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Ancestry UK

Debtors' Prison, Basingstoke, Hampshire

In the latter part of the eighteenth century, a Debtors' Prison existed in Basingstoke.

Visiting the establishment on 28 February 1776, John Howard noted that it was used to house those whose debts were under £10, It was located in 'one convenient room in the Keeper's Public-house' and was empty on occasion as it was on another visit on 1 November 1782. The keeper was the town-serjeant, who rented the room at £6 a year, though received no salary for the undertaking the post.

The prison seems to have closed not long afterwards.

Records

Note: many repositories impose a closure period of up to 100 years for records identifying individuals. Before travelling a long distance, always check that the records you want to consult will be available.

  • No individual records identified for this establishment — any information welcome.
  • The National Archives, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 4DU. Has a wide variety of crime and prison records going back to the 1770s, including calendars of prisoners, prison registers and criminal registers.
  • Find My Past has digitized many of the National Archives' prison records, including prisoner-of-war records, plus a variety of local records including Manchester, York and Plymouth. More information.
  • Prison-related records on Ancestry UK include Prison Commission Records, 1770-1951, and local records from London, Swansea, Gloucesterhire and West Yorkshire. More information.
  • The Genealogist also has a number of National Archives' prison records. More information.

Bibliography

  • Prison Oracle - resources those involved in present-day UK prisons.
  • GOV.UK - UK Government's information on sentencing, probation and support for families.

Except where indicated, this page () © Peter Higginbotham. Contents may not be reproduced without permission.