Catalogue description Queen's Prison: Miscellaneous Books

Books concerning the management aspects of the Queen's Prison and the welfare of prisoners there. They include donation books of prison charities (for the relief of poor inmates, for food and fuel, etc); receipt books of charities (including the names of donors and the signatures of prisoners in receipt of gifts); keepers' journals (a daily record including the results of prison inspections, names of inmates needing nursing, commitments to the strong room, the numbers of prisoners, etc with the later ones also recording details of the official prison diet); the governor's letter books (containing mainly copies of letters out on a wide range of subjects relating to the administration of the prison and the welfare of the inmates); and records of county money, given by counties annually under the Poor Prisoners Relief Act of 1813 for the maintenance of destitute prisoners, some of which books record the names or signatures of prisoners receiving the county money.

The prisoner's commitment number can be used to trace records in other series.