Burdon's Hotel
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Sense 1
Whitecross Street Prison, London, England.
Register: slang
Sources & notes
Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30 via kaikki.org).
Sense 2
Whitecross Street Prison, of which the Governor was a Mr. Burdon. Almost every prison has a nickname of this kind, either from the name of the Governor, or from some local circumstance. The Queen’s Bench has also an immense number of names—SPIKE PARK, &c.; and every Chief-Justice stands godfather to it.
Era: ca. 1874 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Historical definition reproduced from Hotten’s The Slang Dictionary (1874, public domain; Project Gutenberg #42108, retrieved 2026-07-31). Reflects the attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Burdon's Hotel” mean?
Whitecross Street Prison, London, England.
Is “Burdon's Hotel” formal or informal?
Burdon's Hotel is generally slang.