Prison and Workhouse Reform in 19th-Century England

This is the first study to analyse the joint development of the prison and the workhouse in 19th-century England, focusing on the roles played by key local reformers in shaping their design, form and function. Although the introduction of the Gaol Act in 1823 marked a shift towards more disciplined institutional regimes, the genuinely local nature of prison and workhouse development meant no two institutions operated in the same way. As a result, the nature of local prison and workhouse regimes, while emerging out of national developments, was chiefly the result of complex, contradictory and evolving ideas held by local figures.

Drawing on a wealth of primary sources including prison and chaplain reports, newspapers and correspondence between local reformers and national figures, Lewis Darwen and David Orr investigate the role of religion and morality, statistics, education, architecture, models of institutional regime and gender in the prison and workhouse reform taking place during the period. With case studies from Lancashire, the most industrialized region by 1850, they also highlight the impact of wider political and economic issues such as trade, industrialism, religion and populations pressure on institutional regimes.

Prison and Workhouse Reform in 19th-Century England provides much-needed new perspectives on the history of penal institutions in 19th-century England and will be a valuable resource for crime historians and criminologists alike.