The building of the Portland breakwater, one of the largest civil projects of the period, needed manpower; so who better to provide it than Queen Victoria's prison population?
They gave new meaning to jailhouse rock as they sweated and manoeuvred thousands of tons of rocks into place. The jailbirds even became something of a tourist attraction, with wily Portlanders renting out rooms overlooking the prison quarries to London sightseers who quaffed tea and munched cakes while watching the hapless inmates.
By the 1860s the prison population had risen to 1,800 and the prison regime had become noted for its brutality. Deaths averaged one a week.
This grim situation was somewhat alleviated by the surprise arrival of Edward VII in1902 who promptly ordered the distribution of half a pound of roly poly and two ounces of golden syrup to each and every inmate.
In 1921 the prison was replaced by a borstal, and now houses young offenders.
The two objects pictured can be found in Portland Museum and date from the prison's early years. The delicate ivory object was lovingly carved by a sentimental old lag, probably for sale to the public; while the chains...well they can be summed up with a sentence...
No comments:
Post a Comment