Clerkenwell (old) Prison, also known as the Clerkenwell House of Detention or Middlesex House of Detention was a prison in

Clerkenwell Clerkenwell ( ) is an area of central London, England. Clerkenwell was an Civil Parish#Ancient parishes, ancient parish from the medieval period onwards, and now forms the south-western part of the London Borough of Islington. The St James's C ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, opened in 1847 and demolished in 1890. It held prisoners awaiting trial. It stood on Bowling Green Lane conveniently close to the Middlesex Sessions House, where prisoners would be tried, on Clerkenwell Green to the south.

History

The House of Detention was built on the site of two earlier prisons, the Clerkenwell Bridewell for convicted prisoners and the New Prison for those awaiting trial. The Bridewell closed in 1794 and its functions were taken over by the

Coldbath Fields Prison Coldbath Fields Prison, also formerly known as the Middlesex House of Correction and Clerkenwell Gaol and informally known as the Steel, was a prison in the Mount Pleasant area of Clerkenwell, London. Founded in the reign of James I (1603–16 ...

at Mount Pleasant. The New Prison was rebuilt in 1818 and in 1847, at which time its name changed to the House of Detention. In London

cant CANT may refer to: *CANT, a solo project from Grizzly Bear bass guitarist and producer, Chris Taylor. *Cantieri Aeronautici e Navali Triestini CANT (''Cantieri Aeronautici e Navali Triestini'', the Trieste Shipbuilding and Naval Aeronautics; also ...

it was called ''The Tench'', an abbreviation of ''Detention''. On 13 December 1867 its exercise yard was the target of a gunpowder explosion instigated by members of the

Fenian The word ''Fenian'' () served as an umbrella term for the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) and their affiliate in the United States, the Fenian Brotherhood. They were secret political organisations in the late 19th and early 20th centuries ...

Society in an attempt to aid the escape of Ricard O'Sullivan Burke, an arms supplier to the Fenians. The blast killed twelve bystanders and wounded 120 in Corporation Row; and the event became known as the "Clerkenwell Outrage". Some of those responsible were executed, with ringleader Michael Barrett becoming the last person to be publicly executed outside

Newgate Prison Newgate Prison was a prison at the corner of Newgate Street and Old Bailey, just inside the City of London, England, originally at the site of Newgate, a gate in the Roman London Wall. Built in the 12th century and demolished in 1904, the pr ...

. The prison was demolished in 1890. The site was then used for the Hugh Myddleton School, built in 1893 and closed in 1971. The school building has now been converted into flats. The 9,000 sq ft vaults beneath, dating from the prison era, and now known as the "Clerkenwell Catacombs", remained. They were reopened as air-raid shelters during

the Blitz The Blitz (English: "flash") was a Nazi Germany, German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom, for eight months, from 7 September 1940 to 11 May 1941, during the Second World War. Towards the end of the Battle of Britain in 1940, a co ...

, and are occasionally opened, for instance during Clerkenwell Design Week. For a few years the vaults were open as a tourist attraction. Various movies have been filmed in the catacombs.

References

{{Prisons in London Buildings and structures demolished in 1890 Defunct prisons in London Former buildings and structures in the London Borough of Islington 19th-century establishments in England

Prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where Prisoner, people are Imprisonment, imprisoned under the authority of the State (polity), state ...

Demolished prisons

History

See also

References