Definition

Proper noun: * Newgate: A historically significant former prison in London, England. It was infamous for its extremely poor, overcrowded, and unsanitary conditions. The original prison was destroyed by fire during the Gordon Riots in 1780. A new prison was constructed on the same site, which was later demolished in 1902.

Usage

• Newgate is used primarily as a historical reference to the prison and its legacy.
• It often appears in historical texts, literature, and discussions about 18th and 19th-century British penal systems.

Examples

• The novelist Charles Dickens frequently referenced Newgate in his works to critique social injustice.
• Many condemned prisoners spent their final days in Newgate before execution.
• The Newgate Calendar was a popular publication detailing the lives and crimes of the prison's inmates.

Advanced Usage

• "Newgate Calendar": A series of publications from the 18th and 19th centuries that contained sensationalized biographies of famous criminals, many of whom were held in Newgate Prison. It became a genre of crime literature.
• "Newgate Novel": A genre of 19th-century fiction that romanticized the lives of criminals and was set in the underworld, often associated with Newgate Prison. These novels were sometimes criticized for glorifying crime.

Variants and Related Words

• Newgate Prison: The full and formal name for the institution.
• Newgater (historical, archaic): A term that could refer to an inmate of Newgate Prison or a writer associated with the Newgate Calendar.

Synonyms

• Gaol (British English, archaic)
• Penitentiary (historical context)
• The Clink (another infamous London prison, used informally as a synonym for prison)

Related Idioms and Phrases

• "To be Newgated" (historical/archaic): An old phrase meaning to be imprisoned in Newgate.
  • The thief was tried, convicted, and promptly Newgated.
• The name "Newgate" itself is often used metaphorically in historical discourse to symbolize the harshness, squalor, and brutality of the old penal system.

Noun

1. a former prison in London notorious for its unsanitary conditions and burnt down in riots in 1780; a new prison was built on the same spot but was torn down in 1902