I leafed through an interesting book in a gift shop: “Victorian Villains: Prisoners from Newcastle Gaol 1871-1873″ by Barry Redfern. It’s a thin volume, but, opened at random, it gave some nice food for my fantasies.

…for the year 1855 there is a very interesting note on the 175 “other punishments” used that year. All but two were shower baths, which, according to the Governor, formed a “very efficacious punishment which he could scarcely do without.” The exceptions were used in “two instances of gross misconduct by two females violently shouting, calling out from their dormitories, and disturbing the whole prison, when a headpiece of muzzle was placed upon the prisoners, which effectually prevents them from shouting but allows them to respire freely.”

I was delighted to discover that disciplinary showers, which Abel is so fond of, are actually an authentic prison punishment. I wish the prison records had more detail about how a “shower bath” was administered. Was it a private affair, between a prisoner and her guard, or would several prisoners be showered at once? Did it have to do with washing, or simply thoroughly drenching the offender? Was there any scrubbing, and if so, who did it?

With the records of punishments being so sparse, however, I’m sure we can make up the relevant details ourselves.