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Ancestry UK

Debtors' Prison, Wellington, Shropshire

From the seventeenth century, From 1828, the hundred (an old county division) of Bradford had a debtors' court and prison. It had originally been located at Bradford Bridge, near High Ercall, but by the 1600s had moved to the market hall in The Square, Wellington, when it was also known as Wellington Court or the King’s Court of Record.

In 1812, James Neild reported:

Gaoler, Edward Tonge, a Sheriff's Officer. No Salary. Fees, 7s. 6d.

No Prisoners, 4th Nov. l802, and 11th Sept. 1803.

Allowance, none, except as Paupers from the Parish.

REMARKS.

This Gaol, for the Hundred of Bradford, is, I am informed, the property of the Earl of Darlington, High Steward of that Liberty. It is for Debtors only, and those of two descriptions, commonly called the High Court and Low Court Prisoners.

The High Court Prisoners are detained for Debts from ten to twenty Pounds : The Low Court Prisoners are detained for Debts, not exceeding forty shillings.

The Gaol consists of five rooms in the Keeper's house, three of which are totally dark. The Gaoler, paying window-tax, has stopped them up. A little loose and dirty straw on the floor for bedding. No court-yard, or water, accessible to the Prisoners. Not white-washed for seven years together. The whole Prison is very nasty, and insecure.

Two Prisoners, who had been here for as many years, were released by the Insolvent Act. What a time is two years so spent!

From 1828, the prison was located at 6 Walker Street, Wellington, a house belonging to the then gaoler Robert Garrett, a carpenter, and which also contained his workshop.

In 1838, the Inspectors of Prisons reported:

In 1672, King Charles II. granted to the Earl of Bradford, and his heirs, power to keep a court of record for the hundred of Bradford; with liberty to determine and try all manner of personal actions not exceeding 20l.; with power also to appoint a gaoler. The Duke of Cleveland is the present lord of the hundred of Bradford. There is also a high steward and a deputy steward; and the Duke of Cleveland, in the year 1828, appointed the present keeper to his office. The keeper is a cabinet-maker by trade, and his work-yard is the only space in which the debtors can take exercise. The keeper enjoys his dwelling free from rent and taxes; he also receives 7s. 6d. from the county rates on the discharge of each debtor, but has no other salary whatever. At the date of my visit, 20th July 1837, I found three men and one woman confined here. The woman was in a room by herself; she has no bedding of her own, and the keeper consequently places her to sleep with his own daughter in another room. There is no provision whatever for the maintenance of the prisoners in any shape, and the overseers of the parishes decline to supply any support; the female prisoner in question being entirely destitute of any resources of her own, is obliged to depend for her sustenance on casual donations. Since neither food nor bedding, nor coals nor clothing are provided here, it appears that even the keeper himself sometimes assists prisoners out of his own pocket. The whole building is insecure in the highest degree. Since the 18th of August 1826, 108 prisoners have been admitted, of whom 3 have been women. Two of the male prisoners were sleeping in one bed, because one of them had no bedding. The whole gaol is in bad repair.

Suggestions towards Improvement.

I have communicated my observations on the state of this gaol to the Duke of Cleveland, and have intimated to his grace that it would be extremely desirable that some individual appointed by him should have the means of affording relief in cases of utter destitution. I have also stated to him the expediency 6f setting apart two yards, one for male prisoners and the other for females, with a privy in each.

By 1840, Garrett was receiving an annual salary of £8 instead of a fee for the discharge of each prisoner.

The gaol was closed in around 1845 following the abolition of imprisonment for debts of less than £20. In 1851, the Bradford Hundred's courthouse in Walker Street was sold and converted into a police station and county lock-up house. In more recent times, a TSB bank has occupied the site.

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.