E2BN Gallery

Millbank was built to reflect the design of Jeremy Bentham Panopticon, It cost £500,000 and was finished in 1821. It was the largest prison in London for a while. The prison walls formed an irregular octagon and enclosed 7 acres of land. The wheel like layout had the Governors house in the center, with 6 buildings radiating out to the outer wall turrets forming the spokes. The maze of gloomy passages stretched 3 miles. The prison was intended to house up to 1000 transportation prisoners at any one time. Each had a separate cell and were forbidden to talk to one another and they had to make shoes or mail bags. The gaol suffered from epidemics of cholera and scurvy. The average stay was for about three months which allowed staff time to assess where the prisoner should be transported to. All Great Britain and Ireland transportation prisoners were processed through Millbank with about 4000 passing through its walls each year. In 1843 it was converted to house general prisoners and later it held military prisoners and was pulled down in 1902.