"It's as black as Newgate's knocker" is an old phrase that will be familiar to many Londoners. But just how black was the knocker? Well, now you can see for yourself; I believe this is the only image on the net of the door knocker from the infamous Newgate Prison. "As black as Newgate's knocker" - The door knocker from the last Newgate Prison This phrase was known by 1880 and remained popular well into the 20th century. Latterly it seems to have been most commonly used by pa

This is the handwritten Newgate Prison execution journal of the "Ordinary", or Chaplain, of Newgate, the Rev. Horace Salusbury Cotton. Cotton kept his macabre log throughout his tenure at Newgate, even though he was strictly forbidden from doing so. Between 1814 and 1839 he noted not only the names and crimes of those being executed along with the date of their execution but also his personal observations on any execution that he found particularly interesting. His journal al

In countless books, guides, apps and websites dealing with “Secret”, “Hidden” and “Curious” London it is asserted with bland confidence that the cellars of the Viaduct Tavern contain cells from old Newgate Prison. This is nonsense but sometimes a picture can help to nail a lie better than dates. This image dates from 1897 and shows the last incarnation of Newgate Prison on the same site, facing the newly built Viaduct Tavern. Newgate Prison and The Viaduct Tavern 1897 Newgate

There are very few photos of Newgate prison on the net. The most commonly reproduced ones come from a late Victorian book, Queen’s London, Anon, Cassell, 1897. But three of the most striking and chilling images from that book, “The Graveyard”, “The Chapel” and “The Central Courtyard” seem to have been forgotten for over 100 years. So here is a full set, all six images together with their original accompanying text. Newgate Prison At the corner Newgate Street and the Old Bail