The Liberty of the Clink

Clink Street, Southwark, SE1

A place of terror for five centuries, the Clink was adjacent to the Bishop's palace, Winchester House, a fragment of which (pictured above) remains on the South bank at Pickford's Wharf.

The Clink was first used to detain anyone breaking the peace within the boundaries of the Liberty.  These included prostitutes from the Bishop's own licenced Bankside brothels and their customers.  By the 16th century, though, the prison was being used to incarcerate anyone whose religious views countered those of the state. Protestants began to fall into this category as much as Catholics as many started to question and break away from the Anglican tradition.

Among the Protestant separatists who were imprisoned as heretics were a group who founded an independent church in Southwark.   Henry Barrowe, John Greenwood and John Penry  were Brownists - forerunners of the Puritan movement which led to the emigration of the Pilgrim Fathers. All three were put to death for their beliefs in 1593.  

Almost fifty years later, dissenters to a very different regime were confined in the Clink.  As bitter disagreements between King Charles I and his Parliament turned to civil war, it became a prison for Royalists.   After the war was over, the vast estate of the Bishop of Winchester was sold off and the Clink gaol fell into disuse.  Finally, the place housed only debtors.       

No more than a dismal hovel, the Clink was burned down in the Gordon Riots of 1780.  It was not rebuilt.

Winchester House can be seen from street level.

Nearest tube:  London Bridge.

© 1997 - 2007 Jan Collie. All rights reserved.

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