Bridewell, London Genealogy

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Bridewell Chapel and Hospital (see also Bethlem Hospital), Bridge Street, Blackfriars, is about twelve or thirteen houses on the west or right hand side of that street, going towards the bridge, and has a handsome gateway and entrance nearly opposite the Crescent. On the site of this building stood, in ancient times, even before the Norman invasion, a royal palace wherin King John subsequently held his court. Within the precincts of this royal residence was a well of the prest water, dedicated, as was the practice of the ancient church of Rome, to St Bridget or St Bride, and which gave its name to the precinct, the parish and the church. This spot was part of the arx palatina, which stood near the river Fleet. The palace of Bridewell was rebuilt by Henry VIII, in 1522, for the reception of...Charles V, and it continued as a royal residence, with few intermissions, till the reign of Edward VI who presented it in 1553 to the mayor, commonalty and citizens of London, to a working house for the poor and idle persons of the city. This building was almost totally destroyed by the fire of 1666, and was rebuilt in 1668. It contains a hall...a chapel, a prison and other buildings. The affairs of this hospital are governed by the same committee that manages Bethlem, to which it is united as one of the five royal hospitals of the city, and its president and other officers are the same.

[Adapted from: "Topographical Dictionary of London" by James Elmes; published 1831]