19th Century Prison History : 19th Century Prison Search

Lewisham Cage

Overview

Location   Village Green (present-day 198-204 Lewisham High Street)  Lewisham

County   Kent

Year Opened   c.1840

Year Closed   unknown

Century of Operation   1800-1899

Remarks   Lock-up and stocks located on village green. This land was later privatised and sold and now lies under the pedestrianised shopping area between High Street and Lewis Grove.

Further information can be found at
https://www.prisonhistory.org/lockup/lewisham-cage/

Description

  • 'This J.D.Wetherspoon pub is named after the old village green. Known as Watch House Green, it is now covered by the shops and offices that stand between the High Street and Lewis Grove. Watch House Green was the centre of the old village of Lewisham. Soldiers camped here, and itinerant preachers drew a crowd. It was also the site of the cage, where wrongdoers were locked up overnight, and the location of both the stocks and the whipping post. The village green was built over after the enclosure act, which made common land available for development by selling it off to private landowners.'
    Framed passage about the naming of the Watch House public house (https://www.jdwetherspoon.com/pub-histories/england/london/the-watch-house-lewisham)

Sources

  • The Watch House, Lewisham (August 2019)
    https://www.jdwetherspoon.com/pub-histories/england/london/the-watch-house-lewisham