Newgate stood in the angle between Fairfax street and Castle Mill street. It was famous as the prison of the early Quakers, the Nonconformists and the poet Savage. Mention is made of prisoners in this gaol as early as 1148. It was rebuilt in 1691 by a rate of sixpence in the £ upon the inhabitants. John Howard visited this prison in 1775. He then described it “white without and foul within; the dungeon or pit, down 18 steps, is 17 feet in diameter and 8 ½ high. It is close and offensive, only a small window.” “Felons,” he says, “were allowed a pennyworth of bread a day before trial, two pennyworth of bread after conviction.” The prisoners were allowed to hang out a basket, into which passers-by dropped their doles; there was also a contribution box for the same purpose. The following are a few characteristic examples of the local mode of formerly punishing :-
In 1615, one Phelps, a fellmonger, was pressed to death. In 1705, Thos. Davis was whipped at a cart tail till he bled to death; Maria Prichard was whipped, stripped to the waist; Mary Ketchmay was whipped till she died. In 1736, Joshua Harding and John Newnham were hanged, but when cut down and placed in lofting both came to life; the latter a few hours after died, but Harding was taken care of in a charity house. This prison was abandoned in 1820 for the Gaol on the New cut.
Source: Arrowsmith’s Dictionary of Bristol. Edited by Henry J. Spear and J. W. Arrowsmith. Bristol 1884.
The Arrowsmith family of mapmakers must have done some great work apart from making maps, which is well documented, but it would be interesting to find more about other stuff they did. I notice there was a feminist Pat Arrowsmith in America who is also well documented, and I notice an Arrowsmith was a member of Captain Cooks crew before he had the Endeavour…. my interest is Arrowsmith of Bolton and Hampshire branches but also my grandfathers father had a jewellery shop somewhere on the south coast of England, which is a topic I would love to know about…. maybe studying this family has some clues, articles or leads….. Yours Marty Shergold
The arrowsmith family of course had a Rector who is known better by “The Hand of Arrowsmith” which is famed to have had mystic powers , and after his body was drawn and quartered the hand had a life of its own being stolen removed and otherwise abused, and I have even heard that it is still around in a musuem somewhere in Britain..