Devon County Council

• Introduction
• Devon and Exeter Female Reformatory School
• Devon and Exeter Reformatory School for Boys

Introduction

Voluntary reformatories for young people had been opened by the Philanthropic Society and by private founders in the early 19th century. However juvenile delinquency was viewed with such increasing concern that in the 1840s, a Select Committee of the House of Lords was set up, and his resulted in the passing of two Youth Offenders’ Acts in 1854. The Acts required the Home Office to certify certain recognised institutions, which came to be known as Certified Reformatories and Certified Industrial Schools. Reformatories were classified differently from Industrial Schools, as reformatory schools were for actual offenders, while industrial schools were designed for neglected and destitute children, and those in danger of falling into crime.  By 1888, there were 46 reformatory schools in England and 10 in Scotland.

Devon and Exeter Female Reformatory School, Exeter

Devon and Exeter Female Reformatory School was an institution for the industrial training of juvenile offenders – that is, for girls up to the age of 16 years, who had been convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment. They spent a short time in an adult prison, followed by a period of up to 5 years in Devon and Exeter Reformatory, which was a certified Reformatory School. The order for detention was made by the Court, and the maximum limit for a Reformatory School was the age of nineteen.

Devon & Exeter Reformatory and Refuge for Girls was certified on 26th June 1858, and was situated in Polsloe Road, Exeter. The premises also housed a refuge for discharged prisoners which had moved in 1858 from Lawn Lodge, Sidwell Street. Exeter. The first Honorary Secretary was William Townsend Esquire, of Friar’s Walk, Exeter. The Female Reformatory was a residential school, where clothing, food and lodging were supplied whilst the girls were given training. In reality, punishment was also an essential part of a very strict regime, which included hard labour.

In 1927, the institution became known as the Devon and Exeter Girls' Training School, and on moving in January 1960, it was renamed Farringdon House School, after its new premises.

Records of the Devon and Exeter Reformatory and Refuge for Girls held at Devon Record Office are subject to a 100-year closure from the date of the most recent entry.

As at January 2006, those records which contain entries dated no later than January 1906 are open for public consultation. They are found in collections 3899F/ and 3899F add 3/.

The following are some of the records relating to the Devon & Exeter Female Reformatory and Refuge which are open to public access.  There are also earlier records relating to the management of the Refuge for Discharged Prisoners, from its inception in 1835.  For a full list of our holdings, see the catalogue lists in the search-room.

Records containing references to inmates

3899F/R1/1 - Case Book, 1850-1861 - this volume relates to inmates in  the Devon and Exeter Refuge for Discharged Prisoners (women only) which in 1858 moved to new premises and became combined with the new Devon and Exeter Girls' Reformatory School  in 1858.   Devon Family History Society volunteers are planning to compile an index to the names of persons found in this case book, and when completed, this index will be available for sale from the Society.

3899F add 3/1/ESA/1 - Register of girls detained, 1859-1868, categorized according to county or place of origin.  The register is a monthly return book, adapted for use as a rough register.   It records name; admission no.; age (in some cases); where convicted; length of sentence; dates of admission and discharge.  Not all entries are complete.   Devon Family History Society volunteers are currently compiling an index to the names of girls found both in this register and in the papers ESA/2-35, following.  This index will be available for sale from the Society when completed.

3899F add 3/1/ESA/2-35  - Papers for some girls admitted between 1859 and 1873.  Includes copy warrants for imprisonment, committal and detention orders, medical certificates, applications for admission.

3899F/R2/1 to 4 - Four volumes of accounts, 1859-1891, from the Devon and Exeter Girls' Reformatory School.  These are "accounts of maintenance of juvenile offenders" and have yearly lists of names of girls in the reformatory for which money was paid in support, by local authorities inside and outside the county, and by parents in some cases. The accounts are a more complete listing of the girls who were confined in the reformatory than the other records which we have,  but they give much  less detail.

3899F/M1/2 (1 volume) -  Minute book with printed reports of the Devon and Exeter Girls' Reformatory School, but which also includes a list of inmates with their dates of discharge, for 1862-1880.

Management and administration records

3899F/A1/1 (1 volume) - Benefaction and subscription lists with printed accounts of opening in 1858, and notices of meetings, advertisements, correspondence and other material, 1858-1869, pasted into the volume.

3899F/M2/1-2 -  Directors' monthly meeting and minute books, 1858-1888

3899F/M2/5-7  - House Committee minute books, 1859-1888

3899F/Z2/1-2 -  Matron's Journals, 1858-1882, with gap between 1860 and 1868

3899F/Z2/6  - Visitors' inspection book, 1858-1860

3899F add 3/ESM/1 - Small account book for food and other supplies, 1847

3899F add 3/ESM/2 - House rules and regulations, a printed leaflet listing duties of the warders and cook, and rules for inmates, to be read on their admission

3899F add 3/ESM/4 - Devon Girls’ Reformatory : Schoolmistress’s Regulations and Duties, Polsloe Road, Exeter, 24th June 1896

Devon and Exeter Reformatory School for Boys

The Devon and Exeter Reformatory Farm School for Boys was founded in 1855, and began its life at premises at Brampford Wood, in the parish of Brampford Speke, just north of Exeter.   The Honorary Secretary was Dyer Knott, Esq, who was based at The Castle,  Exeter.   It admitted boys under 14 years of age, who had been convicted of a crime and sentenced to a term of detention, in accordance with the Youthful Offenders' Act. The reformatory was supported by subscriptions and a Government allowance of 5 shillings per week for each boy in 1857.

The inmates were employed in garden and farm work, under the supervision of the superintendent, who was assisted by a bailiff.  Part of each day was spent in the reformatory school-room.

The reformatory school later moved to premises at Whipton.  In 1955, it became part of the new Northbrook House School at the Whipton site.

Records of the Devon and Exeter Reformatory for Boys held at Devon Record Office are subject to a 100-year closure from the date of the most recent entry.

The following records relating to inmates at this reformatory are open for public access:

5880F/   (unlisted collection) - Includes admission register for Devon and Exeter Reformatory, Brampford Wood, covering 1876 to 1894. Devon Family History Society volunteers are compiling a published index to the names of boys found in this register, and when completed, this index will be available for sale from the Society.

4449F/R1/1 - Admission register for Devon and Exeter Reformatory, Brampford Wood. Contains entries no. 372-519, covering 1894 to 1905.

4449F/R1/1 - Register of discharges, apparently for Devon and Exeter Reformatory, Brampford Wood. Covers the years 1889 to 1905.