Town Gaol, Falmouth, Cornwall
Falmouth Town Gaol was in existence in 1660. It may have occupied a site on Prince or Prince's Street, now the site of Prince Street Gardens, at the top of the High Street. In 1812, James Neild reported:
The Keeper was the Town Serjeant. No food was provided but prisoners received an allowance of 6d. a day. The prison fees were 6s. 8d. The prison appears to have been little used — Neild recorded one inmate on his visit in October 1803, and none in Ocrober1 806.
In 1831, a new gaol was erected on the Prince's Street site at a cost of £404. On one floor were apartments for the gaoler and two rooms for prisoners, both having glazed windows and fireplaces. On the floor below were three cells with a yard, and two cells with another yard. The cells were all well ventilated, boarded, roomy, and with glazed windows. One of the serjeants-at-mace acted as gaoler. On an inspection visit in 1835, the only inmates were two juvenile delinquents.
The prison was closed in 1860.
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.
- Cornwall Archives, Kresen Kernow, Little Vauxhall, Redruth TR15 1AS.
- 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
- Higginbotham, Peter The Prison Cookbook: A History of the English Prison and its Food (2010, The History Press)
- Brodie, A. Behind Bars - The Hidden Architecture of England's Prisons (2000, English Heritage)
- Brodie, A., Croom, J. & Davies, J.O. English Prisons: An Architectural History (2002, English Heritage)
- Harding, C., Hines, B., Ireland, R., Rawlings, P. Imprisonment in England and Wales (1985, Croom Helm)
- McConville, Sean A History of English Prison Administration: Volume I 1750-1877 (1981, Routledge & Kegan Paul)
- Morris, N. and Rothman, D.G. (eds.) The Oxfod History of the Prison (1997, OUP)
- Pugh R.B. Imprisonment in Medieval England (1968, CUP)
Links
- 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.