Coldbath Fields riot

The site you are approaching was once home to the Coldbath Fields Prison, a notorious institution that defined the harsh penal landscape of nineteenth century London. It took its name from a medicinal spring discovered nearby in the late seventeenth century, which was once believed to cure digestive ailments and the common cold. By the time the prison was rebuilt in seventeen ninety four, that serene history had vanished. It became a stern house of correction where prisoners were subjected to the silent system, a regime that strictly forbade inmates from communicating with one another by word, gesture, or sign. Many of those held here were petty offenders or political radicals, often kept in overcrowded conditions that drew sharp criticism from contemporary reformers and poets alike.