 Bird's-eye view of Coldbath Fields. | |
 | |
| Location | Clerkenwell, London |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 51°31′31″N 0°06′46″W / 51.52528°N 0.11278°W |
| Status | Closed |
| Capacity | 2000 |
| Population | 1700 (as of 1877) |
| Opened | 1794 |
| Closed | 1885 |
| Former name | Middlesex House of Correction |
| Managed by | Middlesex Guildhall |
| Notable prisoners | |
| Edward Marcus Despard, William Thomas Stead, Owen Suffolk | |
Coldbath Fields Prison, also formerly known as the Middlesex House of Correction and Clerkenwell Gaol and informally known as the Steel,[1][2] was a prison in the Mount Pleasant area of Clerkenwell, London. Founded in the reign of James I (1603–1625) it was completely rebuilt in 1794 and extended in 1850.[3] It housed prisoners on short sentences of up to two years. Blocks emerged to segregate felons, misdemeanants and vagrants.
- ^ A corruption of the French alike-sized Bastille in Cockney Slang. Oxford English Dictionary, "Steel, n. 2". Accessed 26 November 2013.
- ^ Dickens, Charles (1972). A London dictionary and guide book for 1879. Howard Baker Press.
- ^ Philip Collins Dickens and crime Ch.III "The Silent System Coldbath Fields Prison"