The Lock-Up beside the telephone kiosk in Brompton Regis village is a scheduled monument. The area around it is in a sorry state. The Parish Council would like to tidy up the area, replace the bench that was removed a few years ago and perhaps add an information notice about our Lock-Up.
And, by the way – we are negotiating to have the phone box redecorated.
Would you like to help with a tidy up? A small group of volunteers could make a big difference together for a couple of hours.
If so please contact the Clerk or Chairman, Sarah or Matthew on
brpcclerk@gmail.com or tel 07884 00 3833
Did you know….
Lock-Ups were also called ‘blind houses’ because they were so dark inside. They were used as temporary holding places for offenders who were being brought before the local magistrate and ‘for the incarceration of drunkards, vagrants and people disturbing the peace’. Often built by civil parish authorities, or a wealthy local resident they were usually made of stone and had one or two cells. The earliest recorded examples date from the C-13. Most fell out of use in the mid C-19 after the establishment of a regular police service.
The Lock Up at Brompton Regis is shown on the Tithe map of 1836 but a date for its construction has not so far been established. An animal pound was built against the north wall of the lock up and is shown on the first and second edition Ordnance Survey maps of 1889 and 1904. That was demolished (probably in about 1908 when the churchyard was extended and a new path to Hightown was laid out) and is part of the listed monument.
After the Lock Up fell out of use it appears that it may have been used as a coke store for the church. Around 1980 the roof, which was previously domed, was taken down as it was unsafe; however, it was replaced by a flat roof of stone slabs when the lock up was restored by the parish council in 2004. In addition, the original north entrance was reinstated, and a probable late-C20 doorway in the east wall was infilled..