Four Prisons and a Ferryman’s Seat

Bruce leading 14 riders including, 4 from the cancelled Hills of Lewisham ride. We tookn a historical tour of Old Southwark on a pleasant day for cycling. This is a ride devised many years back by Harry Clark and we still use his route with just a few tweaks. First stop Newington Park the site of the Horsemonger Lane Goal. The information board at the park entrance shows prisoners hanged on the prison gate following trial at the adjacent Kings Bench, Next rode to The Marshalsea close to the Borough junction. This prison was made famous by Charles Dickens who experienced it when his father was imprisoned for debt. He subsequently set much of Little Dorrit at the Marshalsea. Headed north to Park St, close to Borough Market, to stop at the ClinkMuseum. There was a prison close to the Archbishops Palace as early as the 1300s. Now there is a small museum that illustrates the conditions in prisons right through to the 1700s when The Clink was attacked during the Gordon Riots and never rebuilt. We were now close to the Thames and just a short ride from Bear Gardens where we marvelled at the simple stone ferryman’s seat. Up to t1750 there was only one bridge over the Thames so lots of work for ferries taking people across the river. Turning south we next stopped at the site of the Kings Bench Prison just off Southwark Bridge Rd. This prison as its name indicates also housed prisoners tried at the Kings Bench. This meant that we are now close yo our outward route. We crossed this and rode back to Peckham mostly via Cycleway 10. Most of the group stopped at Crolls Cafe on Lynton Rd while a few headed back to Peckham Square gettin there at 12 noon.

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