Prison as a Form of Punishment (WJEC Eduqas GCSE History): Revision Note

Timeline

Why was Lincoln Castle Prison Significant in the Story of Prison Reform? - Summary 

Lincoln Castle Prison played a vital role in the national story of prison reform. Once notorious for its dreadful conditions, it became one of the first prisons to adopt the principles of reformers like John Howard. The Georgian Prison (1787) introduced cleaner conditions and separation of prisoners, while the Victorian Prison (1847) experimented with the separate system, aiming to reform through solitude and prayer. Later, the silent system and the Prisons Acts of the 1860s and 1870s brought further change. However, overcrowding, mental health concerns, and high costs meant Lincoln’s prison system eventually declined, closing in 1878. Marking the end of an era of locally controlled imprisonment.

Continued Use of a Medieval Gaol

• Lincoln Castle was originally a Motte and Bailey castle, created in 1068 after the Norman Conquest 

• By the 12th century, it was turned into a stone castle 

  • Home to the local sheriff 

  • The focal point of the justice system in the area 

  • Prisoners were kept there

    • Most were aristocratic rebels and their supporters 

• In the 13th century, a dungeon was added to the basement 

• After its disuse as a castle in the Tudor period, it became Lincoln Castle County Gaol 

• In the 17th century, it was in regular use as a prison

  • With a county courthouse 

    • The Witches of Belvoir were held there in the 17th century 

Problems of Lincoln Castle Gaol 

• There have always been issues with Lincoln Castle 

  • When William Chaldwell, a royalist imprisoned during the English Civil War, was imprisoned there, he described it as a

• The building was later remodelled, and the Georgian and Victorian Prisons were created due to the influence of key individuals' experiences at the gaol, including 

  • John Howard 

    • How stated that the dungeons were “offensive” 

    • He disliked many elements of the gaol, including the lack of a chapel and infirmary, and the mix of genders of the prisoners

  • Duke Montague 

    • Disliked the lack of morals among the prisoners 

    • He found the prisoners to be neglected

    • Prisoners were drunk and found to be idle 

• Howard and Montagu made many suggestions for changing prisons, which were quickly adopted in Lincoln 

  • By 1787, construction began on the new prison 

• Nationally, it took a lot longer for their ideas to bring about change in other prisons 

Changing Attitudes to Prisoner Treatment

• Howard’s suggestions for prison reform, along with Sir George O Paul and Elizabeth Fry, took a long time to be adopted nationally 

  • Not until 1823, when the Home Secretary Robert Peel enforced reforms for prisons 

• However, at Lincoln Castle, these suggestions were adopted quickly, and the Georgian Prison addressed some of the issues, including 

  • The mixing of different types of offenders

• By 1840, the new Victorian Prison was designed for the separate system 

  • Each inmate had their own cell 

  • Exercise was overseen by guards 

    • But inmates were still separated 

  • Daily chapel services were delivered by Reverend Richiter 

    • In isolated booths 

• Also, Lincoln Castle Prison offered prison guards good salaries 

  • Especially to those who could teach inmates the ‘3 Rs’ 

• However, the separate system was never fully adopted by the prison due to 

  • Concerns over prisoner mental health 

  • Too many inmates 

    • The prison was designed for only 21 women and 32 men 

  • Issues with keeping everyone separate 

  • Outbreaks of diseases 

    • Including typhoid fever 

• By the 1860s, Lincoln Castle Prison was using the silent system 

• Once again, the prison was unable to fully implement the silent system as 

  • It cost a lot of money to run 

  • There was a decline in the number of prisoners 

    • The new Her Majesty’s Prison of Lincoln (HMP Lincoln) was opened 

  • Attitudes towards the treatment of prisoners were changing 

    • Towards education and reform 

Changes to Lincoln Gaol and Prison

• Parliament legislation had a significant effect on Lincoln Castle Gaol and Prison, as the following acts forced the prison to change

  • Penitentiary Act, 1779 

    • Resulted in the creation of the Georgian Prison 

  • Gaols Act, 1823 

    • Lincoln Castle Gaol had to pay Gaolers, separate inmates based on gender, and have doctors visit inmates regularly

  • Prisons Act, 1835

    • Created a system of prison inspectors to view the prisons on behalf of the government 

  • Prisons Act, 1839 

    • Created the Victorian Prison and the separate system in the prison 

    • Although it was never fully adopted, it did bring a lot of change 

  • Prisons Act, 1865 

    • Introduced the silent system to the Victorian Prison 

    • Again, it was never fully adopted, but it was in the HMP Lincoln until 1902 

  • Debtors Act, 1869 

    • Lincoln’s Victorian Prison dropped in inmate population in the 1870s, as courts were not allowed to imprison debtors 

    • Resulted in the eventual closure of the prison 

  • Prison Act, 1877 

    • Moved all prisons under the control of the Home Secretary 

    • Which closed Lincoln’s Victorian Prison in 1878 

• Changes to capital punishment also affected Lincoln Castle Prison as

  • The reduced number of crimes that resulted in the death penalty decreased the number of hangings at Lincoln Castle Prison 

  • Public hanging was abolished in 1868 under the Capital Punishment Amendment Act 

    • Hangings only happened inside Cobb Hall 

  • The opening of HMP Lincoln reduced the number of inmates and stopped executions at Lincoln Castle Prison 

  • In 1948, all hanging was paused for five years in England and Wales 

  • Executions in HMP Lincoln ended in 1961

    • A few years before they were abolished by Parliament