It may come as a surprise to people but, what we now know as one of the country’s largest art galleries, in the 19th Century had a very different purpose. Known as the ‘Millbank Penitentiary,’ it was the largest prison in Britain, where prisoners were taken when sentenced to transportation but considered capable of redemption. They committed crimes worthy of banishment to Australia but offered a sentence of 5-10 years at Millbank in lieu.
Image credit: Ben Fisher
The conditions were terrible, diseases broke out, rations were low and often it seemed a worse alternative than Australia’s Botany Bay. From 1843, the prison was believed unfit for long-term inmates, so the facility became a general depot, where inmates were held for three months before space became available on the dreaded prison ships bound for Australia.
Legend has it, beneath The Morpeth Pub, which still functions today, there are the remains of tunnels used to escort the prisoners from the gaol to the riverbank, for their departure. Some believe prisoners nicknamed this procedure ‘going down under,’ which has led to today’s slang for Australia. The Millbank Penitentiary was demolished in 1890.
In 1899, sugar merchant Sir Henry Tate donated his collection of 65 paintings to the government along with £80,000 for the construction of a gallery in which to house them. The site they chose was a flattened area at Millbank and has become Tate Britain as we know it today.