Elizabeth Fry commemoration
An event to mark 200 years since Elizabeth Fry began her work in Newgate Prison took place last week
by Harry Albright
2nd June 2017
Two of the fifty Quaker prison chaplains who continue the legacy of Elizabeth Fry today were present at a reception last week to mark 200 years since she began her vital work in Newgate Prison among women facing death and deportation.
The reception was held by the Sheriffs of the City of London in the Old Bailey’s Grand Hall, which stands above where the cells of Newgate Prison were located.
Elizabeth Fry campaigned endlessly for better conditions for women prisoners, often held with their children, and for penal reform and the abolition of the death penalty. Her face has been on the Bank of England five pound note since 2002. It was replaced with a portrait of Winston Churchill earlier this year.
