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Ancestry UK

Borough Gaol and Lock-up House, East Looe, Cornwall

The East Looe Town Gaol or Lock-up, (also known as the 'Dark House') may have existed as early as the fifteenth century as part of East Looe's Old Guildhall on Higher Market Street, East Looe.

In 1835, it was described as follows:

The Gaol consists of an outer room, with three small cells, two of which are boarded; they are ill ventilated, and unfit for the reception of prisoners for any length of time. There is no yard. The gaol is seldom used except in cases of imprisonment for examination, or until fines imposed by the magistrates are paid.

The Old Guildhall building now houses a museum, in which the old prison cells can be viewed.

Records

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Bibliography

Except where indicated, this page () © Peter Higginbotham. Contents may not be reproduced without permission.