Lockup, Stonesfield, Oxfordshire
This small lockup was probably built in the late 17th century. Before the establishment of a national police service people were tried by local magistrates. They travelled round their county and held regular courts at certain places. Serious criminals were be sent from villages to larger towns to be put in prison until the court next visited that town. However more minor offences such as petty theft and drunkenness were often dealt with locally by placing the offenders in a village lockup like this one. They 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.
