Clerkenwell House of Correction, London: top, the oakum-shed and bottom, the needle-room. Wood engravings after M. Fitzgerald, 1874.

Both wood engravings show rows of convicts busy at their tasks. "Clerkenwell House of Correction. The large prison, belonging to the county of Middlesex, in Coldbath-fields, Clerkenwell, is designed to contain nearly two thousand male offenders, under penal sentence for different terms, from one week to two years. Female prisoners of the same class, in the Middlesex county jurisdiction, are consigned to the prison in Tothill-Fields, Westminster, which has room for eight hundred. The situation and outward aspect of the Coldbath-fields House of Correction, in an extensive square inclosure, with a high wall, between Gray's-inn-road and Farringdon-road, must be familiar to all who know London. It should not be confounded with the Middlesex County House of Detention for untried prisoners, which is also in Clerkenwell, but at a short distance eastward, not far from the Middlesex Sessions House. This House of Detention was the scene of the Fenian blowing-up exploit, which cost several lives, a few years ago. The House of Correction is mostly occupied by prisoners under sentence of simple imprisonment with hard labour for short periods ; but those condemned to penal servitude for two years are, in some cases, placed here for a time before their removal to the Government convict prisons of Milbank and Pentonville. The City of London has its own House of Correction at Holloway, independent of that for Middlesex ; but this is on a much smaller scale, accommodating not more than 370 male and female inmates. The famous gaol of Newgate, which we Iately described with a series of illustrations, is now used only for the safe detention of prisoners awaiting their trial at the Central Criminal Court, Old Bailey; and for those under sentence of death. The Coldbath-fields prison is seldom quite full ; 1750 was the number actually there when the sketches were made which are now presented to our readers ; but the average is 1600 adults and 100 juveniles. There are two classes, with different kinds or degrees of hard labour. Those of the first class are kept to the treadwheel, the motion of which is utilised for grinding wheat and pumping water from the well to a tank which supplies the prison. Those of the second class are employed in oakum-picking, and in mat, brush, and basket making, or in shoemaking, tailoring, and other trades, if they are fit to learn such useful arts; besides washing and cleaning the premises. The treadwheel is a huge double machine, erected on both sides of a long gallery, the "wheel-yard," where 684 prisoners are assembled at a time. Half of these--namely, 342 men and boys---are upon the steps of the wheel for ten minutes, while the other half sit down and rest; so they take their turns, one set relieving another, throughout the working time of the day, which is six hours and a half. The actual exertion for each person is, therefore, limited to three hours and a quarter; and those who have tried it say that it is not more fatiguing than to climb an ordinary ladder. The work of picking oakum is rather painful to delicate fingers, but becomes easy after a few days. Our illustrations show this sort of work going on, and in another room the work of tailoring. The prisoners are constantly watched, and are forbidden to speak a word to each other when assembled for work or dinner ; even a detected glance or sign would be severely punished. Each person is locked up at night in a solitary cell."-- Illustrated London news, loc. cit.