What was a Bridewell?

The term ‘Bridewell’ originated in London in the 16th century when a ‘house of correction’ was set up at St Bride’s Well to make vagrants and the unemployed work towards their keep in harsh conditions. In Scotland larger towns, such as Glasgow, Edinburgh, Perth and Aberdeen, began building ‘houses of correction’, which were sometimes called ‘Bridewells’ in the 17th century, but these could hold prisoners awaiting trial, and also, by the early 19th century, individuals sentenced to short periods of imprisonment.