Town Bridewell, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Northumberland

A room for men; another for women. A new building is now added, consisting of six rooms with chimneys. Three of them on the ground-floor, are 17 feet by 12, and arched with brick. In one room, the men, by a machine, beat hemp and flax. The walls of the court not being secure, the prisoners have no access to it. Their allowance is two pence a day, and firing. The keeper is a sergeant at mace. He has no salary, but the profit of the prisoners work, whom I always found employed. The water is brought near the prison. Clauses against spirituous liquors not hung up.

Keeper, Edward Manners, as Deputy to Richard Hill.

Salary, 5l. and the profit of the Prisoners' work.

Chaplain, none. Surgeon, when wanted, sent from the Dispensary.

Number of Prisoners, 1802, Sept. 6th, 10. 1809, Sept. 17th, 18.

Allowance, three-pence a day, and coals.

REMARKS.

Here is a room below for the Keeper; and one adjoining for the Women, whom I found employed in spinning.

In the New Buildings are four rooms with chimnies: three of them on the ground-floor, are 17 feet by 12, and arched with brick. In one room the Men, by a machine, beat hemp and flax; but none of those materials being to be procured when I was there, all the eleven were unemployed. There are two upper rooms; one for the Men, the other for Women.

The walls of the court not being secure, the Prisoners have no access to it; nor is any use made of the five small rooms that occupy it.

Water is laid on to the house by a pipe; but so ill supplied, that the Keeper told me he was frequently obliged to fetch it for his own domestick use.

Neither the Act for preserving the Health of Prisoners, nor the Clauses against Spirituous Liquors, hung up.

A small tread-mill has been lately erected in the yard of this prison. No particular classification, for want of room, is followed; the boys are kept distinct from the men, and the males from the females. There are at present in custody — men, 33; boys, 2; females, 5; total 40. No clergyman attends this prison. Bibles, testaments, prayer books, and religious tracts are furnished for the prisoners. The male prisoners are employed at the tread-mill; the females in picking oakum, and beating sand for the use of the prison, also mending their own clothes, &c. Three-pence a-day is paid to each prisoner for his daily food, which he lays out to the best advantage. Irons are used on very bad characters only. Female prisoners are not under the superintendence of a matron or a female officer. They are employed in knitting, sewing, beating sand, and picking oakum. The keeper much approves of the tread-mill, which he considers as a healthy labour: he has not had a single recommittal since its establishment in this prison. There have been about 1200 committals in the last three year's, principally petty larcenies, assaults, and other misdemeanors, disorderly apprentices and vagrants. Crime is found to be very much on the decrease; it is supposed to be the result of a well-regulated police in this town, and the use of the tread-mill.

A new house of correction is immediately to be built, with proper classification and work-rooms, &c.