GOODBYE JACK , HELLO RAYMOND ( The KEEPERS of the OLD BAILEY )

GOODBYE JACK , HELLO RAYMOND ( The KEEPERS of the OLD BAILEY )

THE TIMES.

7^th NOV , 1983

A new keeper to black the Newgate knocker

 

 The custody of the Central Criminal Court has changed hands. Mr. John Gamble retired at the weekend and handed over the title of Keeper to Captain Raymond Whitehouse, formerly of the Royal Marines. The building, housing 19 courts, is being given a £300,000 improvement, including the cleaning of the outside stonework, and that is one of the last supervising tasks of Mr. Gamble. He became resident mechanical and electrical engineer at the Old Bailey in 1966 and took over the multiple duties of keeper two years later. "Jack has run this building beautifully and we are all sad to see him go", the Recorder of London, Sir James Miskin, QC, said. "But you cannot do much better for a replacement than a Royal Marine." The keeper's responsibilities are geared to the smooth running of the building and include security, maintenance, a staff of hundreds, the personal needs of judges, lawyers and court officials and even the comfort of prisoners. Over the years Mr. Gamble has built up his own Old Bailey museum, housed well below ground. Dozens of historic criminal documents, leg irons and manacles used on prisoners years ago, robes and wig from a famous judge, court records and interesting items have all been carefully sought out and collected. Captain Whitehouse intends to build up the collection. One of the most treasured possessions is the Newgate Knocker, which hung for nearly 150 years on the door of Newgate Gaol (the court stands on the site of the old prison). The iron knocker has found its own place in history with countless Cockney mothers reaching for the soap as they scold grubby children for being "as black as Newgate's knocker".