Bridewell Palace

Bridewell Palace in London was built as a residence of King Henry VIII and was one of his homes early in his reign for eight years.

Bridewell was the first royal palace not to have a great hall and its staircase was a feature that recurs in Henry VIII's later residences.

In 1553, Edward VI gave the palace over to the City of London for the housing of homeless children and for the punishment of "disorderly women".

[3] In the late 17th century, the infamous London brothel keeper Elizabeth Cresswell was incarcerated in Bridewell Prison, possibly for reneging on a debt.

A rebuilt gatehouse in the style of the original is incorporated as the front of the office block at 14 New Bridge Street,[13] including a relief portrait of Edward VI.

The main site area of the buildings stretched from there southwards through the Hyatt Regency London Blackfriars Hotel to Unilever House (built in 1931) which stands at the corner of Watergate – the name of the lost river entrance to the palace's precincts beside the former Fleet-Thames confluence (memorialised in the name of the street between the two).

The term frequently refers to a city's main detention facility, usually close to a courthouse, as in Nottingham, Leeds, Gloucester, Bristol, Dublin, Cork and Edinburgh.

[17] In the Beatles film, A Hard Day's Night, Paul's grandfather (Wilfrid Brambell) reports the arrest of Ringo to the studio by saying "The police have the poor lad in the Bridewell – he'll be pulp by now!"