Presteigne
Crime and punishment
More about...
The Lock-up for Presteigne villains  
  The "Lock-up" which was proposed for Presteigne in 1843 was to combine living quarters for a police officer with strong cells for locking up prisoners.
The front of the building shown in the drawing below looks almost like a modern bungalow - but would you want thieves, drunks, or even murderers staying in the back rooms at home ?
The layout drawing on the next page shows how close these "guests" would have been...
 
Quarter
Sessions
document

1843
Drawing from 1843 records
 

Some of the earliest "Lock-ups" in Britain were just tiny stone structures, sometimes circular in shape and with a very strong door but no windows. In later years they were bigger and included a separate store room for police equipment at one end.

More about the "Lock-up"...

 

Link to sources
RDR