What the heck is a lek?
Males great bustards perform spectacular courtship displays, gathering at a ‘lek’ or small display ground to try to impress the females.
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This prison cell door comes from the Devizes County House of Corrections, built in 1810 to house a growing number of prisoners. The wooden door has a metal plate between the wood layers and includes a hinged feeding hatch and squint slot window.
This prison cell door originally came from the Devizes County House of Corrections which was built in 1810. Around this time, demand for prison space drastically increased in England due to the reduction in the number of crimes that carried the death sentence. The old Bridewell prison on Bridewell Street no longer had the capacity for the number of people being sentenced to serve time in prison rather than facing the Hangman’s noose.
The Devizes County Hall of Corrections was built as a Panopticon, a type of institutional building designed by the English philosopher and social theorist Jeremy Bentham in the late 18th century. The circular layout of the building allowed the inmates of the institution to be observed by a single watchman, without the inmates being able to tell whether or not they were being watched. This constant feeling of observation was used to ensure the inmates were always on their best behaviour.
Post 1066 thematic unit as part of discussion around crim and punishment through the ages and how it has changed from the early medieval period to more recent times. This meets the needs for relevant and up to date topics for upper Key Stage 2 and also links to citizenship education. This also links to the history of Devizes and Wiltshire for local schools and could be included in a local history study.
This door is made of larch with a metal plate laminated between the wood and has a hinged feeding hatch and a metal framed squint slot window with half-inch thick glass which would have felt impenetrable to the inmates behind it. On the inside of the door two inmates have graffitied their names, G White and Peter Willis. The door itself was rescued from the building after the prison closed in 1921 (with the prison being demolished not long afterwards in 1927). It was then discovered in 1973 set into a garden wall in Keevil in 1973 before later being returned to Devizes where it spent some time in Canal Forge at Lower Canal Wharf before finally being donated to the Wiltshire Museum in 2016.
This item was chosen by three members of Wiltshire Museum’s Youth Panel who were aged between 15 and 17. They chose this item from the Story of Devizes Gallery as they liked how it really told the story of crime and justice in the local area, a topic the museum are exploring with the Youth Panel as plans develop for their move into the currently derelict Devizes Assize Court building. The group also enjoyed the fact they could interact with the door because of how it is displayed, and they could almost feel what it would have been like to be imprisoned behind the door. It sparked some great conversations about exhibition design and the history of the local area as well as Victorian punishments.
Males great bustards perform spectacular courtship displays, gathering at a ‘lek’ or small display ground to try to impress the females.
The great bustard has a dignified slow walk but tends to run when disturbed, rather than fly.
The hen-bird on display at The Salisbury Museum was one of the last great bustards to be eaten in the town!