plymouth penitentiary

[Katharine F]

I have come across a woman in the Plymouth Penitentiary (5 Hampton House, Ham St. Charles the Martyr) in 1851, it states she is training as a servant.
 Please does anyone have any information about this place or how someone would come to be there?

[Darwin]

I found this:

The oldest such institution in Plymouth was the Plymouth, Stonehouse and Devonport Penitentiary and Female Home, situated in Ham Lane, off Ebrington Street.  It was founded in 1832 and the inmates were employed in washing and in al the business of a laundry, together with needlework and every kind of household work.  The proceeds of their work paid the expenses of the establishment.

In 1878 the Reverend H Marriott and Mr H T Heywood were the secretaries, Doctor C A Hingston was the physician, Mr J H Eccles, the surgeon, Miss A Trist the matron and Miss M Coaker the sub-matron.
http://www.plymouthdata.info/Penitentiaries.htm

She might have been a "fallen woman" or just be judged to be in "moral danger" to be sent to such a place, according to this book, which has a couple of references to the Plymouth Penitentiary:

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=2rdtBjWjxREC&printsec=frontcover&dq=prostitution+prevention+and+reform&hl=en&ei=WbSoTJmMMKSR4gb-pJnRDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCgQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false

[Katharine F]

Thank you so much for your reply Darwin.

I have just checked on the person again and she was a15 year old girl and her mother had died.  she came from Cornwall and her father and sister still lived in Cornwall.

Wonder why she was in Plymouth although when she was baptized her father was a Royal Marine so there were connections with Plymouth.

I will look on the links you have sent.

[Darwin]

Maybe she ran away from home and was picked up and sent there. Poor thing... 

A reason to be in Plymouth could also be that she went into service there and maybe she ran away from that position. All I know is that life was very tough for any young girl without money or protection so I hope life got better for her afterwards.

[Katharine F]

Found out now that she was 19 years old. 
She did marry in her twenties and have at least one chld and lived to reach her seventies outliving her husband.

[Darwin]

Found out now that she was 19 years old. 
She did marry in her twenties and have at least one chld and lived to reach her seventies outliving her husband.

That sounds like her life improved then, which of course is what anyone would hope for young girl in such a place. I suspect it wouldn't be too difficult to end up in a penitentiary at that time if you you were young, female and single with no money behind you.

[olives]

I have just picked up on this link.

 Could anyone please tell me if this Would be a similar establishment to the Dm of Hope Refuge which was in Hampton street Plymouth, as noted on 1901 census? :-

[stanmapstone]

It is the "Door of Hope Refuge".

Stan

[olives]

Thanks, Stan, but the only reference I can find with regard to the Door of Hope refuge is one in Pasadena, which was founded in 1985.

The place I am referring to was on Hampton Street, Plymouth, Devon - as cited on the 1901 census. I was just enquiring as to what kind of establishment it was then.  Nothing on Google has shown up though.