Take your punishment, lesson two: The Clink Prison Museum

Our final excursion related to Criminal Justice and Foucault's Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison was to the Clink Prison Museum. This fun little house of horrors lies in the former location of the actual Clink Prison in Southwark not far from the Globe Theatre and Borough Market. Yes, that was the name of a literal prison that operated from the 12th to 18th centuries. Though it was dingier and sillier than the Tower, I think it had a lot of value, and in fact I ended up wishing I had brought my creative writers there. Like other museums, it focused a lot on stories. It did charge for admission, but it was relatively cheap, especially for students. I think the students had fun anyway. It's amusing how it attempted (also using rats as a guide, as in the Museum of London) to provide interactive moments for children, given the subject matter. It's possible British children are a little more thick-skinned than American kids, who would probably get scared in there. Or not?

This executioner's axe and block is just a replica, and that way they could add some fake blood! The walls in this room featured detailed illustrations of the prison and the area in which it stood during its day. Some of these were tracings of actual illustrations from the 18th century.

There was a bit more detail with regard to what torture devices were and how they were used. This was an odd addition, because a chastity belt wasn't technically used for crime punishment. However, I liked the addition, because it interrogates medieval society's moral expectations, especially for women.

As with the chastity belt, the inclusion of the "ducking stool" was among several critiques of historical misogyny embedded in this museum, which I appreciated. The stool, for instance, was basically used against women who complained. (For men who wonder why we never tell you what's wrong...maybe this is why, hmmm?)

A close view of the gibbet, and the blue plaque. These circular blue plaques appeared in all historic locations, such as where someone famous or important lived.

This is called the heretic's fork. It was strapped to a person's neck with one end at the throat and the other at the chin so you couldn't put your head down. Basically, you couldn't nod off, or injury would ensue. 

The scavenger's daughter held the prisoner in a crouched position, sometimes forcing blood from the mouth and ears. It was invented during Henry VIII's reign by someone who has something very wrong with them. Seriously, what the hell?

This is a replica of a chair that prisoners would have been tortured in. It reminds me of the torture chair in Game of Thrones at Harrenhal...you know the one with the rats? (The museum also highlighted the same rat torture method...so that was accurate apparently.)

To my delight, this museum featured plenty of wax figures and recreated environments, mainly prison cells and dungeons. Most of these included background audio of people telling their stories, or people groaning and screaming. It was better than a haunted house for Halloween.

This guy was my favorite for some reason...those are entrails in the bowl next to him. I should point out that the museum did a good job of pointing out the injustice and cruelty of these institutions. There was good reason for shutting these places down.

The realism. The cells didn't have toilets, so you know...shit corner.

The museum had plenty to offer in terms of historical figures who would have been housed in the prison and their stories, which were told in placards like these as well as the wax replicas. For instance, John Greenwood was imprisoned in 1587 for harboring "seditious texts." He was hanged in 1593 for it.

Placards on these famous criminals were also great material for inspiring characters and scenes in creative writing. Take for instance Elizabeth Brownrigg, a kindly lady who took in poor foundlings and cared for them, and then turned out to be a psycho who beat them viciously as they hung from a butcher's hook in her kitchen.

Note to teachers: If you are teaching Criminal Justice, Discipline and Punish, or any course in which you criticize systems of criminal punishment, the Clink Museum has a lot to offer. It poses numerous questions about what we choose to outlaw in addition to how we historically punished supposed wrongdoing. It definitely contains a warning about the importance of separating church and state.

However, I also think it was a great stop for Creative Writing, because it provided a lot of detail for a certain type of setting, as well as character inspiration for scenes that would definitely challenge students to write outside of their comfort zone...not just because of the horror of the subject matter, but because these are characters that they would probably call "unrelatable." I do hate that word.

I think this rose window was actually part of the original prison.