The image shown to the right is from an early twentieth century excavation looking for Roman evidence at the site of Newgate. Photographs were taken that show medieval masonry, a ditch and large conduits that probably relate to the prison, which by the fifteenth century included the gate and the area towards the Old Bailey.

Evidence for multiple levels

The photograph on the left, from the same excavation, shows a cross-section of masonry similar to a diagram of the Fleet prison in the seventeenth century. These support what is known about the prisons having multiple levels, with some areas having better accommodation than others. For those able to pay conditions could be quite comfortable, as they could buy a bed, bedding and have food and drink brought into them. For those with no money or outside support life would have been pretty miserable in shared wards with little food, water or hygiene.

The excavation of the Fleet Valley between 1988 and 1992 revealed that the Fleet prison originally stood on a natural eyot and unearthed archeobotanical material that suggest the kind of foodstuffs available to, and possibly utilised by, the warden. It also reveals what the environment was like outside the City wall.

However, it is not just the material that has proved invaluable to my research, without the knowledge and ever-ready assistance of the LAARC team the finer details of excavation reports would have meant nothing to me and I would have remained ignorant of other relevant material. The LAARC is an exceptional resource - just like an archaeological dig you never know what you might find…