Reference
CRT130BED/25
Title
Notes on the history of Bedford Gaol, sites and gaolers including extracts from the Assize Records (HSA collection) and John Howard's 'The State of Prisons in England and Wales'.
Date free text
1722-1833
Production date
From: 1722 To: 1830
Creator
Old accession number 1755
Scope and Content
Includes:
Brief account of John Bunyan's time in prison;
Story of Richard Butler, a cutler from London who obtained tools to aid three prisoners' attempt to escape when Richard Freeborne was gaoler but was thwarted by Mrs Rose Freeborne;
John Howard's survey of Bedford prisons;
John Moore Howard's dismissal;
Account of John Henry Matthiason, school teacher and historian who in 1829 complained about prisoners throwing stones over the wall breaking his windows. He was given permission to inspect prison journals for his history of Bedford published 1831. However, in 1834, having been dismissed from his post and lost a lawsuit against the Harpur Trust, he was held in the prison as a debtor.
Language
English
Level of description
item