Gatehouse Prison was a

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

, built in 1370 as the gatehouse of

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

. It was first used as a prison by the Abbot, a powerful churchman who held considerable power over the precincts and sanctuary. It was one of the prisons which supplied the

Old Bailey The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey after the street on which it stands, is a criminal court building in central London, one of several that house the Crown Court of England and Wales. The s ...

with information on former prisoners (such as their identity or prior criminal records) for making indictments against criminals While he was imprisoned in the Gatehouse for petitioning to have the

Clergy Act 1640 The Clergy Act (1640), also known as the Bishops Exclusion Act, or the Clerical Disabilities Act, was an Act of Parliament, effective 13 February 1642. Prior to the Act, bishops of the Church of England sat in the House of Lords, where they comp ...

annulled, Richard Lovelace wrote " To Althea, from Prison", with its famous line

"''Stone walls do not a prison make, Nor iron bars a cage''"

The Gatehouse prison was demolished in 1776. On its site, in front of the Abbey's Great West Door, is the Westminster scholars'

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...

Memorial.

Notable inmates

Giles Wigginton, Puritan cleric and controversialist, was imprisoned for 2 months around 1584, for refusing to take an oath. Sir

Walter Raleigh Sir Walter Raleigh (; – 29 October 1618) was an English statesman, soldier, writer and explorer. One of the most notable figures of the Elizabethan era, he played a leading part in English colonisation of North America, suppressed rebellion ...

was held here the night before he was beheaded in

Old Palace Yard Old Palace Yard is a paved open space in the City of Westminster in Central London, England. It lies between the Palace of Westminster to its north and east and Westminster Abbey to its west. It is known as the site of executions, including those ...

, Westminster on 29 October 1618. The Gatehouse prison held many famous dissenters and people charged with treasonous crimes, including

Thomas Bates Thomas Bates (1567 – 30 January 1606) was a member of the group of provincial English Catholics who planned the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605. Bates was born at Lapworth in Warwickshire, and became a retainer to Robert Catesby, who from 160 ...

Christopher Holywood Christopher Holywood (1559 – 4 September 1626) was an Irish Jesuit of the Counter Reformation. The origin of the Nag's Head Fable has been traced to him. Roman Catholic and Irish His family, which draws its name from Holywood, a village ne ...

, Richard Lovelace,

Samuel Pepys Samuel Pepys (; 23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703) was an English diarist and naval administrator. He served as administrator of the Royal Navy and Member of Parliament and is most famous for the diary he kept for a decade. Pepys had no mariti ...

, John Southworth, Sir

Thomas Ragland Sir Thomas Ragland (fl. 1563), of Carnllwyd, Glamorganshire, Wales and Roughton Holme, Norfolk and Walworth, Surrey, England, was a politician. Family Ragland was the eldest son of Sir John Ragland of Carnllwyd, who died by 1550. John Raglan ...

Henry Savile Henry Savile may refer to: * Henry Savile (died 1558) (1498–1558), MP for Yorkshire * Henry Savile (died 1569) (1518–1569), MP for Yorkshire and Grantham *Henry Savile (Bible translator) Sir Henry Savile (30 November 154919 February 1622) w ...

and

Laurence Vaux Laurence Vaux (Vose) (1519–1585) was an English canon regular. He died while imprisoned for being a Roman Catholic priest. Life Vaux was born in Blackrod, Lancashire. Educated at Manchester and the University of Oxford, he was ordained ...

Notable inmates

References

Further reading