London's Bastille

Mutineers, Radicals and Murder in Coldbath Fields House of Correction

Stephen Haddelsey

• Publisher: The History Press
• Year: 2025
• eBook ISBN: 9781803998886
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Early Modern History
• Index: History

'London's Bastille is both fascinating and thoroughly enjoyable.' - Fiona Rule, author of The Worst Street in London

In 1794, Britain's newest and much-heralded prison opened its gates in Clerkenwell, north London. Built on the principles laid down by John Howard, the most vocal and committed prison reformer of the eighteenth century, the new Coldbath Fields House of Correction was intended to be a flagship for the humane improvements that Howard championed. And yet, within just a few years, it had become notorious for its cruelty and injustice.

The burgeoning of British radicalism following the French Revolution, the repressive measures introduced in response by Prime Minister William Pitt, and the appointment of the barbaric Thomas Aris as prison governor all coincided to ensure that this 'state-of-the-art' facility would become not merely the foremost political prison of its age, but also the most infamous because of the abuses practised within its walls – abuses to which the government and the magistracy systematically turned a blind eye.

In London's Bastille, Stephen Haddelsey expertly explores the history of the prison and the stories of its inmates, from thieves and prostitutes to political reformers and naval mutineers, to provide an extraordinary new insight into the forces of radical change that shook Britain to its core in the final years of the eighteenth century.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Foreword by Lord Ken Macdonald, KC
• Prologue
• 1 ‘The Cries of the Miserable’: Howard’s Call to Reform
• 2 ‘Some Alteration Should Be Made’: Design and Build
• 3 ‘Diversified in Disposition and Pursuits’: The Governor and His Wards
• 4 ‘Our Jacks Will Grumble’: Naval Mutinies at Spithead and the Nore
• 5 ‘Disaffected Persons’: The Advocates of Radical Reform
• 6 ‘The Heaviest Penalty’: Radicals in the House of Correction
• 7 ‘Everybody Knows the Bastille’: Burdett’s Campaign
• 8 ‘Disgraceful to Humanity’: Debates and Inquiries
• 9 ‘An Improper Place of Confinement’: The Royal Commission
• 10 ‘The Ambition of an Honest Man’: The Middlesex Elections
• 11 ‘He Never Did Feel Shame’: The Fall of Thomas Aris
• 12 After Aris
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Acknowledgements