Millbank Penitentiary, 1821-1903
LONDON’S SIX PETAL FLOWER
Millbank got its name from a mill that occupied that area, it was the area between Westminster and Chelsea. The mill was then demolished to build houses which was later demolished to build the Millbank Penitentiary. The Millbank Penitentiary Located in London was built along the Thames river by the architect Jeremy Bentham in 1816. It was the largest penitentiary of its time for men and women in London and cost $500,000 to build. The penitentiary was built due to the high crime rate , it was built along the river to allow easier transportation to the colonies .The penitentiary was praised for its shape, it resembled a six petal flower from above. Each petal or pentagon was a wing of the prison. All prisoners in London passed through this building which held approximately 1,000 inmates at a time. It was built out of concrete with punched windows and walls that made into an octagon with a tower placed in the middle. Before designing the penitentiary Jeremy Bentham wrote several novel ideas on prison management. The idea behind the prison was to create curved walls that all looked into a interior courtyard where a guard tower was placed, this was done to allow for fewer workers to be needed and also make the inmates feel like they were always being watched while in their individual room. The layout of the building makes the prisoners feel the lost of their privacy and lost of right to socialize. “The rattle, rattle of the bolts down the ward has a peculiar effect, and is the first sign of daily life.” Every part of the building contributed to the prison. The openness which takes away the prisoner's freedom to the bolts signals the task at hand. The prisoners knew they were always being watched, they knew they had to behave , they knew when they heard the bolts that the day was starting and that they had to get to work. The penitentiary was referred to as the inspection house because many prisoners would be kept there for only a few months while the staff decided which prison to send them. The average number of inmates that passed through the penitentiary every year was approximately 4,000. “As we peeped into one of the little cells, we saw a good-looking girl with a skein of thread round her neck, seated and busy making a shirt”. Each prisoner was isolated into their own cell and given various tasks such as making bags or shoes. The prisoners did not interact with each other for most of the time while being there. It was thought that forcing them to make these bags and shoes served as punishment and allowed for commercial goods to be created. The penitentiary was an experiment and was supposed to be a more humane and rational treatment than that of the past. The experiment was a failure , the penitentiary was found to have many health risk with its sanitation, and poor diet. The surrounding area was a perfect breeding ground for Cholera. in 1849 there was a cholera epidemic in london which started from the prison. It was discovered that cholera was a water bred disease and was spread through the Thames river which the prison got its water supply.The institution started off as an all women space , men were then introduced later on then moved to becoming an all men institution and lastly became a full fledge prison in 1843. The prison closed down in 1890.
Millbank got its name from a mill that occupied that area, it was the area between Westminster and Chelsea. The mill was then demolished to build houses which was later demolished to build the Millbank Penitentiary. The Millbank Penitentiary Located in London was built along the Thames river by the architect Jeremy Bentham in 1816. It was the largest penitentiary of its time for men and women in London and cost $500,000 to build. The penitentiary was built due to the high crime rate , it was built along the river to allow easier transportation to the colonies .The penitentiary was praised for its shape, it resembled a six petal flower from above. Each petal or pentagon was a wing of the prison. All prisoners in London passed through this building which held approximately 1,000 inmates at a time. It was built out of concrete with punched windows and walls that made into an octagon with a tower placed in the middle. Before designing the penitentiary Jeremy Bentham wrote several novel ideas on prison management. The idea behind the prison was to create curved walls that all looked into a interior courtyard where a guard tower was placed, this was done to allow for fewer workers to be needed and also make the inmates feel like they were always being watched while in their individual room. The layout of the building makes the prisoners feel the lost of their privacy and lost of right to socialize. “The rattle, rattle of the bolts down the ward has a peculiar effect, and is the first sign of daily life.” Every part of the building contributed to the prison. The openness which takes away the prisoner's freedom to the bolts signals the task at hand. The prisoners knew they were always being watched, they knew they had to behave , they knew when they heard the bolts that the day was starting and that they had to get to work. The penitentiary was referred to as the inspection house because many prisoners would be kept there for only a few months while the staff decided which prison to send them. The average number of inmates that passed through the penitentiary every year was approximately 4,000. “As we peeped into one of the little cells, we saw a good-looking girl with a skein of thread round her neck, seated and busy making a shirt”. Each prisoner was isolated into their own cell and given various tasks such as making bags or shoes. The prisoners did not interact with each other for most of the time while being there. It was thought that forcing them to make these bags and shoes served as punishment and allowed for commercial goods to be created. The penitentiary was an experiment and was supposed to be a more humane and rational treatment than that of the past. The experiment was a failure , the penitentiary was found to have many health risk with its sanitation, and poor diet. The surrounding area was a perfect breeding ground for Cholera. in 1849 there was a cholera epidemic in london which started from the prison. It was discovered that cholera was a water bred disease and was spread through the Thames river which the prison got its water supply.The institution started off as an all women space , men were then introduced later on then moved to becoming an all men institution and lastly became a full fledge prison in 1843. The prison closed down in 1890.
https://www.choleraandthethames.co.uk/cholera-in-london/cholera-in-westminster/millbank-prison/
Criminal prisons of London and scenes of prison life. 1862. Henry Mayhew and John Binny
Female life in prison by a prison matron.1863. Frederick William Robinson
Comments
Post a Comment