London's Prisons in 1900: Newgate Prison

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Arthur H. Beavan, in Imperial London, first published 1901, continued his survey of London's Prisons with a look at Newgate Prison:

That grim building at the corner of Old Bailey and Newgate Street, over whose portal might well have been cut Dante's lines, "Lasciate ogni speranza, voi ch'entrate," ("Abandon hope, all ye who enter here"), has, with the exception of the Tower, a record fuller of dark shadows than any existing London edifice.

The New Gate, from which the prison derives its name, was one of the oldest of the entrances that centuries ago, as far back indeed as the Roman time, pierced the city wall. It is mentioned in the Pipe-roll (circa 1188) as a gate-house with prison attached, and continued as such for six hundred years.

It was rebuilt in the reign of Henry I, or Stephen, and in the reign of Stephen, again becoming dilapidated, the New Gate was pulled down, and re-erected by Dick Whittington, thrice Lord Mayor of London, whence it came to be dubbed, "Whit's Palace."

Later on, in 1556, it was destroyed by fire, and rebuilt; and was again re-constructed in 1630. It suffered much damage from the Great Fire, and was afterwards restored by Wren.

In 1767, being almost in ruins, it was decided to erect a perfectly new prison, disconnected with the old gate-house, and Lord Mayor Beckford laid the foundation-stone, the architect being George Dance; but while in a state of incompleteness, the Lord George Gordon rioters so seriously damaged it, that practically the whole thing had to be rebuilt.

It was finished in 1782, and has stood to our day (1901), forbidding and gloomy, frowning on innocent and guilty alike.

The manacles of Jack Sheppard, who escaped from the original "Beckford" prison, are still to be seen at Newgate; also a curious old wooden whipping-stock, so constructed that two culprits can be shut up as far as the waist, the hands being padlocked into a cross-bar, as in a pillory.

In 1783, the death journey to Tyburn was abolished, when, as Dickens says, "pale travellers set out continually, in carts and coaches, on a violent passage into the other world"; and after 1868, public executions being no longer permitted, the horrible scenes outside were at an end.

The outer walls of Newgate are three feet thick, and enclose a large central corridor, which runs the full length of the building, and has on each side three open-wire galleries connected by steel ladders which communicate with the cells, where the prisoners, according to the modern system, are kept separate, a curious network in the middle shutting off the basement.

The warming and ventilation of the prison are perfect, and a certain amount of outdoor exercise is obtained in the dismal courtyards.

"Safe bind, safe find," is a proverb peculiarly applicable to Newgate. As a secure place of confinement it is hard to beat. Even if a culprit did contrive to gain the roof, he could not get down except at the risk of his life, the gaol being almost isolated from other buildings.

He could only do it by scaling the spiked wall of a house adjoining in Newgate Street, gaining access to it through the top story, and thus reaching the ground.

The chapel is unlike any other place of worship in the metropolis. A gaunt reading-desk and pulpit, utterly devoid of adornment, against the bare wall; a harmonium with a stove in front; a curtained pew for the Governor; a cage with spiked railings behind which on bare benches, one above the other, the prisoners are ranged, and derive such comfort as they may from the sacred Word; a pew, or pen, set apart for those condemned to death, (who, in the old days, used to sit on chairs in the middle of the chapel, with their coffins at their feet!) and galleries, dark and depressing, for the women-prisoners.

Next: London's Prisons in 1900: Newgate: Execution Yard