H M Prison Dartmoor

The name Dartmoor is synonymous with the prison at Princetown. It was built between 1806 and 1809 by a Devon landowner called Sir Thomas Tyrwhitt who lived at a house called Tor Royal at Princetown and owned quarries near the site of the prison.

Between 1803 and 1814 Britain had been at war with France and there were some 122.000 prisoners of war held at various points around the country, Many were held in the hulks of old ships in Plymouth in very unsanitary conditions so it was decided to move them to Dartmoor.

By 1810 there were some 10.000 French prisoners held at Dartmoor and these were to by joined in 1812 by American prisoners from the War of Independence.
Between spring 1813 and March 1815 there were 6500 American prisoners in the prison although the American war has ended in 1814

During its history the prison has been closed at various times or used for other ventures. From 1917 to 1920 it was used to house so 1100 conscientious objectors.

Now it is classed as a Category C prison and holds around 600 prisoners. In the past it has held some of the most notorious villains in the country.

Back in the 1960's I remember seeing prisoners out in working parties around Princetown and out on the moor with a warder on horseback and also the search parties after a prisoner had escaped. On a day like today with the mist down on the moor it would have been a very desperate man who tried to escape over the moor