Princetown, Dartmoor Prison 1890
Photo ref:
22576
Photo ref:
22576
More about this scene
The prison was originally built to house prisoners from the Napoleonic Wars. It closed in 1816 and remained derelict until 1850, when it was re-opened and extended to incarcerate the hardest cases. The sheep pens in the foreground are probably part of the prison farm.
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A Selection of Memories from Princetown
For many years now, we've been inviting visitors to our website to add their own memories to share their experiences of life as it was, prompted by the photographs in our archive. Here are some from Princetown
Sparked a Memory for you?
If this has sparked a memory, why not share it here?
Hi have very fond memories living in prince town my four daughters all went to the local school they loved it there and the lovely school dinners I used to work at lord cafe in the snack bar side with a lady called Jan who used to sing in a group called the peasant pluckers also a lady called Mavis we had some good nights at the officers club loved dancing with my good ...see more
My father was stationed at Princetown as a prison officer during the war, having transferred from the Isle of Wight (Parkhurst). So you can imagine that in 1941, coming from the heavy aerial warfare over Southern England to the remoteness of Dartmoor was quite a change and although I was only 5, I recall that move very well and also how idyllic living on Dartmoor was at that time. We used to live in Grosvenor ...see more
On the 12th June 1941 I was born in the Duchy Hotel as my father was then a serving Prison Officer. As I was so young I don't remember the early years of my life, but Princetown and the Duchy Hotel have been part of my life, and I have been back many times. I can remember returning to the Duchy with my family one christmas and having a large room for all the children there to play in and I had a pair of roller ...see more
My family lived here from 1972-77, as my father was an officer in the prison. We lived next to the then working dairy at Tor View. The village had escorted prisoners all over the village, and the farms and quarries were all in full operation, we even played football in the car park with the cons, during their breaks and lunch. Sitting in the kids' room at the Plume on cold winter nights, or the ...see more
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