Discover how the Victorians used to punish their prisoners and how Oxford Castle & Prison has changed over the years.
By the beginning of the Victorian era, the county gaol at Oxford was no longer a ramshackle, unsanitary enterprise, but a rigorous and austere modern institution. The rowdy, disorderly Georgian gaol became a regimented, eerily quiet Victorian version.
At Oxford, the magistrates crushed what was left of the old gaol culture of graft and gambling with a regime of hard fare, hard beds and hard labour. Prisoners were under constant supervision and had their time controlled down to the very minute.
Between 1780 and 1850, crime rates continued to rise and public fear of crime was running high. The authorities opted for more reform, and as a result, imprisoned more people and made prison life harsher and more degrading.
The prison population rose steeply. More prisonswere built to cope with the numbers. Oxford Prison greatly expanded in the mid-19th century, with the addition of new wings. Prisoners were classified according to age and gender and kept in individual cells. A separate women’s prison was built before 1851. Then, a large new cellblock, now known as ‘A’ Wing. Provision for hard labour increased with the addition of treadwheels and a capstan for pumping water.
The 1877 Prisons Act introduced a nationalised prison system with back-breaking and demoralising work as its central plank. In the early 19th century, emphasis on work was a means of reforming the convict’s soul. But after fears of prisons becoming too soft, the government introduced soul-destroying hard labour to act as a deterrent to crime.
Oxford Castle & Prison had five key hard labour punishments for their prisoners, these punishments weren’t uncommon in many other prisons:
The aim of Victorian hard labour in the prison regime was to crush the spirit of inmates. Also, to force them to mend their ways. Prisoners had to stay silent during work. Moreover, tasks were tedious and often useless. The government formally abolished hard labour in 1948.
Learn more about crime and punishment during the Victorian era by visiting Oxford Castle & Prison. Book now: https://www.oxfordcastleandprison.co.uk/
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Visit us throughout October and if you’re lucky, spirits or other worldly creatures may reveal themselves to you! A terrifying experience through a 1,000 years of history.
Saturday 26th October to Monday 3rd November.
Join us if you dare…