Newington Gardens

Newington Gardens on Harper Road
Sign about the history of Newington gardens reads:

Newington Recreation Ground occupies the site of Horsemonger Lan Gaol which, along with the adjoining Sessions House, was erected in accorance with Act passed in 1781 'for building a new common gaol and sessions house, with accommodations thereto, for the county of Surrey.' The prison was, at the time of its erection, the largest prison in the county of Surrey and consisted of two portions , one occupied by debtors and the other much larger portion by people arrested on criminal charges. Charles Dickens came here on November 13th 1849 in order to see the crowd of spectators which regualarly formed at the time of a public execution and so gather materials for some of those vivid pictures of London life contained in his novels.