Newgate Prison Newgate Prison Newgate Prison was a prison at the corner of Newgate Street and Old Bailey just inside the City of London, England, originally at the site of Newgate, a gate in the Roman London Wall. Built in the 12th century and demolished in 1904, the prison was extended and rebuilt many times, and remained in use for over 700 years, from 1188 to 1902. In the early 12th century, Henry II instituted legal reforms that gave the Crown more control over the administration of justice. As part of his Assize of Clarendon of 1166, he required the construction of
Newgate Prison, Dublin Dog. Between 1773 and 1781, a new prison designed by Thomas Cooley was built to replace the earlier ruined prison. It was relocated to 'Little Green', present-day St. Michan's Park near Smithfield, and officially retained the old name. The new building was badly located and adequate sewerage could not be installed. There were also security concerns as the rear wall of the cells was also the site boundary wall. While there are no reports of successful escapes via this route, it was raised by Inspectors as an obvious design deficiency. The prison was also badly administrated, with all classes of