Established in medieval times as a place to hold prisoners of the King's Bench court, primarily debtors. It was originally sited in Angel Place, off Borough High Street, just north of what is now John Harvard Library. In 1754-8 this was demolished and replaced with a new building erected to the south-west on what was then St George's Fields and is now Scovell housing estate. In 1842 it became the Queen's Prison and took debtors from the Marshalsea and Fleet Prisons. It became the Southwark Convict Prison and then closed.
This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
King's Bench Prison
Commemorated ati
King of Corsica
The weather-worn stone above this plaque is, we guess, the original graveston...
Other Subjects
Tyburn tree
The first recorded execution here was the hanging of the champion of London's poor, William Fitz Osbern in 1196. Back then there may have been a real tree but in 1571 the 'Tyburn Tree' was erected....
5 memorials
Doctor's Commons
Also called the College of Civilians, this was a society of lawyers practising civil (as opposed to common) law. The buildings where the court proceedings took place also had a big library and room...
1 memorial
1 memorial
Sir Edwin Chadwick
Born Lancashire but brought up in London. A friend of Jeremy Bentham, Bentham dying in his arms. Chadwick's major achievement was the 1842 publication of the Poor Law Commissioners' "Report on the ...
1 memorial
Reading Gaol
Former prison on Forbury Road in Reading. Designed by George Gilbert Scott. Its most famous inmate was Oscar Wilde, who wrote 'The Ballad of Reading Gaol' whilst he was here. It housed prisoners of...
1 memorial
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