St Giles's Roundhouse
Encyclopedia
The St Giles's Roundhouse was a small roundhouse
or prison
, mainly used to temporarily hold suspected criminals.
It was located in the St Giles
area of present-day central London
, which - during the 17th and 18th centuries - was a 'rookery
' notorious for its thieves and other criminals.
The Roundhouse was notable for being one of the prisons from which notorious thief Jack Sheppard
escaped, in 1724. The building was converted into almshouse
s in around 1780.
Village lock-up
Village lock-ups are historic buildings that were used for the temporary detention of people in rural parts of England and Wales. They were often used for the confinement of drunks who were usually released the next day or to hold people being brought before the local magistrate. A typical village...
or prison
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
, mainly used to temporarily hold suspected criminals.
It was located in the St Giles
St Giles, London
St Giles is a district of London, England. It is the location of the church of St Giles in the Fields, the Phoenix Garden and St Giles Circus. It is located at the southern tip of the London Borough of Camden and is part of the Midtown business improvement district.The combined parishes of St...
area of present-day central London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, which - during the 17th and 18th centuries - was a 'rookery
Rookery (slum)
A rookery was the colloquial British English term given in the 18th and 19th centuries to a city slum occupied by poor people...
' notorious for its thieves and other criminals.
The Roundhouse was notable for being one of the prisons from which notorious thief Jack Sheppard
Jack Sheppard
Jack Sheppard was a notorious English robber, burglar and thief of early 18th-century London. Born into a poor family, he was apprenticed as a carpenter but took to theft and burglary in 1723, with little more than a year of his training to complete...
escaped, in 1724. The building was converted into almshouse
Almshouse
Almshouses are charitable housing provided to enable people to live in a particular community...
s in around 1780.