Bridewell: The Palace that became a Prison
Not Just the Tudors
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Bridewell, Hold Thy Hand, Thou Beadle
Bridewell didn't hang people. Didn't execute so if you did go to bridewell, the best that could happen wyou be let off. And sometimes they will say, no evidence was brought against her, he or she can go free. That happens pretty rarely. It likes to whip people quite a lot. You get these lines in kingle that seem to resonate with the whipping chamber of bridewell: hold thy hand, thou beadle. So this is a very alien world to us, this world where for being a vagrant, for having sex outside of marriage, one can be punished.
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