Prisoners were all housed together
Jail Conditions: often dirty, damp, overcrowded, unhealthy ,‘Gaol fever’
Jailers were not paid. They made their money by charging prisoners
Well off prisoners could have their own cell, good food, beer, tobacco, visitors
For the poor prisoner life was grim. They even had to pay a fee to be released
Prisoners had to have enough proper food
Prisons had to be healthy, with proper fresh water supply and drains
Prisoners were not allowed to keep pets
Warders had to wear a uniform
Each prison was to have a paid Governor
Each prison was to have a Chaplain
Prisoners had to attend chapel and receive religious instruction
Prisoners had to be separated into different groups
Women imprisoned in a separate women’s section with female warders
Magistrates had to visit and inspect prisons within their area
In 1816 Millbank Prison was opened costing £450,000
New prisons were built in a completely new style - Wheel Spokes
Large cells with a barred window. Each cell included a wash basin
Christians believed that they could be reformed with instruction
led to the Separate System
spent nearly all their time on their own, in their cells
During exercise prisoners wore a face mask so they could not see or talk
In the Chapel each prisoner was boxed in
Extended solitary confinement caused prisoner to break down
opinion away from reforming, towards idea that there was a ‘criminal class’
could never be reformed and that they could only really be deterred
‘Hard Labour, Hard Fare, Hard Board’
Hard labour was deliberately tough, boring and pointless work
The food was adequate, but very monotonous
The hammocks were replaced by hard bunks
Following the first reforms, 1820s
Under the Separate System 1840s-50s
Under the Silent System 1860s-70s
