The Prison That Time Forgot

‘There are two ways to enter Dartmoor Prison, and it is far, far preferable to work there.’

          – Anonymous

Her Majesty’s Prison, Dartmoor (known simply as ‘The Moor’ to prisoners and guards alike) is the oldest, and by far the most notorious prison still in use in the UK. Located in the middle of the Dartmoor National Park, it is also considered the most difficult prison to visit, especially from a long distance away. It’s reputation as being a punishment prison for intractable repeat offenders, coupled with various riots, murders, spectacular escapes and notorious inmates, make the word ‘Dartmoor’ synonymous with brutality, harsh living conditions, even harsher discipline and a long-established (and well-deserved) reputation as the hardest time a British convict could do.

Dartmoor was designed by well-known architect Daniel Asher Alexander and constructed using local labour and local materials, especially the Dartmoor granite used in building the cell blocks. It was opened in 1809 and intended to hold French prisoners taken during the long-running Napoleonic Wars and as a replacement for their previous accomodation, the filthy disease-and-rat infested prison ship (known as ‘hulks’) then anchored 17 miles away in Plymouth Sound. Along with French prisoners, it also held American prisoners taken during the War of 1812.

After the end of hostilites with America and France, the prison was closed down in 1816. During it’s time as a military prison it held between six and ten thousand prisoners of which over 1500 were to die, mostly from cramped conditions, harsh treatment, poor food and disease.

The first event of not was the infamous ‘Dartmoor Massacre’ on April 6, 1815. The atmosphere in the prison had been growing increasingly tense, both on the part of the inmates and the prison administration. The inmates were making increasingly vociferous complaints about the quality (or lack thereof) of their rations. In turn, the prison staff became increasingly concerned that there would be some form of disturbance among the inmates. It came to a head when the guards discovered a small hole carved in an internal wall which led, not outside the prison, but merely to another yard within the prison walls. The prison’s commander, a Royal Navy captain and regarded by many inmates as a perpetual drunk and common sadist, ordered the guards on the walls to open fire into the prison compound. Seven prisoners were killed and thirty one were wounded. The youngest inmate to die was just fourteen years old.