The Gaol ActThe preamble of the Discharged Prisoners' Aid Act 1862 (25 & 26 Vict. c. 44) provides that this act is thereinafter referred to as "the Gaol Act". (4 Geo. 4. c. 64), sometimes called the Gaol Act 1823,John Frederick Archbold. The Practice of the Court of Quarter Sessions. Third Edition. By C W Lovesy. Shaw and Sons. Fetter Lane, London. 1869. Page 251. the Gaols Act 1823,Radzinowicz. A History of English Criminal Law and Its Administration from 1750. Steven & Sons Limited. London. 1948. Volume 1 (The Movement for Reform). Page 806. the Gaols, etc. (England) Act 1823,The Oxford History of the Laws of England. Oxford University Press. 2010. Volume 13. Page xlix. the Prison Act 1823,A Descriptive Report on the Quarter Sessions, other Official, and Ecclessiastical Records in the Custody of the County Councils of West and East Sussex. (Record Publication 2). Clerk of the West Sussex County Council. County Hall, Chichester. Clerk of the East Sussex County Council. County Hall, Lewes. 1954. Page 56. or the Prisons Act 1823,P W J Bartrip. The Home Office and the Dangerous Trades. Brill. 2016. Page 36. was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom to reform prisons.
The act mandated sex segregated prisons and female warders for female prisoners across the whole of the then British Empire.
Passage Leave to bring in the Prisons Bill to the House of Commons was granted to Thomas Courtenay , the home secretary, Robert Peel and the solicitor general, Sir John Copley on 7 March 1823. The bill had its first reading in the House of Commons on 10 March 1823, presented by Thomas Courtenay . The bill had its second reading in the House of Commons on 14 March 1823 and was committed to a committee of the whole house, which met on 17 March 1823 and reported on 22 March 1823, with amendments. The amended bill had its third reading in the House of Commons on 25 and passed, with amendments.
The bill had its first reading in the House of Lords on 26 March 1823. The bill had its second reading in the House of Lords on 2 May 1823 and was committed to a select committee, +NameHenry Somerset, 7th Duke of BeaufortHenry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess of LansdowneJohn Pratt, 1st Marquess CamdenCropley Ashley-Cooper, 6th Earl of ShaftesburyGeorge Wyndham, 3rd Earl of EgremontCharles Chetwynd-Talbot, 2nd Earl TalbotHenry Lascelles, 2nd Earl of HarewoodJohn Cust, 1st Earl BrownlowHenry Addington, 1st Viscount SidmouthHenry RyderThomas Brand, 20th Baron DacreGeorge Rice, 3rd Baron DynevorEdward Harbord, 3rd Baron SuffieldGeorge Eden, 1st Earl of AucklandGeorge Gough-Calthorpe, 3rd Baron CalthorpeThomas Powys, 2nd Baron Lilford The committee reported on 10 June 1823, with amendments. The amended bill was reported to a committee of the whole house, which met on 13 June 1823 and reported on 17 June 1823, with amendments. The amended bill had its third reading in the House of Lords on 18 June 1823 and passed, without amendments.
The amended bill was considered and agreed to by the House of Commons on 7 July 1823 with amendments. The amended bill was considered and agreed to by the House of Lords on 9 July 1823.
The bill was granted royal assent on 10 July 1823.
Overview John Howard , for whom the Howard League for Penal Reform is named, was a key penal reformer of the 18th century. In 1785 he and Jeremiah Fitzpatrick observed the sexual degradation of women and girls in Wicklow Gaol.
In 1813 Elizabeth Fry was prompted by a French-American Quaker, Stephen Grellet, who advocated sex segregation of prisons in Russia on his visit to the then Russian Empire, now Russia and Ukraine. She visited and was appalled at the conditions of women and girls at Newgate Prison. She was the first woman to give evidence to a House of Commons select committee about the sexual degradation of women and girls at the hands of both male prisoners and warders. This led directly to the Gaols Act 1823, which was introduced and supported by the Home Secretary Robert Peel. Her letters were collected together by her daughters into a journal of her life (the custom among Quakers) "The Life of Elizabeth Fry".
In particular Elizabeth Fry was involved in the amelioration of the conditions of women and girls deported to Australia "in little better than slave ships". It is worth noting that it was not until 1833 that slavery was abolished in the then British Empire, some 10 years after the act and some 20 after her work started.
The act introduced regular visits to prisoners by chaplains; provided for the payment of gaolers, who had previously been paid out of fees that the prisoners themselves were required to pay; stated that female and male prisoners should be kept separated as well as requiring the installation of female wardens to guard female prisoners; and prohibited the use of irons and manacles. Peel's Judgement of Death Act 1823 (4 Geo. 4. c. 48) and four others passed at the same time lifted the death penalty from 130 crimes.
Provisions Repealed enactments Section 1 of the act repealed 23 enactments, listed in that section, "so far as relates to such Gaols or Prisons, or Houses of Correction". +CitationShort titleDescriptionExtent of repealAppeal by PrisonersA Statute passed in the First Year of the Reign of King Edward the Third.As relates to Inquiry to be made of Gaolers, which by Duress compel Prisoners to appeal.4 Edw. 3. c. 10Receipt of offenders by sheriffs, etc.A Statute passed in the Fourth Year of the Reign of the said King Edward the Third.As relates to Sheriffs and Gaolers receiving Offenders without taking any thing.14 Edw. 3. Stat. 1. c. 10Custody of gaols, etc.A Statute passed in the Fourteenth Year of the Reign of the said King Edward the Third.As relates to the Punishment of a Gaoler compelling a Prisoner by Duress to become an Approver .7 Jas. 1. c. 4Vagabonds Act 1609An Act passed in the Seventh Year of the Reign of King James the First, intituled An Act for the due Execution of divers Laws and Statutes heretofore made against Rogues, Vagabonds and sturdy Beggars, and other lewd and idle Persons.As relates to the providing Houses of Correction, to the Appointment, Authority and Allowance of the Governor, and to his accounting to Justices for Persons committed to his Custody.19 Cha. 2. c. 4Poor Prisoners Act 1666An Act passed in the Nineteenth Year of the Reign of King Charles the Second, intituled An Act for the Relief of poor Prisoners, and setting them to work.As relates to the providing Stocks for setting such Prisoners to work, and to the Removal of Prisoners on occasion of Sickness. I.e., sections 1, 2, 3, 5.22 & 23 Cha. 2. c. 20Insolvent Debtors Relief Act 1670An Act passed in the Twenty second and Twenty third Years of the Reign of the said King Charles the Second, intituled An Act for the Relief and Release of poor distressed Prisoners for Debt.As relates to Prisoners being allowed to send for Victuals and other Necessaries, and to Fees and Charities, and to the Separation of Felons and Debtors.