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Ripon
Police
Museum
Neil Hallam
, Editor
Derbyshire Branch members Peter and Olivia Dowling
joined Elaine and I for a thoroughly recommended trip to Ripon.
T
he trip was a recce
for a possible Blue
Knights outing, so we enjoyed some
fantastic motorcycling through Yorkshire’s
beautiful roads and scenery. Even the most
scenic of journeys need a destination, and ours
was Ripon with its trio of interactive, police
related museums.
The same admission ticket, costing £12 gave
us access to the Workhouse, Police and Court
Museums. Sadly, the Court Museum was short of
volunteers and closed early. But our ticket is valid
for 12 months, giving us another excuse to visit
Yorkshire.
We started in the Workhouse, which has been
restored to its former glory and is staffed
exclusively by volunteers. All the volunteers
get into the spirit of the building by dressing in
appropriate clothing to give a very immersive
experience. A group of Brownies visiting at the
same time were certainly immersed into the
days of the Workhouse, where the staff had
them sweeping floors and beating carpets. We
were spared such chores as we watched the
youngsters learn about Victorian life.
The main focus of our visit was he Police
Museum, which did not disappoint. Like the
Workhouse, this was also fully restored, with
many interactive exhibits, but did not have the
actors we encountered at the Workhouse.
The restored building began life as a small
prison, then became a Police Station, with its
own Cell Block. Madam Tussauds type exhibits
demonstrated what life was like for the Victorian
prisoners, and we were able to get into the spirit
of things with historic uniforms to try on.
Today, our prisons try to focus more on
rehabilitation than retribution. In the heyday of
Ripon Prison, the balance was the other was
around. When a convict was sentenced to Hard
Labour, their labours were often performed
through pointless activity in their cell. In one
example, a device with a crank handle is fitted in
a cell. The prisoner would be sentenced to a set
number of handle rotations. Bad behaviour would
be punished by the jailor “turning the screw” and
making the handle more difficult to turn.
In another example a wooded treadmill is fitted in
a cell, where the prisoner had to walk continuously
uphill. Olivia could not resist trying out the
Birching Stool, where more severe punishment
was handed out. Peter was not brave enough to
fully put the apparatus to its intended use.
We had a thoroughly enjoyable visit and look
forward to returning to visit the Court Museum.
One tip on accommodation, Ripon is very
expensive, but nearby Thirsk is much more
reasonably priced.
Olivia gets the birch
Peter relives his time as a motorcycle officer
Neil tries out
the Treadmill
Elaine and Peter
join the Ripon Police
The cell block
Cultural
POLICE WORLD
Vol 61 No. 4, 2016
11