Lockup, Bisley, Gloucestershire
A village lockup, dated by a datestone to 1824. This is the only lockup in Gloucestershire to have such a datestone. Before a national system of policing was set up many villages had their own form of secure lockup. Petty criminals were held for a short time before being released or sent for trial. The nearby Bear Inn was once the court house and stocks were once set up opposite. Lockups were often built as part of a complex including the village pound, stocks and pillory. They date back to around the 1560s. Generally the lockup was used by the parish constable who had the unpaid job of keeping law and order in his own parish.
