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Ancestry UK

County Debtors' Prison, Bodmin, Cornwall

A Debtors' Prison was opened in 1749 at what is now 16 Crockwell Street, Bodmin. It was also known as the Sheriff's Ward. In 1777, John Howard recorded that:

This Prison, for which the Sheriff pays £20 a year, is out of repair. A spacious back-yard; with a stream running through it. The Keeper pays Window-tax £3:7:0, and I saw aome windows were stopped up. He said he had been Keeper above twenty years; and during the whole time had but four Prisoners who obtained from their Creditors the allowance commonly called the Groats.

The building had a hole in its wall through which food could be passed in to the inmates by relatives and friends or other sympathisers.

The prison closed in 1779, when a new County Gaol and Bridewell were opened in the town. The Hole in Wall pub now occpies the site.

Records

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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.