The original and notorious Clink Prison was used for the detention of religious non-conformists, priests who refused the Oath of Allegiance and for everyday criminals and those who broke the peace on Bankside or in Southwark's brothels. The Clink Prison was also the first prison in which women were regularly confined and therefore the first women's prison.
After it burned down during the Gordon Riots of 1780, the Clink was never rebuilt. The Clink Prison Museum is currently located on the original prison site, within the basement of what was once a warehouse in Clink Street.
