Cambridge County Gaol and House of Correction

Overview

Details

Records

Overview

Alternative Names   Cambridge Castle County Gaol and Bridewell, Cambridge County Gaol, Chesterton County Gaol and House of Correction, Cambridge Prison, HMP Cambridge

Prison Type   Local Prison -  Common Gaol & House of Correction/Bridewell

Jurisdiction   County

Date opened   14th century [1804]

Date closed   post 1900 (1915)

Location   built in centre of old castle yard, Castle Hill, Castle Street   Cambridge

Map location   exact or closely approximate

County   Cambridgeshire

Critical Remarks

The use of the castle as a gaol dates from the 14th century, but the county gaol was rebuilt around 1804 (the sources dispute the exact date). From early 1850s, all county female prisoners sent to Cambridge Borough Gaol (ID 336).

Prison Info

Alternative Names   Cambridge Castle County Gaol and Bridewell, Cambridge County Gaol, Chesterton County Gaol and House of Correction, Cambridge Prison, HMP Cambridge

Prison Type   Local Prison

Jurisdiction   County

Date opened   14th century [1804]

Date closed   post 1900 (1915)

Location   built in centre of old castle yard, Castle Hill, Castle Street   Cambridge

Map location   exact or closely approximate
Lat.   52.2128249  Long.   0.1120384

County   Cambridgeshire

Image Attribution   ©Rosalind Crone, 2018

Critical Remarks

The use of the castle as a gaol dates from the 14th century, but the county gaol was rebuilt around 1804 (the sources dispute the exact date). From early 1850s, all county female prisoners sent to Cambridge Borough Gaol (ID 336).

Prisoner Statistics

 

Year 1818

Annual Committed   -   235

Daily Greatest number   -   66

 

Year 1823

Annual Committed   -   281

Daily Census   -   319

 

Year 1828

Annual Committed   -   315

Daily Census   -   53

 

Year 1833

Annual Committed   -   375

Daily Census   -   78

 

Year 1838

Annual Confined   -   442

Daily Census   -   58

 

Year 1843

Annual Confined   -   466

Daily Census   -   67

 

Year 1848

Annual Confined   -   485

Daily Daily average   -   66

 

Year 1853

Annual Confined   -   472

Daily Daily average   -   22

 

Year 1858

Annual Committed   -   229

Daily Daily average   -   42

 

Year 1863

Annual Committed   -   279

Daily Greatest number   -   62

 

Year 1868

Annual Committed   -   303

Daily Daily average   -   39

 

Year 1873

Annual Committed   -   265

Daily Daily average   -   35

 

Year 1878

Annual Committed   -   508

Daily Daily average   -   92

 

Year 1883

Annual Committed   -   505

Daily Daily average   -   71

 

Year 1888

Annual Committed   -   1058

Daily Daily average   -   101

 

Year 1893

Annual Committed   -   903

Daily   -  

 

Year 1898

Annual Committed   -   758

Daily   -  

Principal Primary Sources

  • James Neild, The State of the Prisons of England, Scotland and Wales (London, 1812), p.95
  • Account of Gaols, Houses of Correction or Penitentiaries in the United Kingdom, 1818 (Parl. Papers, 1819, XVII.371), p.4
  • The Third Report of the Committee of the Society for the Improvement of Prison Discipline and for the Reformation of Juvenile Offenders (London, 1821), Appendix, p.5; Fourth Report of the Committee of the Society for the Improvement of Prison Discipline and for the Reformation of Juvenile Offenders (London, 1822), Appendix, p.5; Fifth Report of the Committee of the Society for the Improvement of Prison Discipline and for the Reformation of Juvenile Offenders (London, 1823), Appendix, p.7; Sixth Report of the Committee of the Society for the Improvement of Prison Discipline and for the Reformation of Juvenile Offenders (London, 1824), Appendix, p.8; Seventh Report of the Committee of the Society for the Improvement of Prison Discipline and for the Reformation of Juvenile Offenders (London, 1827), Appendix, p.8; Eighth Report of the Committee of the Society for the Improvement of Prison Discipline and for the Reformation of Juvenile Offenders (London, 1832), Appendix, p.3
  • Reports and Schedules Pursuant to Gaol Acts (Parl. Papers, 1824, XIX.359), p.30; Reports and Schedules Pursuant to Gaol Acts (Parl. Papers, 1825, XXIII.1), p.26; Reports and Schedules Pursuant to Gaol Acts (Parl. Papers, 1826, XXIV.1), p.26; Reports and Schedules Pursuant to Gaol Acts (Parl. Papers, 1826-27, XIX.365), p.24; Reports and Schedules Pursuant to Gaol Acts (Parl. Papers, 1828, XX.327), p.27; Reports and Schedules Pursuant to Gaol Acts (Parl. Papers, 1829, XIX.1), p.25; Reports and Schedules Pursuant To Gaol Acts (Parl. Papers, 1830, XXIV.1), p.24; Reports and Schedules Pursuant to Gaol Acts (Parl. Papers, 1830-31, XII.1), p.24; Reports and Schedules Pursuant to Gaol Acts (Parl. Papers, 1831-32. XXXIII.197), p.24; Reports and Schedules Pursuant to Gaol Acts (Parl. Papers, 1833, XXVIII.1), p.26; Reports and Schedules Pursuant to Gaol Acts (Parl. Papers, 1834, XLVI.1), p.24; Reports and Schedules Pursuant to Gaol Acts (Parl. Papers, 1835, XLIV.225), p.28; Reports and Schedules Pursuant to Gaol Acts (Parl. Papers, 1836, XLII.1), p.17; Reports and Schedules Pursuant to Gaol Acts (Parl. Papers, 1837, XLV.1), p.20; Reports and Schedules Pursuant to Gaol Acts (Parl. Papers, 1837-8, XLIII.227), p.18; Reports and Schedules Pursuant to Gaol Acts (Parl. Papers, 1839, XXXVIII.17), p.16; Reports Pursuant to Gaol Acts (Parl. Papers, 1840, XXXVIII.1), p.17; Reports and Schedules Pursuant to Gaol Acts (Parl. Papers, 1841, XVIII.1), p.20; Reports and Schedules Pursuant to Gaol Acts (Parl. Papers, 1842, XXXII.1), p.20; Reports and Schedules Pursuant to Gaol Acts (Parl. Papers, 1843, XLIII.1), p.26; Reports and Schedules Pursuant to Gaol Acts (Parl. Papers, 1844, XXXIX.403), p.22; Reports and Schedules Pursuant to Gaol Acts (Parl. Papers, 1845, XXXVII.417), p.21; Reports and Schedules Pursuant to Gaol Acts (Parl. Papers, 1846, XXXIV.187), p.24; Reports and Schedules Pursuant to Gaol Acts (Parl. Papers, 1847, XLVII.297), p.27; Reports and Schedules Pursuant to Gaol Acts (Parl. Papers, 1847-48, LII.465), p.28
  • Abstract Return of Establishment and Expenditure of Gaols and Houses of Correction in England and Wales (Parl. Papers, 1840, XXXVIII.241), p.4
  • Inspectors of Prisons of Great Britain II. Northern and Eastern District. First Report (Parl. Papers, 1836, XXXV.161), p.5; Inspectors of Prisons of Great Britain II. Northern and Eastern, Third Report (Parl. Papers, 1837-38, XXXI.1), p.160; Inspectors of Prisons of Great Britain II. Northern and Eastern District, Fifth Report (Parl. Papers, 1840, XXV.565), p.70; Inspectors of Prisons of Great Britain II. Northern and Eastern District, Seventh Report (Parl. Papers, 1842, XXI.1), p.166; Inspectors of Prisons of Great Britain II. Northern and Eastern District, Ninth Report (Parl. Papers, 1844, XXIX.227), p.17; Inspectors of Prisons of Great Britain II. Northern and Eastern District, Eleventh Report (Parl. Papers, 1846, XXI.483), p.3; Inspectors of Prisons of Great Britain II. Midland and Eastern District, Thirteenth Report (Parl. Papers, 1847-8, XXXVI.1), p.18; Inspectors of Prisons of Great Britain II. Northern and Eastern District, Fifteenth Report (Parl. Papers, 1850, XXVIII.291), p.205; Inspectors of Prisons of Great Britain II. Northern and Eastern District, Sixteenth Report (Parl. Papers, 1851, XXVII.461), p.133; Inspectors of Prisons of Great Britain II. Northern and Eastern District, Seventeenth Report (Parl. Papers, 1852-53, LII.1), p.7; Inspectors of Prisons of Great Britain II. Northern and Eastern District, Eighteenth Report (Parl. Papers, 1856, XXXIII.1), p.7; Inspectors of Prisons of Great Britain II. Northern and Eastern District, Nineteenth Report (Parl. Papers, 1856, XXXIII.385), p.7; Inspectors of Prisons of Great Britain II. Northern and Eastern District, Twenty-first Report (Parl. Papers, 1857, Session 2, XXIII.1), p.7; Inspectors of Prisons of Great Britain II. Northern and Eastern District, Twenty-second Report (Parl. Papers, 1857-58, XXIX.1), p.7; Inspectors of Prisons of Great Britain II. Midland District, Twenty-third Report (Parl. Papers, 1859, Session 1, XI.1), p.14; Inspectors of Prisons of Great Britain II. Midland District, Twenty-fifth Report (Parl. Papers, 1860, XXXV.229), p.13; Inspectors of Prisons of Great Britain II. Midland District, Twenty-sixth Report (Parl. Papers, 1861, XXIX.45), p.13; Inspectors of Prisons of Great Britain II. Midland District, Twenty-seventh Report (Parl. Papers, 1862, XXV.93), p.13; Inspectors of Prisons of Great Britain I. Southern District, Twenty-eighth Report (Parl. Papers, 1863, XXIII.1), p.16; Inspectors of Prisons of Great Britain I. Southern District, Thirtieth Report (Parl. Papers, 1865, XXIII.1), p.30; Inspectors of Prisons of Great Britain I. Southern District, Thirty-first Report (Parl. Papers, 1866, XXXVII.1), p.26; Inspectors of Prisons of Great Britain I. Southern District, Thirty-second Report (Parl. Papers, 1867-68, XXXIV.203), p.31; Inspectors of Prisons of Great Britain I. Southern District, Thirty-third Report (Parl. Papers, 1868-69, XXIX.1), p.17; Inspectors of Prisons of Great Britain I. Southern District, Thirty-fourth Report (Parl. Papers, 1870, XXXVII.1), p.16; Inspectors of Prisons of Great Britain I. Southern District, Thirty-fifth Report (Parl. Papers, 1871, XXIX.241), p.16; Inspectors of Prisons of Great Britain I. Southern District, Thirty-sixth Report (Parl. Papers, 1872, XXXI.1), p.12; Inspectors of Prisons of Great Britain I. Southern District, Thirty-seventh Report (Parl. Papers, 1873, XXXII.1), p.22; Inspectors of Prisons of Great Britain I. Southern District, Thirty-eighth Report (Parl. Papers, 1874, XXIX.1), p.26; Inspectors of Prisons of Great Britain I. Southern District, Thirty-ninth Report (Parl. Papers, 1875, XXXVII.1), p.30; Inspectors of Prisons of Great Britain I. Southern District, Fortieth Report (Parl. Papers, 1876, XXXV.1), p.30; Inspectors of Prisons of Great Britain I. Southern District, Forty-first Report (Parl. Papers, 1877, XLIII.1), p.31; Inspectors of Prisons of Great Britain I. Southern District, Forty-second Report (Parl. Papers, 1878, XLI.1), p.31
  • Commissioners of Prisons, Second Annual Report (Parl. Papers, 1878-79, XXXIV.1, 97), p.8; Commissioners of Prisons, Third Annual Report (Parl. Papers, 1880, XXXV.1,73), p.8; Commissioners of Prisons, Fourth Annual Report (Parl. Papers, 1881, LI.441, 521), p.11; Commissioners of Prisons, Fifth Annual Report (Parl. Papers, 1882, XXXIII.443, 541), p.12; Commissioners of Prisons, Sixth Annual Report (Parl. Papers, 1883, XXXI.445, 579), p.14; Commissioners of Prisons, Seventh Annual Report (Parl. Papers, 1884, XLII.461, 551), p.12; Commissioners of Prisons, Eighth Annual Report (Parl. Papers, 1884-85, XXXVII.527, 651), p.13; Commissioners of Prisons, Ninth Annual Report (Parl. Papers, 1886, XXXV.1, 93), p.14; Commissioners of Prisons, Tenth Annual Report (Parl. Papers, 1887, XLI.203, 335), p.13; Commissioners of Prisons, Eleventh Annual Report (Parl. Papers, 1888, LVIII.1, 209), p.13; Commissioners of Prisons, Twelfth Annual Report (Parl. Papers, 1889, XLI.1, 181), p.13; Commissioners of Prisons, Thirteenth Annual Report (Parl. Papers, 1890, XXXVII.1, 183), p.13; Commissioners of Prisons, Fourteenth Annual Report (Parl. Papers, 1890-91, XLIII.1, 125), p.12; Commissioners of Prisons, Fifteenth Annual Report (Parl. Papers, 1892, XLII.1, 147), p.11; Commissioners of Prisons, Sixteenth Annual Report (Parl. Papers, 1893-94, XLVII.1, 121), p.11; Commissioners of Prisons, Seventeenth Annual Report (Parl. Papers, 1894, XLIV.1, 183), p.11; Commissioners of Prisons, Eighteenth Annual Report (Parl. Papers, 1895, LVI.727, 865), p.11
  • Report of Coms. of Prisons and Directors of Convict Prisons, 1895-96 (Parl. Papers, 1896, XLIV.235), p.33; Report of Coms. of Prisons and Directors of Convict Prisons, 1896-97 (Parl. Papers, 1897, XL.105), p.167; Report of Coms. of Prisons and Directors of Convict Prisons, 1897-98 (Parl. Papers, 1898, XLVII.23), p.186; Report of Coms. of Prisons and Directors of Convict Prisons, 1898-99 (Parl. Papers, 1899, XLIII.65), p.174; Report of Coms. of Prisons and Directors of Convict Prisons, 1899-1900 (Parl. Papers, 1900, XLI.1), p.204

Secondary Sources

  • http://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/directory_record/4182/prisons

Management

Archive name: Cambridgeshire Archives

Catalogue ref: Q/SO/10-29

Collection: Cambridgeshire Quarter Sessions

Description: Quarter Sessions order books (likely to contain material relating to the administration of the county gaol)

Dates: 1796-1898


Archive name: Cambridgeshire Archives

Catalogue ref: QS1/8-31

Collection: Cambridgeshire Quarter Sessions

Description: Quarter Sessions minute books (likely to contain material relating to the administration of the county gaol)

Dates: 1799-1893


Archive name: Cambridgeshire Archives

Catalogue ref: QS2A/box 9-60

Collection: Cambridgeshire Quarter Sessions

Description: Quarter Sessions Rolls (contents may include information on prison dietaries)

Dates: 1802-1899


Staff

Archive name: Cambridgeshire Archives

Catalogue ref: 1271/O4

Collection: Cambridge Prison and Cambridge Town Gaol

Description: Cambridge Prison, register of prison officers

Dates: 1897-1916


Archive name: Cambridgeshire Archives

Catalogue ref: CB/2/CL/17/13/Page 53

Collection: Cambridge City

Description: Agreement to a pension for Gate Keeper of Cambridge Prison

Dates: 1882


Archive name: Cambridgeshire Archives

Catalogue ref: CB/2/CL/7/9/64

Collection: Cambridge City

Description: Papers relating to superannuation for Thomas William Sexton, Gatekeeper of HM Prison, Cambridge

Dates: 1882


Archive name: Cambridgeshire Archives

Catalogue ref: QS/Box103/3

Collection: Cambridgeshire Quarter Sessions

Description: List of 40 applications for office of Keeper of House of Correction, Cambridgeshire

Dates: 1868-1893


Prisoners

Archive name: Cambridgeshire Archives

Catalogue ref: 1271/O1/1-11

Collection: Cambridge Prison and Cambridge Town Gaol

Description: Cambridge Prison, nominal registers

Dates: 1885-1916


Archive name: The National Archives

Catalogue ref: PCOM2/292

Collection: Prison Commission

Description: Chesterton Gaol, Cambridgeshire: register of felons (prisoners)

Dates: 1844-1857


Archive name: The National Archives

Catalogue ref: PCOM2/300

Collection: Prison Commission

Description: Cambridge Gaol, Cambridgeshire: Habitual Criminals Register, 5 July 1875 - 31 March 1877

Dates: 1875-1877


Archive name: Cambridgeshire Archives

Catalogue ref: 1271/O2

Collection: Cambridge Prison and Cambridge Town Gaol

Description: Photographic records made under prison regulations

Dates: 1882-1905


Archive name: Cambridgeshire Archives

Catalogue ref: CB/Co/P

Collection: Cambridge City

Description: Cambridge Borough Coroner: Reports include some deaths in County and Borough Gaols

Dates: 1836-1870


Land & Buildings

Archive name: Cambridgeshire Archives

Catalogue ref: 372/P1

Collection: None

Description: Map of Cambridge showing the new County Gaol

Dates: 1804


Archive name: Cambridgeshire Archives

Catalogue ref: CB/4/19/1/18

Collection: Cambridge City

Description: Survey by Rowe (map XVIII). This section of the map features the outline of the Gaol.

Dates: 1851-1857


Archive name: Cambridgeshire Archives

Catalogue ref: R51/24/1/1, 3 and 5

Collection: Plans from Shire Hall basement

Description: Plan of the Castle Yard Cambridge' by W. M. Fawcett, County Surveyor, with tracings made (c.1877-1879) for transfer of Gaol to Prison Commissioners

Dates: 1868


Archive name: Cambridgeshire Archives

Catalogue ref: R52/20/1-40

Collection: Cambridge Prison

Description: Plans of Cambridge Prison

Dates: c.1880-1913


Archive name: Cambridgeshire Archives

Catalogue ref: R55/26/11/1-15

Collection: Cambridgeshire Quarter Sessions

Description: 15 plans, elevations etc by G. Byfield

Dates: 1801


Archive name: Cambridgeshire Archives

Catalogue ref: R55/26/12-15

Collection: Cambridgeshire Quarter Sessions

Description: Miscellaneous plans

Dates: 1866-1899


Archive name: Cambridgeshire Archives

Catalogue ref: R55/26/26

Collection: Cambridgeshire Quarter Sessions

Description: Four plans of Cambridge Gaol

Dates: c.1866-1927


Images

Archive name: Cambridgeshire Archives

Catalogue ref: 23/Z179

Collection: Cambridge Antiquarian Society

Description: Lantern slide of painting showing Prison (Cambridge County Gaol)

Dates: 1815