Liberty of the Clink
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Liberty of the Clink was an area in Southwark, on the south bank of the River Thames, opposite the City of London. Although situated in Surrey the liberty was exempt from the jurisdiction of the county's high sheriff and was under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Winchester.
The liberty was originally known as the Manor of Southwark. The first recorded use of the term Liberty of the Clink was in 1530. It was also known as the Liberty of Winchester.
The liberty was established when King Stephen gave the area to his brother Henry Blois, Bishop of Winchester, and his successors in office, in the twelfth century. It was approximately 70 acres (28 hectares) in size and was situated in the modern Bankside area of the London Borough of Southwark. Clink Street and Winchester Street recall the former liberty.
The bishop's London residence, Winchester House was built in the liberty, originally surrounded by parkland.
The liberty lay outside the jurisdiction of the City of London, and that of the county authorities of Surrey, and activities forbidden in those areas were permitted within it. In 1161 the bishop was granted the power to licence prostitutes (known as "Winchester Geese") and brothels in the liberty. Theatres and playhouses were allowed in the Clink, the most famous being the Globe Theatre where William Shakespeare performed his plays. Bull and bear baiting were also permitted.
The Clink is most famous for the prison of that name maintained by the bishop as part of the administration of the liberty.
During the period of the Commonwealth the episcopy was abolished, and the liberty was sold to a private owner in 1649. It was returned to the bishop on the restoration in 1660. The Clink prison was destroyed in 1780, and the bishop's palace in 1814. In 1856 most local government in the area passed to the St Saviour's District Board of Works and the Metropolitan Board of Works. In 1863 the rights of the Bishop of Winchester in the liberty were vested in the Ecclesiastical Commissioners.
The liberty was finally abolished in 1889, when the Local Government Act 1888 merged all remaining liberties into counties. The Liberty of the Clink thus became part of the new County of London.
[edit] External links
- The borough of Southwark manors, from the Victoria County History of Surrey [1]
