Gaols

A google search showed me that Ipswich gaol was much bigger than I imagined, in fact, rather more majestic than any place I have ever lived. In the 1820s, the cells were considered good and the bedding was laid on slabs of Yorkshire stone, fixed in supports from the floor and a thick straw mat laid on the stone. I am pretty sure that Yorkshire stone would have been just as hard as any other. There was no mention of bedsprings or other luxuries. The main job for the men was picking oakum. This was not a fun job, pulling old ropes to pieces so that the fibre could be reused. It would have been better to have been picking flowers or raspberries but they were not given that option.

Today, I visited another of Ephraim's gaols, Port Arthur. When the sun is out and the gardens blooming it is hard to take in the fact that it was such a harsh place. The Model Prison had had a face lift and I even found evidence of Ephraim ,  a tiny copy of his photo on one of the walls. I was pleased to learn that servants and better classes of prisoners ( as he became) were able to wear the more upmarket single colour suit instead of the magpie suit. I am sure that yellow was never his colour. The hat they wore was really strange, somewhat like two circles joined together at the sides and a crown on the top. Was it representative of his life - going round in circles and always ending up in gaol?

The cap on the right was made of leather and the circular sides were turned up