Clerkenwell explosion: Fenian bombing in London (1867)

The Clerkenwell explosion, also known as the Clerkenwell Outrage, occurred on 13 December 1867 in London. It was a bombing attack by the Irish Republican Brotherhood targeting Clerkenwell Prison to free a member held on remand. The blast killed many people in nearby tenement houses on Corporation Row while attempting to breach the prison wall.

Episodes

Background and detail

Background. Clerkenwell is an area of central London, England, historically known for its prisons, including the Clerkenwell House of Detention. The Irish Republican Brotherhood, which had an estimated 100,000 members by 1865, frequently carried out acts of violence in Great Britain. In 1867, the organization was preparing for an armed uprising in Ireland, but leadership members were arrested and convicted.

The Explosion. On 13 December 1867, Fenians exploded a bomb at Clerkenwell Prison in an attempt to free a member held on remand. The explosion was intended to blow a hole in the prison wall but resulted in deaths among residents of the tenement houses on Corporation Row. This event is described as the most infamous action carried out by the Fenians in Britain in the 19th century.

People involved

Sources

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.