Newgate Prison Chapel London1809. Original antique hand-coloured aquatint, published 1809.

This print depicts the Chapel of Newgate Prison, the gaol for holding London’s most serious criminals. The gallows for public executions at Tyburn were moved to Newgate (now the location of the Old Bailey.) On the Sunday before executions, the condemned had to sit before a black coffin to hear a sermon from the ‘Ordinary’ (the clergyman of Newgate.) The proceedings were watched by other prisoners and ‘sightseers’ from the balcony. A nice bright and clean example of Ackermann’s craft, this antique aquatint is dated in the plate 1809. The paper is water-marked 1801. Dimensions of the print from the plate mark is 11×9 inches. Print has full margins (and text) which is not captured by the scan.