The history of the British prison system only had systematic records
from the middle of the nineteenth century. Before that, material on
prisoners in local jails and houses of correction was patchy and
minimal. In more recent times, many prison records have been
destroyed.
In Tracing Your Prisoner Ancestors, crime historian Stephen Wade
attempts to provide information and guidance to family and social
history researchers in this difficult area of criminal records. His book
covers the span of time from medieval to modern, and includes some
Scottish and Irish sources.
The sources explained range broadly from central calendars of prisoners,
court records and jail returns, through to memoirs and periodicals. The
chapters also include case studies and short biographies of some
individuals who experienced our prisons and left some records.