John
Howard toured the country in the 1770s visiting many gaols, bridewells
and houses of correction, including Durham. He published his findings
in 1777 in a book entitled The
State of Prisons in England and Wales. We are going to use his findings
for Durham (an enlarged version
of the source and a transcript
are available) to see what the prison was like at the end of the eighteenth
century.
1. Who
works in the gaol?
2. The
Gaoler received no salary so how did he make money from his job?
3. What
was the maximum number of prisoners at the county gaol?
4. Does
anything surprise you about the number of debtors and felons that were
imprisoned at this time?
5. How
did the Gaoler get his job? (Note: durante Beneplacito means
'during pleasure', ie for as long as the Bishop likes.)
6. If the
Bishop runs the prison, what does that tell us about his role in the
running of the county? Think about the law and criminals.
Finished?
Move on to the next page to find out
more about conditions in Durham Gaol.
