Newgate Prison

From Freepedia

Image:Old Newgate.jpg Image:West View of Newgate by George Shepherd (1784-1862).jpg Image:Newgate - cell and galleries from The Queen's London - a Pictorial and Descriptive Record of the Streets, Buildings, Parks and Scenery of the Great Metropolis, 1896.JPG Newgate Prison was one of the most infamous prisons of English history.

The prison was built at Newgate in 1188 on the orders of Henry II, and was significantly enlarged in 1236. It was used for a number of purposes including imprisoning people awaiting execution (although it was not always secure: burglar Jack Sheppard escaped from the prison three times before he went to the gallows in 1724).

The original prison was demolished and a new one (designed by George Dance) was constructed on the site between 1770 and 1778. It was attacked by rioting mobs during the Gordon riots in 1780: the prison set on fire, many prisoners died during the blaze and approximately 300 escaped to temporary freedom. It was rebuilt two years later.

The design was that of Architecture Terrible , which does not mean bad architecture but architecture that is meant to scare you. This is architecture meant to frighten you into moral behavior.

The design is that of a donut shape. There is a flat roof with a hole in the middle that lets light into the courtyard. On the outside you see a reinforced corner, a blind entablature, large dentals (like teeth holding you in, taken from the classical practice of hanging animal skulls from this area), and rough bricks. Also the windows are closed in so the prisoners can not see you and you can not see in.

In 1783 the city of London's gallows were moved from Tyburn to just outside of Newgate. The public spectacle of prisoners' executions drew large crowds.

The prison drew the attention of the social reformer Elizabeth Fry, and conditions improved after she presented evidence to the House of Commons and as a result of her own private efforts in the early 19th century. In 1858 the interior was rebuilt with individual cells.

From 1868 executions were carried out in private within Newgate. In 1902 the prison was demolished and the Old Bailey now stands upon its site.

The prison appears in a number of novels by Charles Dickens, including Barnaby Rudge, Great Expectations,Oliver Twist and is the subject of an entire essay in his work Sketches by Boz. The prison is also depicted in the novel Moll Flanders and in Michael Crichton's novel The Great Train Robbery.