The material below is taken from the web page Unless otherwise indicated, content is copyright Peter Higginbotham and may not be re-published without permission.
Ancestry UK

Debtors' Prison, Penryn, Cornwall

The Penryn Debtors' Prison, also known as the Manor Prison, occupied the former St Leonard's Chapel — part of a building at the bottom of Hill Head, Penryn, the property of the Earl of Godolphin.

In 1784, John Howard described it thus:

One room 13 feet by 12½, and 6½ high: window 2 feet by 1 foot 4 inches. Keeper now pays rent, £12 : 12 : 0. Fees, 13s. 4d. no table. Licence for beer. Clauses against spirituous liquors not hung up: instead of which, here, as at some other prisons, and even county-gaolers houses, on the outside, is written, Spirituous liquors sold here.

1775, Dec. 19, Prisoners 0. 1782, Feb. 6, Prisoner 1.

In 1812, James Neild recorded:

The Prison for Debtors, formerly St. Leonard's Chapel, I found was let out in tenements; and no Debtor had been confined there for ten years past.

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.

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.