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Freckleton Cage

Overview

Location   Preston Road (now Preston Old Road),  Freckleton

County   Lancashire

Year Opened   unknown

Year Closed   unknown

Century of Operation   1700-1799, 1800-1899

Remarks   A building in Freckleton was locally known as 'The Cage' in the 20th century. It is not known when it was erected or converted, or first used as a lock-up. The establishment of an Association for the Prosecution of Felons in Freckleton in 1754 might have led to the establishment of a lock-up (see Peter Shakeshaft's 'History of Freckleton' for more information on the Association) - but it is unclear whether that would have been this lock-up, or another on Kirkham Road visited by the Inspector of Prisons in 1847 (https://www.prisonhistory.org/lockup/freckleton-lock-up-house/). The Inspector of Prisons found the lock-up house to be unfit for purpose, and did not record the existence of another facility in the village. This suggests that The Cage might have replaced the lock-up on Kirkham Road, especially as this building outlived the other. It was still locally known as 'The Cage' in 1986, on the eve of its demolition. (Another building has since been erected on the site). Village residents have recorded their memories of the building and its use as a lock-up (the latter post-dating the Kirkham Road lock-up).

Freckleton Cage, exterior, just before its demolition in 1986From Peter Shakeshaft, A History of Freckleton (Lancaster, Carnegie Publishing, 2001), © Peter Shakeshaft (with kind permission)

Further information can be found at
https://www.prisonhistory.org/lockup/freckleton-cage/

Description

  • 'Historian Peter Shakeshaft cites a booklet about the village produced in c1973 which included memories from a village councillor. He claimed that the building 'was always known by our oldest inhabitants as the "cage" - it was the house of correction where those arrested for minor offences were kept'. More significantly, he added that a former resident (whose other recollections I have found to be very reliable) recalled that his mother (1842-1922), who lived opposite the Cage, ‘often went in the dark to push food through a wire-netting aperture that gave a little air and less [sic] light to the prisoners.’ When the building was demolished in 1986, it was found to be constructed of wattle and daub.'
    Peter Shakeshaft, The History of Freckleton (Lancaster, Carnegie Publishing, 2001)

Sources

  • Peter Shakeshaft, The History of Freckleton (Lancaster, Carnegie Publishing, 2001)