Town Gaol, Walsall, Staffordshire
Walsall had a Town Gaol by the seventeenth century and was located beneath the town hall on the High Street, Walsall. Offenders were confined for only a night or two, before they were brought before a magistrate. Debtors were also housed in the one of the rooms which had a fireplace and could receive gifts from friends via the windows. When prison reformer John Howard visited the gaol in 1783, there were no prisoners.
In 1812, James Neild wrote:
Gaoler, William Mason. No Salary. Fees, 3s. 4d. and 2s. to the Town-Clerk.
1802, Nov. 2d, no Prisoners.
Allowance, to Debtors and Felons, twopence per day.
REMARKS.
This Prison consists of two rooms under the Town-Hall: that for Debtors has a fire-place: it is down five steps, and has an iron-grated window to the Street, but not being glazed, and having no inside shutters, it is extremely cold; and there is straw only, on the damp brick floor, to sleep upon. A door opens out of this room into a dark Dungeon for Felons, about 9 feet square.
Adjoining to the Debtors' room is one for Felons, with an iron-grated window towards the Street, and two dark Dungeons, with straw to sleep on.
No court! No sewer! No water! The Beadle told me he brought it to the grating for the Prisoners. Those for petty offences remain here till the Quarter Sessions. No Debtors are confined here for less than ten pounds.
In 1815, the gaol was rebuilt, though remaining in the basement of the town hall. A house was also erected for the gaoler, for whom a salary replaced the fees that had previously provided his income. A report in 1835 recorded:
The borough Gaol is situated under the town hall, below the level of the street. It Gaol, consists of six cells, inclosing a small yard of very insufficient dimensions. This establishment is altogether of an unsatisfactory character: no classification beyond the separation of men from women can be effected; neither is it possible to separate prisoners committed for trial from those under sentence after conviction. There is not sufficient space for air or necessary exercise. There are three fire-places in the gaol, but the cells are frequently very damp; so much so, that the moisture trickles down the. walls. The prison allowance is limited to bread and water. The magistrates do not visit the gaol regularly; sometimes an interval of six months or even more is suffered to elapse without any visitation being made. It was stated by the gaoler, that he had never known the magistrates to visit the gaol during the winter months.
The mayor has the custody of the gaol. He appoints a deputy gaoler, usually one of the serjeants-at-mace, who receives as such, a salary of 12l. 10s. a year.
In 1837, the Inspectors of Prisons reported:
Prisoners when fully committed, and after sentence, are sent to the County Gaol at Stafford. As many as 98 Prisoners, however, were committed to this Borough Prison in 1835. The greatest number of Prisoners at one time in custody in that year was 13 Men and three Women. The longest periods of detention have been three months.
The Prison is very insecure, and very unjustifiable means are resorted to, to prevent escapes. A few days before our visit, a lad of 17, confined for a breach of agreement with his master, had, after having been excited by Ale given to him by his fellow-prisoners, succeeded in getting out, but was retaken. To prevent a further attempt, he was chained down to his bed in the situation in which we found him three days afterwards. The Cells are dark, damp, and unventilated. There is no female Officer.
The Magistrates have determined to erect a Prison, and have fixed on an excellent Site.
The proposal for a new prison did not come to fruition and from 1837, prisoners from Walsall were sent to the county gaol in Stafford. In 1843, the Walsall Gaol was replaced by a lock-up in the police station on Goodall Street.
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.
- Staffordshire Record Office, Eastgate Street, Stafford, ST16 2LZ. Very few records relating to the gaol survive.
- 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
- Standley, A.J. "The Walsall House of Correction 1617-1940", in Staffordshire History, 22, 1995, pp. 1-17.
- Higginbotham, Peter The Prison Cookbook: A History of the English Prison and its Food (2010, The History Press)
- Brodie, A. Behind Bars - The Hidden Architecture of England's Prisons (2000, English Heritage)
- Brodie, A., Croom, J. & Davies, J.O. English Prisons: An Architectural History (2002, English Heritage)
- Harding, C., Hines, B., Ireland, R., Rawlings, P. Imprisonment in England and Wales (1985, Croom Helm)
- McConville, Sean A History of English Prison Administration: Volume I 1750-1877 (1981, Routledge & Kegan Paul)
- Morris, N. and Rothman, D.G. (eds.) The Oxfod History of the Prison (1997, OUP)
- Pugh R.B. Imprisonment in Medieval England (1968, CUP)
Links
- 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.