The Use of Prisons (WJEC Eduqas GCSE History): Revision Note

How Were Prisons Used Before the 19th Century - Summary 

Before the 19th century, prisons were not used as punishments but mainly as places to hold people waiting for trial, execution, or to pay their debts. Conditions were often dirty, overcrowded, and unhealthy, with men, women, and children kept together. Many prisons were privately run, and prisoners had to pay for food, bedding, and even their release. There were no real systems to reform criminals or separate them by offence. Society believed that punishments like whipping, execution, or transportation were more effective and cheaper ways to deal with crime. It was only in the 19th century that attitudes began to change, and prisons started to be seen as a way to punish, discipline, and reform offenders.

The Use of Prisons to Punish

• When transportation ended in 1868, imprisonment became the main method of punishment for criminals as

  • Attitudes changed 

    • People no longer agreed with the death penalty for minor crimes 

  • The number of capital crimes was reduced to five

    • Murder

    • Treason

    • Piracy with violence

    • Espionage

    • Arson in royal dockyards

• Prison life in the early 19th century was 

  • Harsh 

    • Inmates were whipped 

    • Inmates were forced to do hard labour 

  • Overcrowded 

  • Unhygenic 

    • Cells were unventilated 

    • Diseases were common, and many people died 

• Prisons were a business and were run for profit 

  • Gaols would charge inmates for 

    • Food 

    • Bedding

    • Clothing 

    • Any other necessities 

• There was no separation of 

  • Men 

  • Women 

  • Children 

• Many prisoners were in debt 

  • They could not afford to pay fees, so they remained in prison 

The Use of Prisons for Reform

• In the late 19th century, the focus of prisons centred on reform due to 

  • The role of individuals such as 

    • John Howard 

    • Sir George O Paul 

    • Elizabeth Fry 

  • A change in government attitudes 

    • The government had taken a laissez-faire approach 

    • Reform had become the focus of government policy 

  • A change in public opinion 

    • Public inquiries were made into the prison systems 

    • People wanted a focus on the reform of criminals rather than punishment or humiliation 

  • End of transportation 

    • It was very expensive 

    • No longer deterring criminals 

• Prisons experienced a drastic change in the 19th century because

  • The government introduced the use of the separate and silent system in prisons 

    • To help deter people from crime and to stop criminals from talking to each other in prison 

  • Individuals such as John Howard and Elizabeth Fry brought about changes to prisons, including 

    • Their physical look 

    • Their purpose 

    • The opportunities that they offered, such as education and working opportunities 

  • New ideas of how to reform prisoners were introduced 

    • After 1865, this focused on the method of ‘hard labour, hard fare and hard board’ 

• In 1895, the Gladstone Committee reported that 

  • Prison systems were hurting the mental health of inmates

    • Isolation was not reforming prisoners but making them unwell

  • Young offenders should not be treated in the same way as older prisoners 

  • Young offenders should be offered education and training in prison 

• The government responded by passing the Act of 1898

  • Isolation was reduced 

  • Prisoners were allowed to talk to each other 

• In 1898, unproductive hard labour was abolished  

• Reforms of prisons continued in the 20th and 21st centuries as

  • Prisons were designed for young offenders 

    • Called borstals 

  • The death penalty was abolished 

  • More methods for the rehabilitation of prisoners were introduced