell enemie to those that lay there for religion, died very miserably, being so swollen that he was more like a monster then a man, and so rotten within that no man could abide the smell of hym. This cruell wretch, to hasten the poore lambes to þe slaughter, would[cry] out: rid my prison, rid my prison: I am too much pestered with these heretickes.
Gaolers exploited opportunities to extort fees by subjecting prisoners to a range of abuses, such as restraining prisoners indefinitely in irons, the stocks, or in solitary confinement as a form of torture or until the prisoner paid to be released (Harding, Hines, Ireland, and Rawlings 27, 88). Prisoners frequently petitioned
great misery, condemning all those imprisoned within its walls to not only a sentence of a few years, but a life of
destruction and ruine(
some poore prisoners of late have been in the Prisons of Kings Bench, the Fleet and Newgate, where some have been robbed, beaten, put into Iron boults, dragged out of their beds at unreasonable times of the night, thrust into dungeons, starved, and also murthered, yea some also lamed by Iron fetters
The deplorable conditions suffered by prisoners at the hands of their keepers also inspired a plethora of literature, composed mainly by prisoners while in Newgate.
Within his clutches did he ceaze me fast, And bare me straight vnto blacke Plutoes cell: When there I came, he me in Lymbo cast, A Stigion lake, the dungion of deepe hell: But first my legs he lockt in Iron boult, As if poore I had beene some wanton Coult. And then he gan with basest termes to braide, And then he threats as though he would me kill: And then he daunces for he me betrayd, And then speakes fayre, as though he ment no ill: Then like Madusa doth he shake his locks,And then he threatens me with Iron stocks. At last he left me in that irksome den, Where was no day for there was euer night: Woes me thought I, the abject of all men, Clouded in care, quite banished from light: Robd of the Skie, the Scartes, the day, the Sunne, This Dog, this Diuell, hath all my ioyes vndun.
In the period c. civility money
(6s 6d for debtors and 14s 10d for felons in the late seventeenth century) were admitted to the Masters’ side, the rooms of which were furnished with beds and windows (Sharpe 126; Halliday 32-33). Those who could not afford the charges were condemned to the Common’s side, which consisted of unlighted and unhygienic dungeons. An observer recounted hearing in the Common’s side lice crackling under feet, [making] such a noise, as walking on shells which are strew’d over garden walks
(Tuus inimicus 7). Prisoners who were committed to the Common’s side had to share a ward with many others. In [lying] in a dungeon for fourteen days without light or fire, living on a halfpenny worth of a bread a day
(Babington 55). Overcrowding did not subside, and the authorities were well aware of it. In to view the ruins of Newgate
, upon which it was discovered that the prison was overcrowded, containing double the number of prisoners it had capacity for, and that the prison was indeed in a ruinous state (Halliday). In hath not been more replenished with prisoners these many years than now, there being very nigh three hundred prisoners committed to that infamous castle of misery
(Griffiths 110-111).
Newgate prisoners had to supply most of their own subsistence. Those who could afford to buy their own food were given it via the gaolers, again after the payment of a fee. The impoverished could only rely on the crudest prison diet of bread and water, and very rarely meat (Tuus inimicus 6). Since the thirteenth century, Newgate’s food supply had come from charitable donations and foodstuff declared forfeit by law, such as the unsatisfactory products of guilds and merchants (Griffiths 51-53). These practices continued through the sixteenth century. In his
Prior to weekly give an account in writing under his hand
(
With the combination of poor living conditions and inescapable corruption, prisoners faced an unpleasant and difficult experience at Newgate. They spent most of their time drinking and gambling. Following the proclamation against abuses in pretty often elevated with outlandish liquors
, claimed the author of
spend their Time in Tipling, [rather] than spare an Hour in a Day to pray for their Deliverance from the Burden of Affliction(Tuus inimicus 1). For the prisoners, drinking was an escape from the harsh realities of prison life. Likewise, gaolers condoned drinking not only as a line of income for themselves, but also as an effective means of pacifying the prisoners. One keeper in 1787 remarked that
when the prisoners are drunk they tend to be docile and quite free from rioting(Tuus inimicus 38).
Unsurprisingly, tensions were high, which often resulted in riots and disturbances. Rioting was a known problem in early seventeenth-century Newgate, especially among the felons. In a tumultuous mutiny among the other prisoners, who refused to die without the Jesuits
(Babington 55-56). In any great Tumult or Uproar among the Prisoners
, and this bell would rouse the guards to stop the riot (Tuus inimicus 8). However, it is possible that the guards’ responses to riots and disturbances were sometimes influenced by corruption. A [i]f a Constable or other such Officer shal arrest one for Felony, and after suffer him to escape, it is felony in such Constable
(Collyn). This is indicative that laws were needed to deter guards from aiding prisoners, as guards too were likely compelled by Newgate’s deplorable conditions.
Newgate, from its beginnings, developed a reputation for being in a constant state of disrepair: dirty, overcrowded and poorly ventilated. The abysmal conditions within the prison acted as a catalyst for the spread of disease throughout Newgate from as early as the thirteenth century. The cells were cramped, dark and damp, and the prison was poorly ventilated (Durston 747). The prison was built over two underground ditches which were used as drains. In chamber and sewer (cloacum) of Newgate gaol
which was to be rebuilt and restored at all speed
(Winter 67-69). It is very likely that these underground water channels, along with the proximity of the goal to the city ditch, would have been the source of the constant noisome
odours that prisoners frequently complained about. They were attested to by ther was so mouche noyse off presonars, and evyll savours
(qtd. in Bassett 244).
The severe overcrowding, combined with an assemblage of unwashed, verminous, often starving
lead to frequent outbreaks of an infectious malignant fever which sends many to their long home
(Bassett 55; Griffiths 120). In unwholesomeness of the air
and strictness of the prison
was putting his life at great peril. He further produced a doctor’s statement certifying he suffered from sciatica, defluxion of rheum and stone
(Bassett 55).
The abysmal conditions at Newgate were well known in contemporary English society. The general condition of prisons was comedically highlighted in a series of short poems and anagrams of the word prisone
by the
However, these conditions were ameliorated for certain prisoners. From the late seventeenth century at the latest, especially wealthy or privileged State prisoners such as political dissidents and rebels were kept in a separate section of Newgate known as the Press Yard, whither none but persons that have Money to pay extravagant Prizes for their Lodging and Entertainment are admitted
(
, described it as a pleasant place:
When I came there, I must own I was something surprized to find such a great alteration both in the place and persons. The place it self was well enough, only a little obnoxious by an ungrateful stink, which I suppose might be deriv’d to it from the Common Side: The persons had most of ’em the Looks and Carriage of Gentlemen; and, to give ’em their due, behav’d themselves with a great deal of Courtisie and Civility to me as a Stranger
The Press Yard may have been the place where I was no sooner let into this Enchanted Castle, but the Gentlemen that were Tenants of it, flock’d round me to take a view of their New unfortunate Companion: Some were Drinking with Friends, some Reading, others playing at Skettles, where there was scarce room to set up the Pins; and a fourth sort were talking extravagantly of Politicks, and of the Progress their Friends made in the Insurrections of Northumberland and Scotland.
incarceration
in the Press Yard, and died at the age of 82 in
One customary method the State employed to reduce overcrowding was dispatching prisoners to military service. This allowed Newgate to make use of their prisoners fighting the King’s wars instead of letting them contribute to overcrowding and adding to the expenses of keeping them. The Recorder of London in summer They Pester the gaol in this hot weather, and would do better service as soldiers
(Babington 50). This practice also appeared to be an effective means for condemned prisoners to escape execution. In January shall be thought for Employment will with all Alacrity and Chearfulness adventure their Lives in any Service whatsoever for the
(
Royal pardon was also used conveniently to ease the management of Newgate. Between how many [prisoners] are capable of His Majesty’s mercy
and to prepare for their pardon. A reduction in prisoners would make supervision easier for the keeper. Consequently, forty-four prisoners were granted pardon and released (Babington 50). Additionally, there was a tradition at the accession of a new monarch to pardon a number of condemned prisoners, and
The cruel and oppressive treatment of the keepers contrasted with the relative autonomy that prisoners experienced during their time in Newgate, which cultivated the unique social and communal nature of prison life. Prisoners could roam freely within the prison and spend the day (and much of the night) in idle pursuits, such as talking, drinking and gambling (Harding, Hines, Ireland, and Rawlings 91, 92). Although separate wards existed for male and female prisoners, segregation was either not possible or not enforced (Brodie, Croom, and O’Davies 14). Prisoners were also allowed visits from family, friends, business associates or their lawyers, and free men and women even resided in the gaol (Murray 153). The wives and servants of noble inmates and debtors, for example, often lived with these prisoners in their cells (Harding, Hines, Ireland, and Rawlings 92). Gaolers frequently allowed prostitutes to lease rooms in the gaol for a fee (Harding, Hines, Ireland, and Rawlings 92). Day leave
might be granted to prisoners for a fee so that they could conduct their business, but were required to return by the end of the day (Murray 153). While poorer prisoners might be confined within the prison walls, they often shared cells and meals with other prisoners (Murray 155). Thus, the constraint of imprisonment was somewhat tempered by the social and communal nature of prison life, and in which liberties could be obtained for a price.
However, although the conditions at Newgate were undoubtedly poor, it is debatable whether it was much worse than other late medieval and early modern prisons (Bassett 246). The Press Yard comprised several rooms on the ground floor and had large windows (Tuus inimicus 4). Furthermore, as recounted by an anonymous early eighteenth-century commentator, when the prisoners are disposed to recreate themselves with walking, they go up into a spacious room call’d the High-Hall
(Tuus inimicus 7). Further, an exercise ground existed, though it was described as a place whose length is scarce so much as one may swing a cat in it
(Tuus inimicus 4). Thus, although the prisoners at Newgate faced extremely poor living conditions, this was not particularly exceptional in the late medieval and early modern period, and they also had some—albeit limited—opportunities for recreation.
Some criminals were even able to escape punishment entirely. These methods involved generous jury decisions, pardons and reprieves, bribes and given mercy afforded by benefit of the clergy. Particularly, many male offenders evaded the punishment of law by claiming the benefit of clergy. Based on an ancient tradition intended to reserve churchmen for punishment in the church courts, the convict who displayed his ability to read was given the much lighter sanctions of the ecclesiastical jurisdiction (Kesselring 24). The convict would be branded on the thumb to prevent him from claiming the benefit again. From plead the belly
, however this only deferred execution until (usually) forty days after the child’s birth. While it did not afford a permanent pardon, in reality many women managed to escape justice this way. Certain circumstances even resulted in criminals physically escaping Newgate, such as Jack Sheppard, a notorious thief and gaol-breaker who regularly escaped from Newgate prison until his execution on
The Ordinary of Newgate was the prison chaplain, who was appointed by the
last dying speechesof the prisoners executed at Tyburn (McKenzie). Profits from the
The nature of the diverse inmate population at Newgate undoubtedly shaped its history. Whereas modern prisons house genders separately and house juveniles separately from adults, Newgate contained all age groups and sexes. In idle, abandoned, riotous and drunken
(Thornbury). Another common narrative is that the women’s quarters were rife with sexual encounters between inmates and administration (Babington 101). The existence of sexual encounters at Newgate is supported by the evidence of women becoming pregnant and giving birth while in prison. The anonymous author of
pleading their Belliesand hence
the Women [had] a great Advantage over the Men(Tuus inimicus 10). In 1782, the prison contained a total of 291 prisoners, of which 225 were men and 66 were women (Thornbury).
Publications about the trials of Newgate prisoners frequently featured women, their crimes often sensationalised, as female convicts became the focus of the public’s interest in Newgate.
The role of women at Newgate was not confined simply to inmate
. Many visitors to the establishment were women, and often these individuals were stirred by what they witnessed. The prison reformer Elizabeth Fry wrote to her young sons in 1813 after having visited the prison, expressing concern at the little infants almost without clothing
and lack of food provided to women and mothers staying at Newgate (Gurney Fry 348). In 1817, the Ladies’ Prison Visiting Association began to advocate for the rights of female prisoners, having witnessed their extensive tribulations. The committee began to revolutionise prison life for Newgate women, teaching them to read, knit, spin wool and make patchwork. If they were able, prison visitors would sell the prisoners’ works to London citizens and set aside the profits for when the individuals were released. Many children had been born at Newgate and, for them, schools were set up and governed by the eldest and most educated of the female prisoners (Thornbury).
A variety of non-capital punishments were practiced at Newgate, since imprisonment in early modern England was usually not a punishment itself, but a temporary detention between arrest and sentence. The most common punishment was branding, although this was considered to be primarily a measure to prevent recidivism, rather than a punishment in and of itself. Prisoners were marked by a hot iron with a letter that signified their crime before their release. For example, a vagabond was marked with V
; a thief T
; a fray-maker F
; and a serf without master an S
(Halliday 6-7; Griffiths 232-233). The infamous the marks of a criminal past were singed on skin with sizzling irons. A
(Griffiths 431). The neighbourhood surrounding Newgate would have been populated by these Newgate locals
, who were marked by their crimes. Bridewell Magistrates, whose Newgate knowledge included data about previous prosecutions and prisoners, would recognise when a Newgate face stood in the dock (Griffiths 430). This register of familiar faces reflects the local dimension to penal practises and cultures
associated with early modern London (Devereaux and Griffiths 21). Some would find themselves in and out of Newgate many times. arrested in St Sepulchre [adjacent to Newgate] thirteen times
as her home patch was a half-mile circle around Newgate
, and of whom Magistrates complained Shee will not be reformed
(Griffiths 154-155).
While torture could be inflicted to extort fees, it could also be levied to extract a confession from accused felons. Accused felons who were found guilty would forfeit their possessions to the Crown, as well as be executed. However, it was possible for accused felons to refuse to plead guilty to retain their money and property for their families. The consequence of this, however, was to be subjected to pressing
, a form of severe and sustained torture that lasted until the prisoner pled guilty or died (McKenzie 303-304). This was a common practice throughout the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and accused felons who refused to plead guilty would spend the remainder of their days in the Press Room of Newgate being tortured until their death. In be put into a mean house (the Press Room), stopped from any light, and be laid upon his back with his body bare; that his arms be stretched forth with a cord, the one to one side, the other to the other side of the prison, and in like manner his legs be used; and that upon his body be laid as much iron and stone as he can bear, and more
Newgate was most notorious, however, as the place condemned felons spent their last days before their public execution. Newgate was situated close to Smithfield, the favoured place for executing those convicted of treason, as well as those convicted of
full Auditory, swelled by numerous
Strangerswho had paid admission fees to the gaolers (McKenzie 7).
In citizen and merchant taylor
donated 16s. 8d. to the parish church of St. Sepulchre’s, next to Newgate, on the condition that:
after the several sessions of London, on the night before the execution of such as were condemned to death, the clerk of the church was to go in the night-time, and also early in the morning, to the window of the prison in which they were lying. He was there to ring
certain tolls with a hand-bell
appointed for the purpose, and was afterwards, in a most Christian manner, to put them in mind of their present condition and approaching end, and to exhort them to be prepared, as they ought to be, to die. When they were in the cart, and brought before the walls of the church, the clerk was to stand there ready with the same bell, and, after certain tolls, rehearse a prayer, desiring all the people there present to pray for the unfortunate criminals.
The chant accompanying the bell gradually evolved into the following verses:
Newgate Execution Bell
, is still on display in the St. Sepulchre-Without-Newgate Church. The ringing of St. Sepulchre’s bell was the first stage of the execution procession, or
The Parish of St. Sepulchre was notoriously poor and dirty, and also a starting place for pauper processions
bound for richer parts of the city (Griffiths 85, 113). In
Newgate Market began as a meat market during the twelfth century and quickly evolved to become a bustling centre of activity. Newgate Street was not commonly referred to as such until the seventeenth century. The road was interchangeably known as Bladder Street or the Butchers due to the large number of butchers and slaughterhouses operating along the street and at Newgate Market (vagrant
women street sellers, specifically of fish and herbs. Steps to limit street selling accelerated towards hearbwyves
to sell was Newgate Market, as it was more effective to restrict sellers to a specific time and place than to attempt to ban or prosecute them, specifically for selling at night and on the sabbath (Griffiths 127). Street sellers would have been an unmissable feature of the neighbourhood due to their loud cries.
Greyfriars Church, a church of the the relief of the poor
(a good means to empty their streetes of young beggars, and fatherlesse Children
(Lupton). The school provided these young children with an education they would not otherwise have received.
Conditions at Newgate prison had not improved since the Great Fire. An early eighteenth-century prisoner described his fellow inmates in his diary: it appeared by their behaviour
(
In 1750 an outbreak of gaol fever, a form of typhus, killed sixty men (Kalman 50). The deaths included others in addition to the prisoners. Cramped conditions in Newgate—up to sixty men to a room—had caused the disease to spread to the nearby courtroom, resulting in the death of the Lord Mayor, two judges, an alderman, several barristers, and a juryman (Kalman 50). The deaths prompted the circulation of plans to rebuild and enlarge the prison. However, a large-scale remodeling was postponed and the only changes made as a result of the deaths were the addition of a ventilation system by eleven contracted craftsmen. However, seven of the men caught fever as a result of working in the prison and one died (Kalman 50).
In 1767, the gaol was clean, and free from offensive scents
, which was certainly a significant improvement from its earlier years (Thornbury).
Shortly before the completion of the structure, in 1783, public executions were moved from Tyburn to Newgate, where John Burke was among the first of the executions, found guilty of highway robbery and killed on 9 December with nine others (Jackson). Executions at Tyburn ultimately ceased for several reasons, namely: a need to re-establish execution as a theatrical yet efficacious deterrent for crime (especially since 1776 when transportation of condemned criminals to the American colonies ceased and the rate of capital convictions was on the rise); an attempt to resolve traffic disruptions along the Newgate-Tyburn route; and the changing suburban development and gentrification of the western part of the city. Tyburn Road would later be renamed Oxford Street, and Tyburn Lane became Park Lane, in order to remove the stigma of the previous execution site (Devereaux 136). In this new site, prisoners were simply brought out through the Debtors’ Door, where a large, elevated scaffold draped in black fabric had been erected that featured a trapdoor through which the condemned would plunge. Despite the fact that Newgate had been chosen as a site in order to make public executions more dignified, the executions at Newgate were popular, public events. Crowds were dense and overwhelming; onlookers and passers-by were [unable] to make [their] way through them
(Carter). Moreover, viewing executions became such a popular pastime that it is said to have disrupted the working day of thousands of working class people (Devereaux 152).
In the eighteenth century, visiting Newgate had become a form of entertainment and a genuine sightseeing option for tourists who paid a large fee and waited in large queues to visit the gaol (Jowett 60). This speaks to the public’s never-waning interest in public displays of punishment, and Newgate’s contemporary notoriety as one of England’s most gruesome prisons.
But despite the enduring public interest in Newgate, its role as the main prison of London began to decline in the nineteenth century. In the second half of the nineteenth century, the English criminal justice system underwent major reforms, as it ultimately evolved towards the modern justice system that is in place today. Newgate was increasingly viewed as a relic of the past, as its poor conditions were clearly a hindrance to the rehabilitation of prisoners. In a letter written in 1809, the poet Dorothy Wordsworth stated that, despite her friend’s favourite theme
of conversation being Newgate, in these times [one] would not dare to inflict such a punishment
on a criminal as to send them there (Wordsworth 336). In 1868, the gallows were moved inside the compound, as punishment was shifting away from public executions to private ones, conducted within the prison walls for select audiences (Griffiths 234). From 1856, Newgate was only used for temporarily housing prisoners who were awaiting trial, and it was demolished in 1902 (Kelly xix).