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Ancestry UK

Lock-up House and Police Station, South Molton, Devon

In 1837, the Inspectors of Prisons reported that South Molton had a Lock-up House and Police Station, close to the borough gaol on East Street:

This is a very inconvenient building, closely contiguous to the gaol. It comprises a room for taking charges, and two cells built of wood, lined with sheet iron; exceedingly cold and damp, situate in a yard so ill drained that water lies upon the stones. There are no means of warming the cells, which, from this deficiency, as well as from the dampness of the locality, cannot be used without danger to the health of persons confined in them. Their close contiguity too would enable persons confined in them to converse freely, neither would the means of communication with the prisoners from without be more difficult, inasmuch as the window of an adjoining tenement, used as a bakehouse, opens into the yard close to the cells, by which any persons obtaining access to the former might converse freely with prisoners in the latter.

The total number of prisoners confined in these cells during the two years ending October, 1850, amounted to 55 males and 18 females. Of these some were detained two days, and the Remand cases are generally sent to the gaol.

Should my recommendation with reference to the gaol be adopted, any repairs or alterations of the lock-up house would be unnecessary, as the present gaol might be devoted to that purpose. Should that change, however, from any cause be delayed, it will be necessary that the lock-up house should be improved without delay

Although improvements were subsequently made to the lock-up, it appears to have ceased operation by around its role transferred to the borough gaol.

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.

  • No individual records identified for this establishment — any information welcome.
  • 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

  • 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.