Product Description

The hellish noise, the roaring, swelling and clamour, the stench and nastiness, an emblem of hell itself. - Moll Flanders, Daniel Defoe. There have been more prisons in London than in any other European city. Of these, Newgate was the largest, most notorious and worst. Built during the twelfth century, it became a legendary place, the inspiration of more poems, plays and novels than any other building in London. It was a place of cruelty and wretchedness, at various times holding Dick Turpin, Titus Oates, Daniel Defoe, Jack Sheppard and Casanova. Because prisons were privately run, any time spent in prison had to be paid for by the prisoner. Housing varied from a private cell with a cleaning woman and a visiting prostitute, to simply lying on the floor with no cover. Those who died inside, and only a quarter of prisoners survived until their execution day, had to stay in Newgate as a rotting corpse until relatives found the money for the body to be released. Stephen Halliday tells the story of Newgate's origins, the criminals it held, the punishments meted out and its rebuilding and reform. This is a compelling slice of London's social and criminal history.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #434801 in Books
• Published on: 2006-01-19
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 130 pages

About the Author
Stephen Halliday is an expert on the history of London and the author of two outstanding works on social history, The Great Stink of London: Sir Joseph Bazalgette and the Cleansing of the Victorian Metropolis and Underground to Everywhere: London's Underground in the Life of the Capital.

Customer Reviews

A tale of despair
This book gives an excellent account of life through the centuries at Newgate prison. It illustrates how the gaol operated, the various levels of discomfort available subject to ones wealth & thankfully doesn't dwell too much on the various forms of torture on offer.
It gives a great insight into life in general over the last few centuries and how our ever-changing penal code impacts on society in general.
Definitely worth a read.

The Buildings Have Changed - The Ghosts Linger
Between October '92 and March 2000, I was employed as a court attendant at the Old Bailey,and whenever you ventured into certain parts of the building, you felt you were far from alone. There was a cold, horrible, I-don't-want-to-be-here-a-moment-longer feeling, and I worked hard to find out why, when it was such a lovely building to work in.

This book has filled in the gaps, and now I realised I was probably walking over someone's grave. Someone who died, unloved, uncared for and unknown from diseases too horrible to contemplate.

Yet, to many, Newgate was the face of civilised incarceration for the wrongdoer.

Read this book and next time you walk past the Old Bailey, stop, think, and wonder - "Who is buried beneath me"?

NEWGATE
Very interesting book giving detailed history of Newgate prison. Very much enjoyed reading it.