SHORT SUMMARY

Cambridge Town Gaol was located on Parker’s Piece from 1827 to 1878. It was very expensive to build (the cost amounting to £25,000), leading to disagreements between the Town and University over who had to pay for its construction. The prison held a number of prisoners in the nineteenth century. Many were accused of theft, but there are also records of imprisonment for a variety of other crimes. A certain Robert Canham spent 3 months at the gaol in 1835 for trying to bribe inhabitants of Cambridge into voting for the Tory candidate in the election!

Do please download the pdf or full powerpoint presentation illustrating this subject which you will find useful to use for a class:

• Cambridge Town Gaol (ppt)
• Cambridge Town Gaol (pdf)

STORY CONTENT

There are records of a Town Gaol in Cambridge from the 13th century onwards, but it was only located on Parker’s Piece for a relatively short amount of time in the 19th century. The new gaol was built in 1827, but had fallen out of use by 1878.

The building of the Town Gaol on Parker’s Piece was a controversial matter. It was an incredibly expensive enterprise, costing the town £25,000! Not everybody was happy to pay for a new prison. Lord Palmerston presented a petition to Parliament from the Chancellor, Master, and Scholars of the University of Cambridge, complaining that they should not have to pay for the new prison. This was clearly a matter of tension between the town and University.

The new prison was apparently state of the art. The Municipal commissioners visiting the Town Gaol in 1833 were very impressed. They noted that there were 8 yards for the prisoners to exercise, 8 dayrooms, and the prison could comfortably accommodate 47 prisoners. Indeed, in 1832 there had been 208 prisoners staying at the gaol in total, and there had been no deaths, a fact that was considered something of a success. We are also told that the prisoners had their own chaplain.

We know a lot about the prisoners held at Cambridge Town Gaol from newspaper notices concerning their crimes, trials, and occasionally, attempts at escape. Theft was a common crime – a ring of thieves were committed to the gaol after stealing a silver watch, and another thief was said to have stolen a bay horse. There were also individuals committed for various other crimes. A certain Robert Canham spent 3 months at the gaol in 1835 for trying to bribe inhabitants of Cambridge into voting for the Tory candidate in the election!

Some individuals were committed to Cambridge Town Gaol by mistake. An unnamed individual was arrested for sending three parcels of stolen pigeons to London by the Norwich coach. He accused the keeper of Cambridge Town Gaol of false imprisonment, and, after being proven innocent was paid damages for the mistake.