Hi Listers, Hoping some History buff can help me here with a little knowledge. I have a person (the spouse of a sibling to one of my direct ancestors) back in Tudor times. This person died in gaol and was buried at Bodmin on the 20th May 1592. At first (last year) I just added this in my records and thought no more about it. However, now I want to write a story of the reason this individual was there, and so thought a few paragraphs about Bodmin Gaol in the early times would start off a little background. With a little digging I now find that Bodmin Gaol was not even built until 1776 which is some 184 years still to pass after my John Cosgarne died there. Obviously there must have been some earlier detention centre or prison there for incarcerating people for what ever their charges were, but I do not seem to be able to find anything about that earlier period of history of Bodmin, that would give me some couple of paragraphs about it. John was originally from Gwinear so to imprison him at Bodmin was to take him some near forty-two miles (I think), so it must have been some sort of gaol that was a substantial structure even back then, and in 1565 when his problems first began would have been a fair way to take someone I guess especially along roads in those ancient times. Any suggestions would be helpful Thankyou Margaret ************************* Margaret Bauer Queensland, Australia [email protected] *************************

Hi Margaret, My first thought was Launceston Castle which was a prison in the 1500's. There was, however, a jail at Bodmin which was referenced in the 1620 The Visitation of the County of Cornwall. One James NANSPIAN was said to have been arrested by the sheriff for debt "and imprisoned in her late Majesty's prison in Bodmin". See http://www.archive.org/stream/visitationofcoun09vivi/visitationofcoun09vivi_djvu.txt >From Genuki: Old prison records are held by the Cornwall Record Office. http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/archon/searches/locresult_details.asp?LR=21 There is also a mailing list which may have members who can help you more: http://lists.rootsweb.ancestry.com/index/intl/ENG/ENG-CORNWALL-CRIMINALS.html Joanne Toronto, Canada ----- Original Message ----- From: "Margaret Bauer" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, January 08, 2013 10:54 PM Subject: [CORNISH-GEN] Bodmin Gaol > Hi Listers, > Hoping some History buff can help me here with a little knowledge. > I have a person (the spouse of a sibling to one of my direct ancestors) > back > in Tudor times. > This person died in gaol and was buried at Bodmin on the 20th May 1592. > At first (last year) I just added this in my records and thought no more > about it. > However, now I want to write a story of the reason this individual was > there, and so thought a few paragraphs about Bodmin Gaol in the early > times > would start off a little background. > With a little digging I now find that Bodmin Gaol was not even built until > 1776 which is some 184 years still to pass after my John Cosgarne died > there. > Obviously there must have been some earlier detention centre or prison > there > for incarcerating people for what ever their charges were, but I do not > seem > to be able to find anything about that earlier period of history of > Bodmin, > that would give me some couple of paragraphs about it. > John was originally from Gwinear so to imprison him at Bodmin was to take > him some near forty-two miles (I think), so it must have been some sort of > gaol that was a substantial structure even back then, and in 1565 when his > problems first began would have been a fair way to take someone I guess > especially along roads in those ancient times. > > Any suggestions would be helpful > Thankyou > Margaret > ************************* > Margaret Bauer > Queensland, Australia > [email protected] > ************************* > > > ------------------------------- > Listmom: [email protected] or [email protected] > > Visit the OPC (Online Parish Clerk) web page for transcription information > http://www.cornwall-opc.org/ > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message >

Hello Margaret As you rightly say, the first Bodmin gaol was built in 1779. This replaced the County Gaol which was housed in Launceston Castle. Apparently, conditions at Launceston were so bad that some JPs felt unable to commit prisoners to that prison. According to Pat Munn's book "The Cornish Capital" the new gaol superseded the House of Correction and Debtors' Prison. These establishments had hitherto existed as separate premises in the town, the former near the Church Stile and the latter in Crockwell Street. It might be worthwhile contacting the Bodmin Museum for more information, at the following address: [email protected] Colin Ward On Jan 9, 2013 3:56 AM, "Margaret Bauer" <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi Listers, > Hoping some History buff can help me here with a little knowledge. > I have a person (the spouse of a sibling to one of my direct ancestors) > back > in Tudor times. > This person died in gaol and was buried at Bodmin on the 20th May 1592. > At first (last year) I just added this in my records and thought no more > about it. > However, now I want to write a story of the reason this individual was > there, and so thought a few paragraphs about Bodmin Gaol in the early times > would start off a little background. > With a little digging I now find that Bodmin Gaol was not even built until > 1776 which is some 184 years still to pass after my John Cosgarne died > there. > Obviously there must have been some earlier detention centre or prison > there > for incarcerating people for what ever their charges were, but I do not > seem > to be able to find anything about that earlier period of history of Bodmin, > that would give me some couple of paragraphs about it. > John was originally from Gwinear so to imprison him at Bodmin was to take > him some near forty-two miles (I think), so it must have been some sort of > gaol that was a substantial structure even back then, and in 1565 when his > problems first began would have been a fair way to take someone I guess > especially along roads in those ancient times. > > Any suggestions would be helpful > Thankyou > Margaret > ************************* > Margaret Bauer > Queensland, Australia > [email protected] > ************************* > > > ------------------------------- > Listmom: [email protected] or [email protected] > > Visit the OPC (Online Parish Clerk) web page for transcription information > http://www.cornwall-opc.org/ > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message >

There were no jails or detention centres and no money to pay for them - the idea of public detention is a relatively modern one. "For most of history, imprisoning has not been a punishment in itself, but rather a way to confine criminals until corporal or capital punishment was administered ... The notion of prisoners being incarcerated as part of their punishment and not simply as a holding state until trial or hanging, was at the time revolutionary ". Punishments for the common people were "spectacles of horror" - execution, mutilation, flogging, stocks etc. There was no real police force and almost all arraignment was by denunciation. Our modern justice system was only made possible once public funds started being collected on a reliable basis - and once the idea of detention and rehabilitation had taken root. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Margaret Bauer" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Wednesday, January 09, 2013 2:54 PM Subject: [CORNISH-GEN] Bodmin Gaol > Hi Listers, > Hoping some History buff can help me here with a little knowledge. > I have a person (the spouse of a sibling to one of my direct ancestors) > back > in Tudor times. > This person died in gaol and was buried at Bodmin on the 20th May 1592. > At first (last year) I just added this in my records and thought no more > about it. > However, now I want to write a story of the reason this individual was > there, and so thought a few paragraphs about Bodmin Gaol in the early > times > would start off a little background. > With a little digging I now find that Bodmin Gaol was not even built until > 1776 which is some 184 years still to pass after my John Cosgarne died > there. > Obviously there must have been some earlier detention centre or prison > there > for incarcerating people for what ever their charges were, but I do not > seem > to be able to find anything about that earlier period of history of > Bodmin, > that would give me some couple of paragraphs about it. > John was originally from Gwinear so to imprison him at Bodmin was to take > him some near forty-two miles (I think), so it must have been some sort of > gaol that was a substantial structure even back then, and in 1565 when his > problems first began would have been a fair way to take someone I guess > especially along roads in those ancient times. > > Any suggestions would be helpful > Thankyou > Margaret > ************************* > Margaret Bauer > Queensland, Australia > [email protected] > ************************* > > > >