Olde London Punishments Read Online Free PDF Page A

sheriffs. All sorts of services were available to those prisoners who had deep pockets. It was a living hell for those who did not.
    Newgate suffered attack and considerable damage from the insurgents during the uprising in 1381 under Wat Tyler. In 1419 the keeper and sixty-four of his charges perished in an attack of the plague. ‘Gaol fever’, a form of typhus, was ever-present as the rats and lice which spread the Rickettsia pathogens found ideal conditions in the foetid, insanitary and overcrowded surroundings. In 1423 a sizeable enlargement and refurbishment took place and this was undertaken using money pledged by the late, very wealthy Sir Richard Whittington. For a while Newgate became ironically known as ‘Whittington’s Palace’ and was palatial in size compared to the previous premises. It had a dining hall and separate accommodation for different classes of offenders. It was also more secure but it swiftly deteriorated because the infamous old system of leasing it for profit continued, even though from 1440 it had supposedly been more carefully scrutinised by the sheriffs.

    Plaque outside the site of old Newgate Prison.

    Plan of Newgate Prison.
    A practice which had been operating for many years was that of ‘garnish’, whereby the keepers or turnkeys found ways of extracting money from new arrivals for even the barest necessities such as candles and soap. Many rackets were practised to extort money from prisoners. One example was ‘ironing the prisoners’. Most prisoners were placed in heavy iron shackles when they were admitted. These were removed before departure but not before fees were extorted by the keepers for both fixing the shackles and taking them off. It was probably no coincidence that the fees were very similar in amount to the bond that the keeper was expected to pay for every prisoner who escaped.
    By the 1690s the office of keeper could be bought and sold. In such a situation it was perhaps inevitable that the fabric of Newgate should deteriorate: repairs ate into the keepers’ profits. This only exacerbated the overcrowding problem as the miserable inmates were packed into those parts of the building that were still useable. In turn the overcrowding encouraged the spread of the gaol fever and other contagious diseases. The bulk of prisoners had no duties to attend to all day and simply loafed about causing trouble, usually for the weaker of their brethren. Some of the less feckless prisoners managed to make items which could be sold outside the prison, but often had difficulties in pocketing the proceeds because of the presence within the prison of a ubiquitous and omniscient mafia. They would run a range of rackets, often in conjunction with the keepers themselves and involving systematic extortion and violence. The prison subculture was very deep-rooted and mock trials were not uncommon. They would ridicule the official process of the law and bore considerable similarity to the long-standing tradition of charivari, or rough justice, perpetrated by the community on those whose behaviour it particularly disapproved of.
    Browbeaten and bullied by staff and fellow-prisoners alike, those who had no money or could not stand up for themselves might be consigned to the remotest, coldest and darkest parts of the prison without any heating, bedding and with the barest minimum of food. However, anything could be bought in a prison like Newgate. Drink flowed freely and banquets were enjoyed by the well-to-do. The well-off might also be able to pay to have their spouses or partners living with them. Prostitutes conducted lucrative business in prisons. Some prisoners had their pets with them, a practice which cannot have helped the chronic overcrowding or the general ambience. A pamphlet appearedin 1717 explaining that access to the superior lodgings in Newgate required a down payment of 20 guineas and an ongoing rent of 11 s a week. The services of a cleaner could be had for 1 s a week and a