Great Britain - Prison Commission [P. Com. 2] - Prison registers, 1816-1866

PRO 5971-5991

fonds

Canberra : Australian Joint Copying Project, [19--]

432288

Microfilm : Vols. 21-32, 60-65, 85-87, 105-111, 132-137, 190, 383-384).
Photocopy : Descriptive list for P. Com. 2, Prison Commission, Prison Books, 1770-1916 (460 vols.), with list of selections (36 vols.) filmed by the Australian Joint Copying Project.
Photocopy : See also reel contents list for P. Com. 2 records, in AJCP Handbook, Part 6, pp.64-65.
Microfilm : INDEX to Prison Commission [P. Com. 2] records filmed by the AJCP. The index was compiled by the Western Australian Genealogical Society, 1995 (8 microfiche).

1 microfilm reels - 35 mm

Mainly registers giving details of prisoners in British and Gibraltar gaols and convict hulks (prison ships); minute books, order books, visiting books, and calendars of the assizes and quarter sessions.
Australian Joint Copying Project (AJCP) selections filmed:
1837-1852; P. Com. 2/21-32: Millbank Prison (by the Thames), County of Middlesex - Prison Registers. (Call No.: PRO 5971-5976)
1816-1826, 1842-1854; P. Com. 2/60-65, 85-87: Pentonville Prison (North London), County of Middlesex - Prison Registers and Minutes. (Call No.: PRO 5977-5978)
1848-1866; P. Com. 2/105-111, 383-384: Portland Prison, County of Dorset - Prison Registers. (Call No.: PRO 5979-5984; PRO 5990-5991)
1817-1837; P. Com. 2/190: Newgate Prison, London (near Central Criminal Court or Old Bailey) - Register of Prisoners under Sentence of Death. (Call No.: PRO 5989)
1837-1857; P. Com. 2/132-137: Convict Hulks (prison ships) - Registers of prisoners on the following Hulks: Defence, Stirling Castle, Retribution, York, and Europa(?). (Call No.: PRO 5985-5989)

Original held by the National Archives (Great Britain), formerly the Public Record Office, London.

Until 1877, prisons such as Newgate were administered by the central courts, while justices of the peace were responsible for county and borough gaols. The Home Office had powers of supervision over convict and local prisons and also controlled the convict hulks. In 1846 a Surveyor General of Prisons was appointed. In 1877 local prisons were brought under government management, the Prison Commission being established as a statutory board to administer and inspect prisons in England and Wales.
Refer to the National Library of Australia’s AJCP Portal (https://www.nla.gov.au/content/australian-joint-copying-project) for information on Australian Joint Copying Project reels digitised in 2019/20