Prison hulk

"These old Navy ships were hulked out to hold prisoners until they were assigned a convict ship leaving for the colonies."

―Evie Frye on the prison hulks, 1888.

HMS Jersey in 1782

A prison hulk was a vessel, usually unseaworthy, that acted as a prison to hold convicts or civil internees. At least two such vessels were beached at Deptford, south-east of London, in 1888.

One ship, HMS Jersey, was used during the American Revolutionary War. The hulk had earned the nickname 'hell' due to the very poor conditions onboard. In 1782, Ratonhnhaké:ton boarded the ship in order to gather information on where to find Charles Lee.

By late 1888, the Deptford prison hulks were overseen by Chief Warder John Billingsworth, a sympathizer and operative of Jack the Ripper. He was responsible for maintaining Jack's prisoners, and relished in the opportunities to maltreat and execute his detainees almost at will.

Behind the scenes

Historically, at least three separate Royal Navy warships—HMS Discovery, HMS Leven, and HMS Thames—served as prison hulks stationed at Deptford, though all three had been completely decommissioned by 1863.

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed III (first appearance)
• Assassin's Creed: Syndicate – Jack the Ripper
• Assassin's Creed: Nexus VR (mentioned in Database entry only)