Atworth Village Magazine March 14 Vol.37 No. 03 | Page 16
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Atworth History Group
Jim Gooding welcomed members and visitors to the meeting. Gervase O’Donohoe,
our Vice Chairman, gave a talk about the history of Shepton Mallet prison. By an Act
of Parliament in 1609, all counties were required to have one and the Shepton Mallet
house of correction, as prisons were called, was opened. At this time men, women
and children held there were housed together in dreadful conditions, with no discipline,
having poor diet, sanitation and ventilation. The keeper was not paid, but instead
made an income from fees from the prisoners and by selling liquor. Those unable to
pay were left to perish. When the reformer, John Howard visited the prison in 1774 he
reported that it was a shocking place, where prisoners were drinking liquor, smoking
and suffering from diseases from which many died. The number of executions at the
prison in its early years is unknown.
When the prison was enlarged at the beginning of the 19th century, it could
hold 200-300 prisoners. Men and women began to be held in separate areas. Fixed
salaries were introduced for keepers. Prisoners were obliged to work, and toiled at
oakum picking (unpicking old ropes), breaking stones for road building and other
tasks. A tread wheel was built and was connected to a flour mill outside the prison
walls. Men who were sentenced to hard labour were made to tread for many hours at
a time, causing some to collapse with fatigue.
Following the First World War the prison was only half full and it was closed.
In 1939 and for the duration of the Second World War it was reopened to house
prisoners from the armed services. It also was used to store historical documents,
including the Domesday Book, from the London Public Records Office, for safe
keeping. In 1942 the American Army took over the prison for their criminals. 23 who
had committed serious offences were executed. At the end of the war the prison was
handed back to the British Army and discipline was strict, punishments severe and it
became notorious. In 1959 a riot broke out.
In 1965, it was back in civilian hands
and it became a prison for category ‘C’ life prisoners. Although it was well run and
had a good report, in the reorganisation of prisons in 2010, it was decommissioned,
the main reason being its small size.
Jim thanked Gervase for his informative and sometimes grisly tales about
prison life through the centuries.
The next meeting of the History Group will be held in the Village Hall on
Monday, 3rd March at 7.30, when the speaker will be David Hough, who will talk about
‘The History of the Postage Stamp’. Visitors are very welcome.
Eileen Stoydin
Page 16
Yer Tiz Atworth Magazine—March 2014