Forty years after he designed Newgate Gaol, Dance made this design for a gaol with 32 prisoners and it is interesting to consider whether it reflects the newer trends in prison architecture. With such a small prison population there was no need to divide the inmates into smaller classes such as 'capital felons' and 'misdemeanors' and it is notable that in Guernsey, the debtors far outnumbered the felons. A Keeper's House, centrally place with a good view of the gaol, was in line with current planning. On a small site, a perimeter wall separated from all of the prison buildings could not be achieved, nor an infirmary or chapel. But separate sleeping cells for the felons with arcades for exercise in bad weather, distinct yards that were not overlooked, day-rooms for the debtors, and a wash-house were provided.

A new prison for Guernsey was authorised under an Order in Council in 1803 and the present site at St James's Street acquired in 1807. Dance's design was made in 1807. Dance's design was made in 1807 as was another that also remained unexecuted, by William Pilkington (1758-1848), Surveyor to the Board of Customs and architect of Folkestone Gaol. The prison, built in 1811 and costing £11,000, seems to be an adaptation of a plan and elevation, dated 12 August 1808, made by Lieutenant William B Hulme of the Royal Staff Corps, Guernsey.

The designs by Hulme and Pilkington are preserved in the States of Guernsey Island Archives Service.

LITERATURE. Kalman pp.103, 324 (n.3); Buildings in the town and parish of Saint Peter Port, compiled for the National Trust of Guernsey by C. E. B. Brett, Belfast, 1975, p.27 (reproduces the Hulme and Pilkington elevations).

Group

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