Wife in good health in old prison (9)
I believe the answer is:
bridewell
'old prison' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'wife in good health' is the wordplay.
'wife' becomes 'bride' (I have seen 'Wife of groom ' mean 'bride' so perhaps 'wife' could also mean 'bride').
'in good health' becomes 'well' (similar in meaning).
'bride'+'well'='BRIDEWELL'
'in' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for bridewell that I've seen before include "old prison" , "stir once" , "jail" , "Former prison" , "gaol" .)