Debtors' Prison, Nantwich, Cheshire
A Debtors Prison was opened in Nantwich by 1779. It occupied a site on Pillory Street, Nantwich.
In 1780, John Howard recorded that:
This prison for the Manor or Barony of Wich-Malbank, otherwise Nantwich, is the property of the Earl of Cholmondeley. It consists of
two or three rooms in the keeper's public house.
1779, Aug. 28, Prisoners 2.
1779, Aug. 28, Prisoners 2.
In 1812, James Neild reported that it:
consists of four rooms in the Keeper's house, with a work-shop. The court-yard here is insecure, but has a
pump in it of excellent water. At my visit on the 30th of October l802, here were
three Lunaticks; one of them, a poor Woman, frantick, and chained to her bed!
On the 29th of October 1805, I found two Lunaticks.
The Keeper informed me that no Debtor had been confined here these twenty years.
The prison appears to have closed by 1818.
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.
- Cheshire Archives and Local Studies, Cheshire Record Office, Duke Street, Chester, Cheshire CH1 1RL.
- 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.
