The Black Dog of Newgate Prison, London, England

Sep 5

In the late 16th century, a book written by a prisoner at Newgate Prison in London, England told of a legend concerning a terrifying Black Dog hunting inmates at the prison.

Today many claim to see the same Black Dog prowling the streets where Newgate once stood, but did the tragic story that led to the creation of the Black Dog of Newgate actually happen?

The Legend of the Black Dog of Newgate

During the 13th century under the rule of King Henry III, a great famine spread across England. Within Newgate Prison in London, many prisoners resorted to cannibalism as their only source of food. Stories say the smallest and weakest of the prisoners were the first to be targeted while the guards at the prison turned a blind eye to the atrocities.

Shortly after cannibalism took hold of the men, a new prisoner was thrown in. The only thing the others knew of this unnamed man was that he was a scholar and was weak. What they didn’t know was that the man was arrested for sorcery, and accused of casting spells to hurt the King’s subjects.

The prisoners never asked nor cared as they pounced on him and ate him, simply remarking that he was ‘good meat’ once the deed was done. That same night some of the prisoners were shocked to see the scholar wandering around the prison, it was then they say he took on the appearance of a large black dog.

The black dog appeared ravenous staring at the prisoners who ate the scholar, waiting for a chance to rip them to pieces. Others claimed the black dog wandered around groaning and crying in great pain and torment.

Fear swept through the prison, one that turned to desperation as the men felt the black dog would make its move. The prisoners rioted, killing the guards and they escaped hoping to get far enough that the black dog would never find them.

But, one by one, the black dog eventually hunted them down. Those that were able to live a few days claimed to see the black dog wherever they went as if they were the prey to a vicious predator. Days later they were found in pieces, torn apart as if a wild animal had attacked them in the night.

For the next several centuries other inmates claimed to see the Black Dog patrolling the prison, watching from afar, and at times driving them mad until they took their own lives. Even after the prison was demolished in 1902, there are claims of a wild black dog circling the area.

But Did it Happen?

The legend first appeared in a 1596 book entitled, The Black Dogge of Newgate: Both Pithie and Profitable for All Readers. It is widely agreed the book was written by criminal and author Luke Hutton but there are some questions as to when exactly it was written as Hutton was an inmate in Newgate during that time.

In the book, Hutton is sharing the legend of the Black Dog with another man described only as “poore thin-gut fellow” and the two debate its existence. After Hutton tells of the scholar who was eaten and the black dog appearing, the thin-gut fellow denies it ever happened. Looking back at actual history, he may be right.

Witchcraft & Sorcery in the 13th Century

King Henry III did rule over England during a time of famine in the 13th century and cannibalism was something that occurred not just in prison but in other parts of the land.

What sticks out is the reason the scholar was sent to Newgate. In the 13th century, conjuring, sorcery, and witchcraft weren’t exactly looked down upon as it was in the following centuries. The hysteria involving witch-burning and torture was bubbling up but didn’t start becoming a thing until the 14th century. Prior to that, the Catholic Church didn’t believe witchcraft or sorcery was entirely heretical.

In the 13th century, the Catholic Church made a clear distinction between demonic worship (heresy) and witchcraft. In the eyes of the Catholic church, witchcraft either didn’t exist or wasn’t considered heresy.

In 1258, Pope Alexander IV even issued a papal bull ordering inquisitors to avoid investigating claims of witchcraft. So the claim that the scholar was sent to Newgate due to sorcery is extremely unlikely.

The more likely scenario is Luke Hutton wrote the book during a time when witchcraft and sorcery were seen as demonic and made up the story in his book in order to capture the reader’s attention. This is why, in the book, Hutton debates whether the story ever really happened since the black dog wasn’t really the point of the book.

The Prototype to Hell

Newgate prison 19th century — Newgate Prison circa. 19th century

Hutton wrote the book in order to reveal the grim reality and horrible treatment of prisoners at Newgate. He attempts to show this through his conversation with the thin-gut man who says the only black dog in the prison was a large black stone in a dungeon called Limbo.

Once the prisoners were sentenced, they were sent to the dungeon and saw the black stone. Some of the most desperate and mentally broken prisoners bashed their heads against the stone to escape the horrors of the prison.

The bodies of those who died in the prison remained there until their families could pay to have them removed. Prisoners had to live shackled to chains, with no food, and rotting corpses around them.

Around ten years after the book was published, prisoner John Partridge detailed further the grim realities within the prison walls to clergyman Richard Thomas. Prior to his hanging in 1609 Partridge was quoted as saying:

“We had no easement of irons or any kind of food for two weeks save one loaf of stale bread. We cried out for food, but none was brought. We had even started to eat our garments in the hope of sustenance.”

Eventually, Partridge admitted to resorting to cannibalism and later he claimed to see a black creature emerging from the body he and his fellow inmates ate. What he saw was the hallucinations of a starved, mentally broken man.

It’s no wonder that Newgate Prison was given the nickname “London’s Prototype to Hell”, where only a quarter of prisoners lived to see their execution date.

While the legend of the terrifying Black Dog of Newgate persists today and was possibly around before Luke Hutton’s book, its origin as a sorcerer’s spirit is most likely not true and was made up by Hutton. But the true horrors of the Newgate Prison was the treatment of its inhabitants.