Page 144 - Bulletin 7 2003

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The lock-up keeper from 1892 until 1898 was Mr. Adshead. He lived in the front
section of the house with his wife and three children (two girls and a boy).

Behind the house were three cells. Cell No. 1 housed four permanent prisoners
who were used by the Village Management Board for menial work at a cost of 1/-

per day per prisoner. The Village Management Board had to provide a security

officer with revolver when the prisoners were out working. Cell No. 2 was
reserved for females, while Cell No. 3 was for any other prisoners arrested.

Incredibly, though, Mr. Adshead’s children slept in Cell No. 2. When questioned
by the Inspector of Police about this Adshead merely replied that he used Cell

No. 3 for females, if any arrived, and shoved all other prisoners arrested into Cell
No. 1 with the four V.M.B. prisoners. Mr. Adshead earned £80 per annum and

the matron who cooked food for the prisoners £10 per annum (whether she

cooked for Adshead’s family is unknown).

The fact that Adshead used Cell No. 2 for his children was as farcical as the fact

that the Resident Magistrate of Simon’s Town held the weekly Periodical Court
in Adshead’s sitting room. Adshead’s own table and two chairs (one for the

Resident Magistrate, the other for the Clerk of the Court) were used while the rest
of the Court, which included prisoners-in-irons, witnesses, and lawyers, were

crammed into the room to a point of chaos. Often it was so crowded with
prisoners that little could be heard or written down. The poor ventilation and the

body odour of unwashed prisoners led to endless complaints from all and sundry,

and it was not unusual for people to faint. The furniture belonged to Adshead
and, on his resignation in January 1899, he claimed compensation for the wear

and tear of his carpets and furniture during court proceedings. This was refused
by the Resident Magistrate.

Adshead in his six years (1892 – 98) did a good job, despite the circumstances,

and in his report on the Kalk Bay lock-up in January 1898 the Inspector of

Prisons’ reported that the building was clean, the store records and books were
kept satisfactorily, and the prisoners’ health was good. Discipline was noted as

fair. The report stated, however, that no smallpox vaccinations had been done and