Newgate Prison (Dickens-era site), London
If you ever found yourself strolling down Old Bailey and thought, 鈥淗uh, something grim probably happened here,鈥� you鈥檇 be right. The corner of Old Bailey and Newgate Street marks the site of one of London鈥檚 most notorious institutions: Newgate Prison. Built in 1188 atop an ancient Roman gate and finally torn down in 1902, this fortress of doom served as the city鈥檚 main prison for over 700 years鈥攍ong enough to outlive kings, empires, and common sense.
You see, Newgate wasn鈥檛 just a prison鈥攊t was the place to be executed before a crowd. Thousands would gather, snacks in hand, like it was the Glastonbury music festival (but with more gallows and less guitar) to watch justice served with a hangman鈥檚 noose.
Charles Dickens, ever the fan of dark corners and grim realities, was both horrified and fascinated by the place. He lobbied hard to move executions inside prison walls, where the spectacle wouldn鈥檛 feel like macabre entertainment. In 1868, his wish finally came true. Small win for dignity, proving once again that if Dickens wanted something changed, it got changed... eventually.
Dickens knew Newgate all too well. He visited it multiple times, including on July 6, 1840, when he and his pal William Makepeace Thackeray witnessed the hanging of Fran莽ois Benjamin Courvoisier (a Swiss-born valet who was convicted of murdering his employer Lord William Russell). Yes, two literary titans went to a public execution like it was a little matinee, Victorian-style.
And of course, the prison crept into Dickens' writing like a recurring nightmare. In Sketches by Boz, he penned a chilling guided tour called A Visit to Newgate. In Oliver Twist, poor Fagin spends his final hours pacing a Newgate cell while Oliver gets an unwanted lesson in capital punishment. Barnaby Rudge throws us into Newgate again, post-Gordon Riots, and in Great Expectations, Wemmick drags Pip there for a grim little field trip while Pip waits for his not-so-sweet Estella.
Indeed, Newgate was a fortress of misery, but also a literary goldmine. So next time you're wandering past Old Bailey, remember: you鈥檙e walking over seven centuries of ghosts, gallows, and Dickensian dread.
You see, Newgate wasn鈥檛 just a prison鈥攊t was the place to be executed before a crowd. Thousands would gather, snacks in hand, like it was the Glastonbury music festival (but with more gallows and less guitar) to watch justice served with a hangman鈥檚 noose.
Charles Dickens, ever the fan of dark corners and grim realities, was both horrified and fascinated by the place. He lobbied hard to move executions inside prison walls, where the spectacle wouldn鈥檛 feel like macabre entertainment. In 1868, his wish finally came true. Small win for dignity, proving once again that if Dickens wanted something changed, it got changed... eventually.
Dickens knew Newgate all too well. He visited it multiple times, including on July 6, 1840, when he and his pal William Makepeace Thackeray witnessed the hanging of Fran莽ois Benjamin Courvoisier (a Swiss-born valet who was convicted of murdering his employer Lord William Russell). Yes, two literary titans went to a public execution like it was a little matinee, Victorian-style.
And of course, the prison crept into Dickens' writing like a recurring nightmare. In Sketches by Boz, he penned a chilling guided tour called A Visit to Newgate. In Oliver Twist, poor Fagin spends his final hours pacing a Newgate cell while Oliver gets an unwanted lesson in capital punishment. Barnaby Rudge throws us into Newgate again, post-Gordon Riots, and in Great Expectations, Wemmick drags Pip there for a grim little field trip while Pip waits for his not-so-sweet Estella.
Indeed, Newgate was a fortress of misery, but also a literary goldmine. So next time you're wandering past Old Bailey, remember: you鈥檙e walking over seven centuries of ghosts, gallows, and Dickensian dread.
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Newgate Prison (Dickens-era site) on Map
Sight Name: Newgate Prison (Dickens-era site)
Sight Location: London, England (See walking tours in London)
Sight Type: Attraction/Landmark
Guide(s) Containing This Sight:
Sight Location: London, England (See walking tours in London)
Sight Type: Attraction/Landmark
Guide(s) Containing This Sight:
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