Town/Borough Gaol, Northampton, Northamptonshire

Gaoler, Robert Roberts. A Sheriff's Officer, and Bellman of the Town. Salary, 10l.

Fees, for Debtors, 10s. 6d. on Commitment, and 13s. 4d. on Discharge. But if too poor to pay the Fees, they are humanely settled by the Corporation. For Felons, 13s. 4d.paid by the corporation. No table.

Chaplain, none.

Surgeon, Mr. Blissard; who makes a Bill.

Number of Prisoners,

Allowance, to Debtors, none. To Felons and Bridewell Prisoners, fourpence a day each.

REMARKS.

This Prison is situate in Fish Lane, and was built in 1792. The Keeper is a Tobacco-Pipe Maker. His house fronts the Street, and his windows command a view of the two court-yards for Criminal Prisoners, which are both 21 feet by 18, with cisterns for pump water, and a sewer in each.

Debtors are sent hither by Process issuing out of the Borough Court. They have no court-yard, but are sometimes indulged by the Keeper with the use of his garden. The single Debtor was walking in it, when I came hither in 1808.

The Bridewell Room is 15 feet by 7; and the Keeper furnishes beds at one shilling per week each, two sleeping in a bed.

Debtors and Criminals are here very properly placed, so as to be kept separate. The former, deprived of a court-yard, have only one room above stairs, of 14 feet by 11, and 9 feet high, adjoining to the Bridewell part: these have both fire-places, two iron-grated windows in each, and a sewer in the corners.

Poor Debtors are allowed by the Town a wooden bedstead, with straw laid on it, and one blanket.

Each of the Felons' court-yards before mentioned has two cells attached to it, of 10 feet by 7, and 9 feet high; which are fitted up with wooden bedsteads, loose straw, and a blanket for each Prisoner. They are lighted and ventilated by an iron-grated window over the doors, 3 feet high, 18 inches wide; and by a grated aperture in each door, of 6 inches by 5.

The Bridewell Prisoners have but the one room above noticed; which is nearly of the same size with that for the Debtors, and fitted up in the same manner.

Here is no Infirmary, or Sick Room. The Gaol is white-washed once a year. As mops, brooms brooms,, or or pails are not allowed to keep it clean, it can be no wonder that the cells are extremely offensive, being in want of proper drains.

Divine Service, heretofore, was occasionally and gratuitously performed by the Rev. John Stoddart; but that Gentleman falling blind, no religious attentions whatever have been paid to the poor Prisoners for several years.

The Keeper does not remember that any Debtor here has ever received the Benefit of the Lords' Act (or Sixpences) during the nine or ten years of his being in Office.

No Employment is provided; but those Prisoners who are of handicraft trades may procure work for themselves, if they can. No water accessible to the Debtors or Bridewell Class: it must be brought to them.

Prisoners are discharged from hence at all hours, without money being given to carry them home.

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

...no longer exists as such, and is only continued at present as a lock-up house for night charges. The prisoners from the borough are committed to the county gaol and house of correction, at a fixed contract of 1s. daily per head. An agreement to this effect has been entered into between the county magistrates and the borough magistrates; but it has been made for the term of one year only, in order that both parties may have an opportunity of testing the results, and of reconsidering the arrangement.

This Prison, being a common gaol, house of correction, bridewell, and debtor's prison, containing 69 cells, which have been certified as fit for the reception of criminal prisoners in separate confinement, 20 airing yards for male, and 6 airing yards for female prisoners, with reception and punishment cells, stands upon nearly two acres of ground, within a boundary wall 18 feet high, on a piece of elevated land adjoining the town, and has all the indications of being well drained and healthy. The plan is of the same character as that of Pentonville Prison, and the cells, in two tiers, are similar in form and construction, being 13 ft. long, 7 ft. wide, and 10 ft. high, opening in the first tier upon a spacious corridor, and in the second tier upon a light iron gallery; they are lighted with gas, and otherwise fitted with all conveniences as in the Model Prison; the punishment cells, baths, reception cells, cells with cranks for raising water to the cisterns, kitchen, laundry, drying-room, and store-rooms, occupying the basement story. The ventilation is to all appearance good, and the warming apparatus effective. At the time of inspection, some of the bricks in the cells shelved a slight degree of damp, by throwing out saltpetre on the walls, but they were in course of removal, and being replaced with others. The chapel contains 80 sittings, and is fitted up as at the Model Prison.

When I visited the prison, it. contained the following male criminal prisoners: (no debtors were then in the gaol.)—

The female prisoners, all convicted, 4 in number, were employed in knitting, mending, darning, and washing the prison linen. Their cells, eight of which are boarded, are fitted as at Pentonville; and are supplied each with hammock, coir mattress, bed, two blankets, and a rug, but no sheets. If ill the females are put into cells with wooden bedsteads, but there is no infirmary, either for the male or female prisoners, the sick being treated in their respective cells. There are three laundry cells, with troughs for washing, in the basement story; and here it must be remarked, that a conversation can be maintained between a female in the washing cell and a person in the kitchen, without much difficulty if the windows are open, though they cannot easily see each other; but this defect may be remedied by an inexpensive alteration in the arrangement of the kitchen window. There are two punishment cells for the females, one light and the other dark; though neither have as yet been made use of. No female warder sleeps in the prison, but as every,cell is fitted with a bell, which when rung is distinctly heard on the other side of the partition wall by the male warder, who can at once communicate by means of his bell with the matron, the presence of one is hardly necessary, especially as ten appears to have been the greatest number of female prisoners ever in confinement at one time. In the women's cells the thermometer stood at 53°.

I found the prison clean and orderly, and in a state creditable to the Visiting Justices and to the Governor.

The Surgeon visits the prison daily; he had but one prisoner on the sick list at the time of my inspection,—a man, untried, laid up with a sore leg. The clothing of the prisoners was sufficient, and the provisions were good. The diet is that recommended from the Home Office.

The Governor stated that the health of the prisoners usually improves as they get regular and wholesome food, and are kept from drinking,—the cause of most of the offences for which I found the prisoners here, both male and female, were confined.

Subsequently to my inspection, the Borough hare entered into an arrangement to place at the disposal of the Government 20 cells, furnished, for the accommodation of prisoners under sentence of transportation; and to augment the staff of the prison, to meet the circumstances of the increased numbers. The basis of the arrangement is the same as that agreed upon with respect to the prison at Reading: viz., a rent of £6 per annum for each furnished cell, the Borough bearing such expenses as might be deemed analogous to those which in ordinary circumstances would be borne by an individual letting furnished lodgings; and the Government paying in addition, an equitable share, in respect of the whole number of prisoners confined, of the cost of the transports' maintenance and management; the prison officers being named by the Magistrates, with the approbation of the Secretary of State, and the Visiting Justices exercising control equally over all prisoners. The Prison staff has therefore been raised to the following strength,—a Governor; a Chaplain, who shall devote one half of every day to the duties of the gaol; a Trades-Instructor; a School-master; 3 Warders; and a Night Watchman; and this staff it may be hoped, will be found sufficient; if not the Magistrates are prepared to augment it still further. They have also commenced making alterations in the gaol, which will give additional accommodation to the extent of about 20 cells, for transports; and as these alterations will be soon perfected, 35 cells in all will very shortly be placed at the disposal of the Government.

From what I saw in this prison, I was more than usually struck with the power of drink as a cause of crime. Almost every prisoner, male and female, acknowledged that to drinking their being confined in the gaol could be traced. I found the following strong case:—A.—B. charged with embezzling leather from his employer, and imprisoned previously for the like offence, said that he could make 9 pairs of shoes in a week, earning from 3s. to 4s. per day, but though he had a wife and three children (in the workhouse during the time he was in gaol), he could not refrain from drinking, and that he had frequently paid to his employer 4s. and 5s. in the week, to prevent him from "pulling him up" for the leather which he had taken. He had often sold or pawned for 4s. leather of the value of 10s., and he was in the habit of doing this when he had begun a course of drinking. He was not addicted to "tippling," generally, but at times he would break into uncontrollable excesses, and on those occasions he never became perfectly sober until after he had converted into spirituous liquor every article within his reach upon which money could be raised; and the last time he was brought to prison, he had upon him neither coat, shirt, nor shoes, and was more like a madman than a reasonable being. This prisoner said that it was the same way with many of the workmen, who were seldom out of employment except for their own faults, earned wages which would keep them well, and spent most of their money in the beer shops.

The following is an instance of what little effect a short imprisonment has upon a youth:— C.—D. aged 18, confined at the time of inspection for leaving the Union Workhouse, having been imprisoned five times before. The first offence was running away from his master, for which he was imprisoned three days; the second was absconding with his union clothing, for which he was imprisoned three weeks; the third was stealing apples, six weeks imprisonment; fourth, also stealing apples, two months imprisonment; fifth, stealing tobacco, sentence, seven years transportation, but commuted to six months imprisonment, spent at Parkhurst. He was now in gaol for the sixth time. For his earlier offences a sound whipping would have probably proved a better corrective than a short imprisonment. To the latter sort of punishment he had now become accustomed and it had lost its terrors.

The following report made by the Chaplain is very interesting:—