19th Century Prison History : 19th Century Prison Search

Kenton Old Jail House

Overview

Location   opposite Old Milestone, South Town  Kenton

County   Devon

Year Opened   unknown

Year Closed   unknown

Century of Operation   1800-1899

Remarks   Now a residential property.

Exterior(c) Ann Bond (Kenton Past & Present Society)

Further information can be found at
https://www.prisonhistory.org/lockup/kenton-old-jail-house/

Descriptions

  • 'Former jail-house, subsequently said to have been used as fire station. Early C19, 1980s interior alteration and reglazing. Main block red sandstone ashlar with grey limestone dressings; end stacks, the left end stack with a stone shaft. The left end block is rendered and probably brick on stone rubble footings. Plan: 2 adjoining blocks, the left hand block slightly set back, the right hand block with a central entrance. Exterior: 2 storeys. Asymmetrical 1:3 bay front, the right hand block symmetrical with a central C20 timber front door with a rectangular fanlight. Ground floor window right, converted from a doorway, with a segmental arch with a rusticated keystone. 2 smaller similar first floor windows and 1 ground floor window left. The left hand block has one ground floor 2-light window and, in the left return, 1 first floor and 2 ground floor windows. All windows reglazed with small pane plastic casements. Interior: Not inspected. . A lock up house was requested in 1844. In 1849 G. Timewell was appointed Superintending Constable at a salary of £25 p.a. (D.R.O.). In spite of the reglazing this is of historic interest as an unusual building type.'
    Historic England, National Heritage List for England, 'The Old Jail House, Kenton', LEN 1097679

  • 'The Jail House was used to lock up mostly drunken farmers when they returned from market and were being troublesome. But the jail was used at some point as an overspill for keeping Italian POWs, possibly during the wars with Napoleonic France (because this use must have been pre-20th century). Deeds for the property start from 1891 with the inheritance of the 13th Earl. Within the deeds, there is a reference to the use of the building as an 'old manorial jail'. Inside the property, there are two windows which have the original grid style bars, but not in the original location - those windows were blocked up when a side extension was built and the bars refitted into newer windows. There are also two original cells, now used as a dining room and as an ante-room. (See images in gallery)'
    Notes from Ann Bond of the Kenton Past and Present Society, based on an interview with an inhabitant of the Jail House

Sources

  • Historic England, National Heritage List for England, 'The Old Jail House, Kenton', LEN 1097679
    https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1097679
  • Historic England, Pastscape, 'The Old Jail House' (includes picture)
    http://www.pastscape.org.uk/hob.aspx?hob_id=1142251