19th Century Prison History : 19th Century Prison Search

Pontefract County Lock-ups

Overview

Location   courthouse, Beast Market  Pontefract

County   Yorkshire

Year Opened   c1820

Year Closed   unknown

Century of Operation   1800-1899

Further information can be found at
https://www.prisonhistory.org/lockup/pontefract-county-lock-ups/

Descriptions

  • 'These lock-ups are under the Sessions-house, and are principally made use of for the detention of prisoners during the sessions. They were clean; but accommodation for the male prisoners is very defective, the cells being dark, ill-ventilated, and quite inappropriate for men about to undergo the ordeal of a public trial.'
    Inspectors of Prisons of Great Britain II. Northern and Eastern District, Eighth Report (Parl. Papers, 1843, XXV. & XXVI.249), p.148

  • 'These lock-ups are under the sessions house. They are dark, damp and deficient in ventilation. To these wretched places are prisoners conveyed to await their trials in the court above, and are frequently detained in them for a night, and sometimes more. They are unfit for the confinement of any description of prisoners, and least of all for those about to undergo the ordeal of a public trial, where the offences and consequences are so serious.'
    Inspectors of Prisons of Great Britain II. Northern and Eastern District, Fourth Report (Parl. Papers, 1839, XXII.1), p.142

Sources

  • Inspectors of Prisons of Great Britain II. Northern and Eastern District, Eighth Report (Parl. Papers, 1843, XXV. & XXVI.249), p.148
  • Inspectors of Prisons of Great Britain II. Northern and Eastern District, Fourth Report (Parl. Papers, 1839, XXII.1), p.142
  • Inspectors of Prisons of Great Britain II. Northern and Eastern District, Second Report (Parl. Papers, 1837, XXXII.499), p.144
  • Inspectors of Prisons of Great Britain II. Northern and Eastern District, Seventh Report (Parl. Papers, 1842, XXI.1), p.41
  • Inspectors of Prisons of Great Britain II. Northern and Eastern District, Sixteenth Report (Parl. Papers, 1851, XXVII.461), p.90
  • Inspectors of Prisons of Great Britain II. Northern and Eastern District, Tenth Report (Parl. Papers, 1845, XXIV.1), p.34