The Clink Prison Museum

The Clink Prison Museum stands on the site of the original Clink Prison, which operated from the 12th century until 1780. Located in Southwark on London’s Bankside, it gave rise to the very word “clink” as a slang term for prison. Originally owned by the Bishops of Winchester, the prison held a grim variety of inmates — from heretics and debtors to prostitutes and political dissenters.

Conditions were appalling: prisoners were often chained to the walls, starved, and extorted for better treatment. Torture devices such as the rack, the whipping post, and iron restraints were part of daily life. Fires and uprisings occasionally broke out, yet the prison remained in use for centuries as a symbol of cruelty and corruption within both church and state.

The modern museum preserves artefacts, instruments of punishment, and reconstructed cells, allowing visitors to experience the darkness of medieval imprisonment firsthand. Audio-visual exhibits tell stories of notable inmates and the brutal realities of life — and death — behind its damp stone walls. For those fascinated by London’s darker past, The Clink remains one of the city’s most evocative and unsettling historical sites.