Add a review about the museum "Prison Klink" in London

The sad story of the famous prison Klink in Southwark, located on Klink Street, begins in 1129 g ., when Henry Henry became the archbishop of Winchester, the cousin of the King of England Stefan Blois . Having received power and became the second after the monarch in power, the bishop, distinguished by cruelty, set up in the Winchester Palace, his residence on the Thames, two separate prisons: women's and men's those times were extremely beneficial . The church authorities had a big income from fines that borrows from guilty girls or from too dissolute clients .

Prisoners for many years of imprisonment turned into debtors, as they were charged with duty payment of their content. The jailers also squeezed out of them everything they could, even exaggerating the cost of food two or three times, plus - a cruel and unfair treatment. For the arbitrariness and lawlessness of Henry began to be called Liberty of The Clink ("click freedom"), because one click lock prison - and you're already in the dungeon. The bishop even created a list of punishments applied to prisoners in 1076 (solitary confinement, beatings, sitting on water and bread).

From the burnt down building there were only cellars, in which today the museum was opened, which most reliably recreates realistic conditions in the medieval prison, the situation of the chambers, the instruments of punishment. Wax figures of prisoners, perfectly fitting into this atmosphere, records of quiet moans add a little eerie impression of what they saw.

The final fixation for the prisons located near the London quarter of the City and the Red Quarter, the name "Klink" occurred in the 14th century. Almost six hundred years drunkards, rowdy, debtors, harlots, petty thieves, heretics and other heterogeneous people were brought to prison for any, even petty defilements

Here were imprisoned political criminals (Sir Thomas Wyatt the Younger, rebelling against the queen-tyrant Mary Bloody, the writer John Rogers, who translated the Bible into English from Latin, the royalists and the Puritans, who subsequently founded colonies in America in Plymouth and Massachusetts.)
The Klink Prison Museum in London

Many times Klink tried to destroy the prison, but as a result e They did not update and finish building. And only in 1780 the Protestant Lord George Gordon, in protest against the privileges granted to Catholics after the end of the US War of Independence, invited the members of the Protestant Association to force a hated prison. All the prisoners were released and the prison burned to the ground, after which it was not restored.

From the burnt down building there were only cellars where today the museum was opened, which most reliably recreates realistic conditions in the medieval prison, the situation of the cells, the instruments of punishment. The wax figures of the prisoners, perfectly fitting into this atmosphere, the records of quiet moans complement the slightly eerie impression of what they saw.

The exposition of the museum "Prison Klink" acquaints visitors with its history and the system of keeping prisoners. Exhibits of the same ("torture chair", "belt of fidelity", "ball with shackles", "Spanish boot", "a set of tools for torture", "block") illustrate all the horrors of the nightmarish life of the poor fellow.

Visit to the museum "Prison Klink" "Is not an ordinary walk, and, of course, you need to think whether it is worth doing with the children.

Unfortunately, the museum is not visited by people with disabilities.

How to get to the museum" Prison Klink "

@ To the museum at London, SE1 9DG, 1 Clink Street, The Clink Prison Museum - you can take the metro to London Bridge Station or Borough, Monument.

Opening hours

In October - June the museum is open on weekdays from 10:00 to 18:00, on weekends from 10:00 to 19:30. In July - September, a visit is possible every day from 10:00 to 21:00. At Christmas the museum is closed.

Ticket price

Entrance: 7, 5 GBP.