Summary
A late-C17 village lock up or blind house, altered in the early C20, and restored in 1978.
Reasons for Designation
The late-C17 lock up c 40m north east of Church Farm, Hilperton, Wiltshire, altered in the early C20 and restored in 1978, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
History
The lock up or blind house in Hilperton dates from the late C17. It was altered in the early C20, when a door was inserted to the rear to allow access from an adjacent garden, but was subsequently restored in 1978.
Lock ups, or blind houses, are small buildings built as temporary prisons for the incarceration of drunkards, vagrants and people disturbing the peace. Generally stone built but occasionally wooden, they are square, round or octagonal and contained either one cell or one for either sex. A small, sometimes barred window was often included but the inside was always dim, hence the term 'blind house'. In some examples an iron cradle in which the prisoner slept survives. They were often built by the parish or as a gift to the village or town by a wealthy resident and are generally centrally placed within the settlement. Blind houses went out of use in the mid-19th century when they were made redundant by the formation of a regular police service.
Details
A late-C17 village lock-up or blind house, altered in the circa early C20, and restored in 1978.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
314451
Legacy System:
LBS
Sources
Books and journals Websites http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/wilts/vol7/pp86-91 Other
Legal
This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.
End of official list entry
