To keep heretics, of course.
The Clink prison, now a museum.
Photo:Matt Brown/Flickr
Clink was established on the South bank of the Thames around mid-12th century.
In 1109 William Gifford, Bishop of Winchester, had the Winchester House Built.
These cells were deemed necessary since members of the clergy were immune from punishment under civil law.
The responsibility of punishing such wrongdoers thus fell on the bishop.
Over time, Clink became famous for the elaborate tortures inflicted upon its prisoners.
A popular method of torture was using fetters and irons to prevent the prisoners from falling asleep.
Another kind of punishment was to force the prisoners to stand in water until their feet rotted.
In general, the prisoners were treated very harshly.
Food and drink were charged at twice the outside price.
Those who could afford could buy lighter fitting irons or remove them completely.
For a fee, prisoners were allowed outside to beg or even to work.
The rioters then burned the prison down.
When Mary I came to the throne in 1553, she used the Clink to incarcerate Protestants.
Prisoners were kept in stocks and pillories and starved.
Those that didn’t starve to death were executed later.
In 1584, Puritans planned to overthrow the church.
Some of those that survived later travelled inThe Mayflowerto America in 1620.
The Clink remained, but now it was mostly a debtors prison.
The prison finally burned down in 1780 during Gordon riots.
During its long history, the Clink held many historically significant criminals.
The Clink Prison Museum now stands at the site of the former prison.
