The Black Dog of Newgate also connected to nearby "Amen Court," where an alleged ghost, supposedly in the form of an amorphous "Black Shape," creeps along the high wall which formerly separated the prison from the homes of many of the churchmen of St. Paul's Cathedral. Sightings of this shape have never been clear enough for its physical form to be identified. The Black Dog of Newgate The Black Dog of Newgate is a legend concerning the haunting of the former Newgate Prison of London, which was located next to the Old Bailey (The Central Criminal Court), close to St. Pauls Cathedral, in London, England.
Newgate Prison and deep to enlarge the site of the prison and to build a new sessions house. The work followed the designs of George Dance and was almost finished when it was stormed by a mob during the Gordon riots in June 1780. The building was gutted by fire, and the walls badly damaged. The cost of repairs was estimated at £30,000. Dance’s new prison was finally completed in 1782. The new prison was constructed to an "architecture terrible" design intended to discourage law-breaking. The building was laid out around a central courtyard, and was divided into two sections: a "Common"