House of correction, developed in England for detention and punishment, was a revolutionary concept meant for rehabilitation. Prior to the 16th century, prisons were used for detention, while corporal and capital punishment were administered. Queen Elizabeth I established the house of correction for hard labor, which was seen as reformatory and provided free labor to increase the country’s wealth. The development of the house of correction played a large part in what would come to be known as the Poor Laws. The first house of correction was the Bridewell, which spawned similarly named institutions across Europe and the United States.
House of correction, now used generally as a term for prisons, has a very specific meaning and an important place in history. These prisons, which were developed in England for centuries before becoming legally sanctioned institutions in the early 17th century, were a means of both detention and punishment for criminals. Though many view the privations and brutality of the old prison systems in horror, the house of correction was, in its own way, a revolutionary concept that was, in theory, meant to provide inmates with an opportunity for rehabilitation.
Prior to the 16th century, prisons were primarily used as places of detention rather than prisons. The earliest laws greatly favored the administration of corporal and capital punishment, including whippings, branding, public imprisonment in stocks, beheadings, burnings and mutilations. Pending the execution of a sentence, prisoners were held in local jails, but the crimes rarely carried a prison sentence. The idea of holding a prisoner in jail for a while and then releasing him was rather strange for the legal systems of the time.
Queen Elizabeth I of England had more than a few problems to deal with during her reign, one of which was rebuilding her country as a wealthy nation. The establishment of the house of correction played a part in this transformation which she termed her rule, using prisoners for hard labor. Instead of the simple entertainment and warning provided by a good whipping, prisoners would be incarcerated for a set period, usually not exceeding two years, and forced into hard labour, which was seen as reformatory. The fact that the house of correction also provided free labor to increase the country’s wealth was probably a major factor in the 1609 law which made a house of correction compulsory in every English county.
The development of the house of correction played a large part in what would come to be known as the Poor Laws. These laws were a means of dividing indigent citizens into those deserving of social services, such as the aged or infirm, and those who were vagabonds, beggars and thieves by choice. The laws were intended to place the care and treatment of the so-called deserving poor in the hands of each community, creating a mechanism to reform or at least punish those who were “undeservedly” poor.
The first house of correction was a mansion built during the mid-16th century called the Bridewell. For this reason, other houses of correction came to be known commonly as Bridewells, a term which spread beyond the borders of England. The prison closed in 1616, but spawned several similarly named institutions across Europe and the United States.
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