The Depot for Prisoners of War at Norman Cross, Huntingdonshire. 1796 to 1816Walker, Thomas (Thomas James)
History
The Depot for Prisoners of War at Norman Cross, Huntingdonshire. 1796 to 1816
Walker, Thomas (Thomas James)
France -- History -- 1789-1815; Norman Cross depot; Prisoners of war
Completely surrounding the four quadrangles, and enclosing around them a
vacant space, varying in width from 25 to 30 yards opposite the cross
roads, to as many feet at the abutting angles of each quadrangle, was the
prison wall. This in the earlier years was a strong stockade fence, and
is so represented in the three earlier plans reproduced in the plates;
but at a later date it was replaced by the brick wall shown in
Macgregor’s plan, and it is described in the auctioneer’s catalogue of
the sale, when the prison and its contents were disposed of in September
1816, as “a substantial brick wall measuring 3,740 feet round, and
containing 282 rods of brickwork more or less.” Of this wall, 30 yards
are still standing, forming a portion of the garden wall of the house
originally occupied by the superintendent. The auctioneer’s description
does not altogether agree with that of the surveyor Mr. Fearnall, who in
1813 reported that it was “very indifferently built, and not of the best
materials,” and that much of it was in danger of falling, owing to the
excavation at its foot within the enclosure of a ditch. This ditch, for
its full length of nearly three-quarters of a mile, can be traced at the
present day, with the deep embrasures shown in the plans, at each of the
four prison gates. It was, at the time the buildings were demolished,
about 9 yards wide and 5 feet deep, and it was paved with stone flags;
this is supposed to be the “silent walk” of the sentries, excavated in
1809. An item in the barrack master’s accounts for July in that year is
£420 19_s._ 6_d._, for the making a walk for the “silent sentries.” The
area of the actual prison enclosed within the wall was in 1816 sold in
one lot, and is described in the catalogue as “containing by
admeasurement 22 acres, 2 roods, and 14 perches more or less.”
[Picture: Plate V.—The Inner Side of the Prison Wall as it now Stands]
In the boundary wall were four gates, opening on to the ends of the cross
streets, which separated the four quadrangles. The north gate opened
into a space at the back of the prison occupied by sheds and other
accessories; the east and west gates on roadways which ran between the
military barracks and the prison from the Peterborough Road; the south
gate was opposite the central main entrance from that road into the
Depot. Later, as shown in Macgregor’s plan, there were, in addition to
these four large gates, a door in the south wall adjoining the house of
the agent, or superintendent, and another in the north wall, giving
admission to a court outside the wall, in which had been erected a
separate prison for the boys.
At each gate outside the prison wall was a guard house, a one-storied
building fitted with separate rooms for the officers and men of the
guard, with cells for prisoners, and with a wide-open shelter, or
verandah, in front.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account