Devizes (HM Prison)

HMP Devizes House of County Corrections
Management	HM Prison Service
Prison type	{{{type}}}
Prisoner figures	710
Location	Devizes, Wiltshire
Information	www.justice.gov.uk

The Devizes County House of Corrections or Devizes Prison was a correctional facility in Devizes, Wiltshire.

The Old Bridewell

Devizes Castle was used as a prison for petty criminals in the Wiltshire area until it was destroyed in the 15t century.^[1]

Wiltshire Justices decided to build a formal house of corrections, The Old Bridewell was finished in 1579 and remained the only bridewell in Wiltshire until 1631. It was damaged by fire in 1619 and again 1630.

Between 1770 and 1806 various improvements were made to the bridewell after an inmate Thomas Platt died of cold and hunger in custody. By 1806 the prison had 12 cells, 6 yards, an infirmary and a chapel.

In 1817 the New Bridewell was opened and the Old Bridewell was left almost defunct, occasionally being used to detain pre-trial suspects, until it was officially closed in 1836.

The building was then used by Wiltshire Constabulary from 1839 as a police station until 1855 when they moved to the Town Hall. After then the building was used as residences for Superintendents and Constables, until 1871.

The Old Bridewell was picked up again in 1882 and renamed The Grange, and was used as a Infants Day Nursery from 1895 till 1903, and later a home for old women.

In 2009 Devizes Town Council awarded the building a historic plaque.

The New Bridewell

The Devizes County House of Corrections was opened in 1817 after taking 7 years to build, and was the replacement for The Old Bridewell. It was located on the west side of Devizes, nearby what is still called Prison Bridge over the Kennet and Avon Canal.^[2]

The prison, designed by Richard Ingleman was a polygon shape facility of brick and stone with the governors building in the middle of the polygon. There were 210 cells, 16 yards, 2 infirmaries and a chapel. After a report identifying the lesser treatment of women, new cells were built in 1841 for them, as well as a laundry room, day room and separate infirmary. From 1823 the prison also featured a treadmill that milled corn outside the prison walls. Later additions to the facility include a schoolhouse in 1842, ten additional cells and an extension to the chapel in 1867.

Devizes Prison once again became the only prison in Wiltshire in 1868 when Fisherton Anger gaol closed, and the prison was handed to the state in 1877.

Cells measured 10 feet high, 7.5 feet wide and 8.5 feet long, women's cells were slightly smaller. Labor included tread milling corn, white washing, baking, cooking and cleaning.

Between 1912 and 1914 the prison was used only for prisoners on remand. It was a military detention barracks from 1914 until 1920, when it fell completely out of use. In 1921 Devizes Prison officially closed. The building was sold the next year and demolished by Chiver and Co. in 1927.

The land where Devizes Prison was located is now covered by a housing estate, a scrap yard and Devizes Sewers.

The only prison in Wiltshire is now Her Majesty's Prison Erlestoke.

See Also

• Devizes
• Devizes Castle
• Wiltshire Constabulary

References

1. ^ http://www.devizesheritage.org.uk/the_old_bridewell_devizes.html
2. ^ http://www.devizesheritage.org.uk/devizes_prison_the_county_house_of_correctio.html