Guildford Bridewell was a small prison built at the junction of High Street and Quarry Street in 1610, to house prisoners on remand or awaiting execution. The Bridewell, also known as Guilford House of Corrections and Guildford County Gaol, was open from 1610 through to 1822 across two different locations. Originally located at the junction of High Street and Quarry Street the prison was enlarged in 1767 to allow for more inmates. In 1820, the prison was relocated between Quarry Street and South Hill, where it remained until its closure two years later. As Guildford Bridewell did not have the ability to hold a large number of prisoners, it was shut down and the prisoners were moved to other County Gaols such as Brixton and Kingston. Following the opening of Wandsworth House of Corrections however, in 1852, all three Gaols were closed, as Wandsworth had capacity for up to 708 inmates.[1].
During its active years, Guildford Bridewell was run by a Mr John King and had two surgeons in attendance, Mr Merriman and Mr Jackson. The prison had no religious attitudes or a chaplain and the conditions in which the prisoners were kept were decidedly bad. So inhumane was the treatment, that each inmate was only allowed water and one pound of bread a day. It was a foreboding structure inside and out, with small cells girded with solid iron doors and iron grated windows.
There were no sewage systems in the prison, so half tubs were used instead. The straw used to cover the floor was rotten and rarely replaced and no alternate covering was offered.[2] There is a distinct lack of information about the prison as it was known, even at the time, to have whitewashed every year; meaning all records of prisoners and crimes were destroyed to Minimise the possible public backlash about the conditions..
Guildford Bridewell was not only used as a place of incarceration but was also commonly used to hold county assizes. An assize was where a group of court officials would get together and administer criminal and civil law. One of Guildford Bridewell’s largest assizes was on Thursday 16th March 1738[3]. On the day, Eight people were given sentences to be carried out at a later date, seven of which were to be hanged for highway robbery and the remaining prisoner, Ann Goodson, was fated to be strangled and burnt at the stake for petty treason and the murder of her husband, Thomas. All executions were were carried out on the site of the Bridewell.
What is particularly interesting about the case of Ann Goodson, is that she little to no defence in court and fell back on quasi-amnesia. When asked why she killed her husband Thomas, she claimed, “how the knife stuck in his leg I do not know. I had no thoughts of killing him”. Later in the assize however, she changed her defence by saying she may have fallen over with the knife outstretched in front of her and that it happened to stick into him. She was charged with petty treason and murder, the sentence for which was to be strangled and burnt at the stake on the 12th April 1738.[4]
Guildford Bridewell does not have a lot of remaining documents regarding the building itself or the prisoners it held, however if these documents were to magically appear, such lurid tales, if the above are anything to go by, would surely be found. What can be said with certainy, is that prisoners entering Guildford bridewell would be at risk of life threatening conditions that would have far reaching consequences, despite their short stays.As it stands, however, the full story of the small prison in the middle of Quarry Street and South Hill is still yet to be told.
[1] Exploring Surrey’s Past – record SHCOL QS 55
[2] ‘State Of The Prisons In England, Scotland, And Wales : Extending To Various Places Therein Assigned, Not For The Debtor Only, But For Felons Also, And Other Less Criminal Offenders. Together With Some Useful Documents, Observations, And Remarks, Adapted To Explain And Improve The Condition Of Prisoners In General : Neild, James, 1744-1814 : Free Download, Borrow, And Streaming : Internet Archive’ (Internet Archive, 2020) <https://archive.org/details/stateofprisonsin00neil/page/254/mode/2up?q=guildford> accessed 2 July 2020.
[3] Richard Clark, ‘Surrey’ (Capitalpunishmentuk.org, 2020) <http://www.capitalpunishmentuk.org/surrey.html> accessed 2 July 2020.
[4] A full true and genuine account of the uncommon behaviour of Mr Gill Smith…Likewise the confession; behaviour and dying words of Ann Goodson.
Written by Alfie