Wandsworth prison records c1871

[Jane Masri]

To the best of my knowledge, HM prison, Wandsworth, nominal register of admissions are held at LMA.  They are ACC/3444/PR/01   I had a look at them last year but I was looking for the dates 1890-1891 which were found in 046-050.
Like you, Pauly, I found a rellie in there on the census so from these LMA records I got the court where he was tried, the crime (stealing a knife worth 2/6) his sentence, age, height, religion, where born.

jane

[prue12]

Does anyone know whether the Wandsworth prison records in LMA would include any record of children born in the prison? My great great grandmother is reputed to have given birth to a son there in 1877. No record of the registration of his birth has been found but he was baptised by the prison chaplain at a church in Wandsworth, which seems to suggest that there is some truth in the story.

[Valda]

Hi

The survival rate of prison records in general is very hit and miss. You have to consider what would be the purpose of keeping records of children born in a Victorian prison. Keeping and maintaining records was/is time consuming and costs money and therefore records need to be kept which benefitted the purpose of the institution/government department keeping them. Since the prison service had no genealogical or social purpose other than that associated with the incarceration of criminals they would have little purpose for making and maintaining such records. Any reference to a child being born would at best only be shown on the female prisoner's prison record or possibly if it has survived in the prison chaplain's journal - survival rates for which are poor.

The best people to enquire of is the LMA.


Regards

Valda

[Jane Masri]

Hi Prue,
A couple of questions spring to mind as I read your post;
Is it just a family story that the child was baptised by the prison chaplain in a church near the prison?  In my opinion, if the child was to have been baptised it would have been done IN the prison as there's normally a chapel in these institutions.
If this birth did occur, then there should be a registration as it was compulsory after 1874.  Have you asked for help in finding it?

jane

[prue12]

Hi Jane,
The family story was that he didn't have a birth certificate because he was born in Wandsworth prison although other parts of the story suggest that his mother was released not long afterwards, because events occurred elsewhere while he was still a baby.  A couple of weeks ago, among the London Parish Records newly released on Ancestry, I found the record of his baptism in a church which is fairly close to the prison. Further research positively identified the chaplain who officiated at the baptism as the prison chaplain (described in the baptism record as "Chaplain HCWS" which I take to stand for "House of Correction Wandsworth, Surrey"). So clearly there is some connection to the prison. There are a few related researchers working on it, including one in London who has been to the local registrar's office, but there is no sign of a birth certificate there or at the GRO. At least two other siblings born 1864 and about 1873 also do not appear to have had their births registerered, although several others were registered. However, as you say, these siblings were born before compulsory registration. I should also say that the parents were literate, indeed the father had a skilled occupation (although this did not prevent him being a bit of a rogue).
I can't provide too much detail because of the sensibilities of living family members.
It is possible I suppose that the baby was baptised in the absence of the mother.
Regards
Prue

Hi Prue,
A couple of questions spring to mind as I read your post;
Is it just a family story that the child was baptised by the prison chaplain in a church near the prison?  In my opinion, if the child was to have been baptised it would have been done IN the prison as there's normally a chapel in these institutions.
If this birth did occur, then there should be a registration as it was compulsory after 1874.  Have you asked for help in finding it?

jane

[Jane Masri]

Hi Prue,
An interesting piece of research.  I've been digging around & this is just food for thought 
BMD's are registered in the RD of the event.  Is it possible that your 2x great grandmother had the child outside of the prison because either she had been released or she had complications & was therefore removed to a hospital or somewhere similar for the birth, therefore the birth reg. is in another district 
Maybe the prison chaplain befriended her & she wanted him to baptise the child.
Have you tried posting a query in the Common Room to find out if anyone has had a similar experience with a prison birth...it would be interesting to know how these things worked back in the day!
Wouldn't the prison governor have kept a daily log-book of incidents that occured...maybe that's what you need to find 

jane

[Valda]

Hi

The requirement for birth registration began at the beginning of civil registration 1st July 1837, though the onus was on the local registrar to chase up the none registered births. Crucially it was not until 1875 that fines were imposed on parents for none registration.

I do have the birth certificate for a child born in Maidstone prison in the early 1850s. The sentence was for 6 months commencing in early June and the child was born in early August. The birth was registered by the mother later in August in Maidstone. The mother was not local to Kent and in early January the child was baptised back in Surrey in her mother's home village at the end of her mother's sentence.

You would expect institutions like prisons to comply with the law and arrange to have any births registered while the mother was still serving her sentence and even if the mother had been allowed to give birth in the local infirmary (more likely the prison infirmary) you would still expect she would be returned to the prison to complete that sentence. Of course if the mother was near the completion of her sentence the onus would fall to the mother not the prison to register the child.

Have you found information on when the mother was sentenced and for how long and that she definitely served a sentence at Wandsworth prison - she wasn't for instance working in the prison or knew the chaplain through other connections possibly her own husband's incarceration.

Other than the Wandsworth prisoner records I can't see that anything such as Chaplains or Governors' journals have survived for the prison

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/records.aspx?cat=074-acc3444&cid=3#3


Regards

Valda