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The
new prison was founded with £2000 paid by Bishop Barrington Shute
of Durham who wanted to be rid of the existing gaol which he felt was
a traffic hazard. In 1808 Sir George Wood had commented on the poor
state of the House of Correction and County Gaol and so moves were made
to build a new prison to replace these. With great ceremony the construction
of the current prison began on 31st July 1809 when the foundation stone
was laid by Sir Henry Vane Tempest. Large crowds attended to see the
Bishop place gold, silver and copper coins of the time into the foundations,
bands played and soldiers from the Durham volunteers fired a volley
of shots with their rifles to celebrate the occasion but because of
problems in its construction, no prisoners were transferred to the new
prison until 1819. Indeed, the first architect, Francis Sandys, was
jailed for theft of money in building the prison, the plans were heavily
criticised and some parts even had to be pulled down and rebuilt. When
it finally opened the new prison had 600 cells and was able to replace
both the old House of Correction and the County Gaol. Some prisoners
have claimed that the new prison is haunted - saying they have seen
something in a cell where one inmate was allegedly stabbed to death
by another.
Front
page of the 1819 Rules for the Governance of Durham Gaol. (DUL
ref: XLL 942.8)
The
prison operated a series of punishments for various misdemeanours. This
included fettering in irons, flogging, birching, the treadmill and close
confinement. The
treadmill was introduced as a punishment when a prisoner had severely
brokem the prison rules. They were expected to turn the treadmill by
walking on it. Each turn was counted and 500 turns was considered a
good day's effort. However, as the prisoner became accustomed to the
treadmill it became easier for the prisoner to turn so a special screw
was introduced which the prison turnkeys could use to adjust the pressure
and make it more difficult to turn. This is why prison officers are
still known to this day as 'screws'.
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Photograph
showing Durham Prison. Image courtesy of HM Prison Durham and John
Cavanagh.
The
new prison needed new rules which reflected the changes in attitude
to punishment and criminals. After 1819 male and female prisoners were
kept apart, as were debtors and felons. Rules forbade drinking, bad
language, disobedience, quarrelling and indecency. All prisoners were
to be put to work with some being paid for their work when they were
discharged. The prisoners were classified and separated according to
the crimes they had committed and work was expected to help in reforming
the character of these people. Short term offenders had to take away
rubbish, level ground, extend gardens whilst longer term prisoners had
to pick oakum, work in the workshops etc. Considerable efforts were
made to find suitable work for every prisoner but bad weather sometimes
made this difficult. In 1820 Visiting Justices were appointed to inspect
the prison 3 times every quarter of the year to ensure that standards
were acceptable.
Engraving
from the London Illustrated News showing chains in use at Newgate prison.
(DUL Ref + 050 v093 1888)
In
the next section we take a look at the history
of executions that took place in Durham.
 
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