Bridewell Palace Bridewell Palace in London was built as a residence of King Henry VIII and was one of his homes early in his reign for eight years. Given to the City of London Corporation by his son King Edward VI for use as an orphanage and place of correction for wayward women, Bridewell later became the first prison/poorhouse to have an appointed doctor. It was built on the banks of the Fleet River in the City of London between Fleet Street and the River Thames in an area today known as Bridewell Court off New Bridge Street. By 1556 part of it had became a jail known as Bridewell Prison. It was reinvented with lodgings and was closed in 1855 and the buildings demolished in 1863–1864. The name Bridewell subsequently became an occasionally-used nickname for a police station or prison in England and in Ireland. It was also used as the name of the city jail in Chicago in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The palace was built on the site of the medieval St Brides Inn directly south of the Roman-origins (currently Christopher Wren rebuild) of St Brides Church at a cost of £39,000 for Henry VIII who treated it as a main London residence 1515–1523. Standing on the banks of the River Fleet, the related saint since the medieval age has been St Bride. The papal delegation had preliminary meetings here in 1528 before advising the pope on whether the King could divorce Catherine of Aragon. The building was a project of Cardinal Thomas Wolsey. Bridewell Palace consisted of two brick-built courtyards, with the royal lodgings in three storeys around the inner courtyard. A grand processional staircase led to them from the outer courtyard. Bridewell was the first royal palace not to have a great hall and its staircase was a feature that recurs in Henry VIIIs later residences. After Wolseys fall in 1530, the palace was leased to the French ambassador 1531–1539, and was the setting for Holbeins celebrated painting, The Ambassadors (1533). In 1553, Edward VI gave the palace over to the City of London for the housing of homeless children and for the punishment of disorderly women. The City took full possession in 1556 and turned the site into a prison, hospital and workrooms. Eventually, the prison became a school confusingly and variously known as Bridewell (Royal Hospital/School/Royal Hospital School). The prison element closed in 1855 and the buildings were demolished in 1863–1864. A rebuilt gatehouse in the style of the original is incorporated as the front of the office block at 14 New Bridge Street, including a relief portrait of Edward VI.
Posted on: Mon, 10 Nov 2014 20:13:33 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015