The Clerkenwell House of Detention, north-east of Clerkenwell Green, has a long and turbulent history stretching back to 1617, including its destruction by fire in the 1780 Gordon Riots. The prison was demolished in 1893 to make way for Hugh Myddleton School (the impressive building still stands). Down beneath the playground, however, significant remnants of the older buildings remain (see our map of underground London for approximate area).
We gained access to these extensive catacombs courtesy of Itasca Locations, a company that provides unusual venues to film-makers. (Check out their web site for an impressive roll call of locations with pictures.) Previous productions to make use of the Clerkenwell House of Detention include the recent Sherlock Holmes movie (representing the tunnels below Westminster), Spooks, the Secret Diary of a Call Girl and St Trinian's 2.
Click through the gallery for further descriptions, and check out our video walk-through below.
Inside the Clerkenwell House of Detention from Londonist on Vimeo.
Images by Dean Nicholas and M@ Brown.