In the early part of the nineteenth century Mr. Thomas, afterwards Sir Thomas Tyrwhitt, who held the office of Lord Warden of the Stannaries under the then Prince of Wales, afterwards George IV., originated the idea of building a prison on Dartmoor for the numerous prisoners of war then in Great Britain, who were at that time mostly confined in hulks and military and naval prisons. The Government of that day took up the idea, and, adopting the plans of Mr. Daniel Alexander, proceeded to carry them out, the first stone of the prison being laid by Sir Thomas Tyrwhitt on the 20th March, 1806.
The site of the prison—about seven miles east of Tavistock and about fifteen (straight across the moor) south of Okehampton—was granted by the Prince of Wales, as Duke of Cornwall and Lord of the Forest of Dartmoor.
The building as then built is described in the Notes to Risdon’s Devonshire, published in 1811, as follows:—
The outer wall encloses a circle of about 30 acres—within this is another wall which encloses the area in which the Prison stands—this area is a smaller circle with a segment cut off. The prisons are 5 large rectangular buildings each capable of containing more than 1,500 men; they have each two floors, where is arranged a double tier of Hammocks slung on cast-iron pillars, and a third floor in the roof, which is used as a promenade in wet weather. There are besides two other spacious buildings, one of which is a large hospital, and the other is appropriated to the Petty Officers. The entrance is on the western side, the gateway, built of solid blocks of granite, bearing the inscription, “Parcere subjectis.”
The total cost of the work was nearly £130,000, and it was completed somewhere about the year 1809, and the collection of houses gradually formed what is now known as Princetown.
The first set of prisoners was sent there on the 29th May, 1809, and the buildings continued to be used as a war prison from then until the 22nd April, 1814, during which time no less than 12,679 prisoners underwent confinement there. During the years 1809, 1810 and 1811, deaths at the prison were very numerous from one cause and another, so much so, that a Return was asked for in the House of Commons, by which it appears that from May, 1809, to June, 1811, no less than 622 prisoners died.
The following is a copy of such Returns:—
| 1809. | No. in Prison. | Deaths. |
| May | 2,479 | — |
| June | 2,471 | 9 |
| July | 3,059 | 9 |
| August | 4,052 | 3 |
| September | 6,031 | 15 |
| October | 5,993 | 21 |
| November | 5,940 | 29 |
| December | 5,875 | 63 |
| 149 |
| 1810. | No. in Prison. | Deaths. |
| January | 5,741 | 131 |
| February | 5,624 | 87 |
| March | 5,399 | 63 |
| April | 5,352 | 28 |
| May | 5,282 | 25 |
| June | 5,261 | 17 |
| July | 5,247 | 12 |
| August | 5,229 | 16 |
| September | 5,209 | 11 |
| October | 5,399 | 9 |
| November | 5,372 | 12 |
| December | 5,247 | 8 |
| 419 |
| 1811. | No. in Prison. | Deaths. |
| January | 5,728 | 14 |
| February | 5,019 | 7 |
| March | 5,605 | 11 |
| April | 5,594 | 10 |
| May | 6,084 | 5 |
| June | 6,577 | 7 |
| 54 | ||
In the year 1812 no less than 6,280 prisoners of war were confined in the buildings. The total number of deaths during the whole time the buildings were used as a war prison was 1,117; of these 1,095 were French, and 22 American, prisoners.
Of the life of the prisoners inside the prison little is known. We know that Sir Thomas Tyrwhitt procured the privilege of holding a market and a fair at Princetown, and that daily markets were held within the precincts of the prison for the sale by the country people of vegetables, etc., to the prisoners. There are rumours that the prisoners gambled away their clothing and rations; but their life as prisoners on Dartmoor must have been infinitely preferable to that endured by those who were previous thereto confined in hulks and transports; but the details of the life are wanting, and even the pamphlet written by Capt. Vernon Harris, for many years Governor of Dartmoor Prison after it was re-opened, gives no great information on the subject. Many writers of fiction have founded romances on the prison and the prisoners, but for the most part on imagination. Probably the best of the kind, and most accurate in detail, is The Queen of the Moor, by the Rev. Frederick Adye, who was for many years resident in the district, and therefore well acquainted with the surrounding country and the rumours of the neighbourhood. Monsieur Jules Poulain, a Frenchman who is said to have lived at Princetown to be near a friend who was confined there, has written in the French language an interesting book entitled Dartmoor, or the Two Sisters. He, in describing Dartmoor, says:—“Think of the ocean waves changed into granite during a tempestuous storm, and you will then form an idea of what Dartmoor is like,” which indeed gives rather a vivid picture of the rolling hills and valleys.
Many of the prisoners of war were allowed out on parole. From Capt. Vernon Harris’ interesting pamphlet we learn the form of parole was as follows:—
Whereas the Commissioners for conducting His Majesty’s Transport service and for the care and custody of French officers and sailors detained in England have been pleased to grant A. B. leave to reside in .... upon condition that he gives his parole of honour not to withdraw one mile from the boundaries prescribed there without leave for that purpose from the said Commissioners, that he will behave himself decently and with due regard to the laws of the Kingdom, and also that he will not directly or indirectly hold any correspondence with France during his continuance in England, but by such letter or letters as shall be shewn to the Agent of the said Commissioners under whose care he is or may be in order to their being read and approved by the superiors. He does hereby declare that he having given his parole of honour will keep it inviolably.
The following towns in Devon and Cornwall were set aside for prisoners on parole:—Ashburton, Okehampton, Moretonhampstead, Tavistock, Bodmin, Launceston, Callington, Roscoe and Regilliack, but probably prisoners were from time to time billetted in other towns such as Tiverton (mentioned later) and elsewhere.
TheThe following notice was sent and posted as notice to the inhabitants of the town selected for residence of the prisoners allowed out on parole:—
That all such prisoners are permitted to walk or ride on the Great Turnpike Road within the distance of one mile from the extreme parts of the Town (not beyond the bounds of the Parish) and that if they shall exceed such limits or go into any field or cross road they may be taken up and sent to prison and a reward of 10s. will be paid by the Agent for apprehending them. And further that such prisoners are to be in their lodgings by 5 o’clock in the winter and 8 o’clock in the summer months and if they stay out later they are liable to be taken up and sent to the Agent for such misconduct. And to prevent the prisoners from behaving in an improper manner to the inhabitants of the town or creating any riots or disturbances either with them or among themselves notice is also given that the Commissioners will cause upon information being given to their agent any prisoner who shall so misbehave to be committed to prison. And such of the inhabitants who shall insult or abuse any of the prisoners of war on parole or shall be found in any respect aiding or assisting in the escape of such prisoners will be prosecuted according to law.
In reference to Tavistock, the Prison Commissioners reported that there were 150 prisoners there allowed out on parole, and that their conduct was exemplary. The Report further stated—
Some of them have made overtures of marriage to women in the neighbourhood which the magistrates have very properly taken pains to discourage.
When allowed out on parole the prisoner was assigned to some place of residence, after which he received a fixed sum for his maintenance, and was permitted to engage in any kind of business or occupation, and to use any additional funds he might possess. Many of the prisoners occupied their time in teaching languages, and in carving various things such as chessmen, etc.
There are instances of attempts by the prisoners on parole to escape. At the Devon Summer Assize, 1812, Richard Tapper, described as of Moretonhampstead, Carrier, Thomas Vinnacombe and William Vinnacombe (his brother) of Cheriton Bishop, described in the indictments as Smugglers (a curious and, one would have thought, a somewhat prejudiced description of their occupation), were indicted and convicted of misdemeanour for aiding and assisting, with divers other persons unknown, Casimer Baudouin, an officer in the French Navy; Allain Michel and Louis Hamel, Captains of Merchant Vessels; Pierre Joseph Dennis, a Second Captain of a Privateer; and Andrew Fleuriot, a Midshipman of the French Navy, to escape from Moretonhampstead. The French prisoners paid £25 down, and subsequently £150 for the assistance rendered. They were taken on horseback to Topsham, and placed in a large boat described as eighteen feet long, but in going down the estuary of the Exe, however, not far from Exmouth, the boat grounded on the Bar, and they were apprehended. The story is somewhat graphically, though at considerable length, told in the records of the proceedings.
The French prisoners formed no less than twenty-six Lodges and Chapters of Freemasons in England and elsewhere. The only one in the neighbourhood of Dartmoor was at Ashburton, and the only evidence of it is an undated certificate granted to one Paul Carcenac, described as Assistant Commissary, the Lodge being described as “Des Amis Reunis” (the Re-united Friends). A copy of the certificate and many further interesting details concerning this and other Lodges, notably those at Abergavenny, “Enfants de Mars et de Neptune”; at Plymouth “Amis Reunis”; at Tiverton, “Enfants de Mars” (see Bro. Sharland’s Freemasonry in Tiverton, published in 1899), are given in a most interesting book by Bro. John T. Thorp entitled French Prisoners’ Lodges, published in 1900, and printed at Leicester by Bro. George Gibbons, King Street.
There appear to be but few records of the prisoners at the various towns, and only the vaguest reminiscences. In Okehampton it is said that there were about 150 prisoners on parole. In the Churchyard is a tombstone—a rough slate slab—on which appears the following:—
Another close by bears the following inscription:—
Many prisoners on parole died and were buried at Moretonhampstead, but the grave-stones are not easily decipherable. The following entries of burial appear in the Register:—
Jan. 24 1811 Jean Francois Rohan French Officer on Parole. June 11 1811 Arnaud Aubry Lieutenant on Parole. Buried in Wooling (Shroud) according to act of Parliament.
Of the numerous French prisoners who died at Princetown no account appears in the parish register, and to quote again from Capt. Vernon Harris’ book:
Little attention appears to have been paid to the last resting-place of these unfortunates. We read in the account published by R. Evans that the burial place of the unfortunate captives has been sadly neglected. Horses and cattle have broken up the soil and left the bones of the dead to whiten in the sun.
This will be readily understood when it is remembered the prison remained unoccupied from 1816 until about the year 1850. To Capt. Stopforth, who was Governor of the prison in 1865, belongs the honour of collecting the remains of the prisoners and burying them in two separate enclosures on the northern side of the prison way from the public road, and erecting monuments which are at present existing, being granite columns; the one on the left or western side being the French, bears the following inscription:—
The other, being the American, bears the same inscription except that the word “French” is altered to “American.”
After the prison was discontinued as a war prison, various schemes were started for utilising the buildings. The late Prince Consort visited the Duchy Estates in 1846, and the question of making use of the old prison came under his notice. In 1850 began the formation of a Convict Settlement, and gradually the old buildings have been pulled down so that now only one small portion, known as the French Prison, remains. As a convict prison all the prisoners—and the average is about one thousand—are those who have been sentenced to penal servitude. Many are sent specially to Dartmoor for the benefit of their health, the climate, in the early stages of chest complaint, being most efficacious. Medical officers of the prison and elsewhere have from time to time recorded their opinion of the great advantages which are derived by phthisical patients from residence at such an altitude above the sea-level.
Much of the information derived is from Capt. Vernon Harris’ pamphlet, Rowe’s Dartmoor, 3rd Edition, published in 1896, and from the various references thereto. Some of the statistics are contained in the writer’s paper on the prison printed in the transactions of the Devonshire Association, 1901, xxiii. pp. 309–321.