In 1615 the Middlesex Commission of the Peace bought land in Clerkenwell to the north of Clerkenwell Green to build a new county prison. The house of correction known as the New Prison or Clerkenwell Bridewell was built on part of the site to take overspill from the City of London prisons.
The purchase of land by the Middlesex Commission of the Peace in 1615 led to the construction of a new county prison in Clerkenwell, which was complemented by the establishment of the New Prison or Clerkenwell Bridewell to address overcrowding at City of London prisons.