Bath City Council: Records relating to Bath City gaol

The main purpose of Bath City gaol was to house debtors, minor offenders, and prisoners facing serious charges, though the latter would quickly be transferred to a county prison.

A new gaol built by Thomas Attwood was opened in Grove Street in 1772, replacing the old gaol which had been situated in the redundant church of St Mary's Northgate. However, the Grove Street gaol was never fit-for-purpose and became very overcrowded. It was in turn replaced by a new gaol in Twerton in 1842. This was closed in 1877, when the government took over all gaols under the Prison Act.

This description has been compiled using the following sources:

History of Bath Research Group Newsletter 59, 'Bath Prisons', report by Chris Noble (Bath Record Office reference: PP/665/59).
Trevor Fawcett , 'Bath Administer'd', Bath, 2001(Bath Record Office reference: PP/1005)

The Records
Only a small quantity of records relating to the city gaol have survived. They include:
Bath Gaol papers, eighteenth-nineteenth centuries
Gaol committee draft minutes, tenders and correspondence, 1861-1877
Bonds for the office of gaoler, 1782-1818
Gaol cash book 1840-1867

The records have not yet been catalogued in detail. Please contact the Record Office for more information.

Related Records
Gaol Committee minutes, 1837-1878, including minutes of the Gaol Building Committee, 1839-1845