Bridewell (redirected from bridewells)

Bridewell (brīd`wəl), area in London, England, between Fleet St. and the Thames River. The Bridewell house of correction, demolished in 1863, was on the site of a palace built under Henry VIII and given by Edward VI to the City of London in 1553 for use as a training school for homeless apprentices. The building later became a prison. Bridewell thus came to be used as a general term for a prison or house of correction.