Slides · PPTX · 554 KB · 19 slides

Prisons and Prison Reform - Teacher Slides.pptx

The lesson slides with the teacher's notes on each slide, and every question and mark scheme built in. Built from the lesson script on 23 September 2026.

Download Back to Prisons and Prison Reform

EDEXCEL GCSE HISTORY · PAPER 1 · CRIME & PUNISHMENT

Prisons and Prison Reform

c1700-c1900

Chapter 3: Crime and punishment in Britain, c1700-c1900, c1700-c1900

Lesson 3 of 4

openrevise.com

EDEXCEL GCSE HISTORY · PAPER 1 · CRIME & PUNISHMENT

Learning Objectives

Chapter 3: Crime and punishment in Britain, c1700-c1900, c1700-c1900

Lesson 3 of 4

Describe conditions in eighteenth-century prisons.

Explain the work of John Howard, Elizabeth Fry and Robert Peel in reforming prisons.

Explain how the separate system worked at Pentonville, and assess whether it succeeded.

openrevise.com

EDEXCEL GCSE HISTORY · PAPER 1 · CRIME & PUNISHMENT

Setting the Scene

Chapter 3: Crime and punishment in Britain, c1700-c1900, c1700-c1900

Lesson 3 of 4

In the 1700s prisons were mainly used to hold people awaiting trial, and debtors. They were run for profit by gaolers, who charged prisoners for food and bedding. As the Bloody Code and transportation declined, prison became the main punishment for serious crime, and reformers pushed for prisons that would change criminals rather than simply hold them.

1777

John Howard publishes The State of the Prisons.

1813

Elizabeth Fry first visits the women's section of Newgate Prison.

1823

Robert Peel's Gaols Act reforms prisons.

1842

Pentonville Prison opens, using the separate system.

openrevise.com

EDEXCEL GCSE HISTORY · PAPER 1 · CRIME & PUNISHMENT

Prisons Before Reform

Chapter 3: Crime and punishment in Britain, c1700-c1900, c1700-c1900

Lesson 3 of 4

Eighteenth-century gaols were dirty, crowded and corrupt.

Profit

Gaolers were not paid a wage; they charged prisoners fees for food, bedding and even for being released.

Mixing

Men, women, children, debtors and murderers were often kept together.

Disease

Gaol fever (typhus) spread quickly in filthy, crowded conditions.

Schools of crime

First-time offenders learned from hardened criminals.

openrevise.com

EDEXCEL GCSE HISTORY · PAPER 1 · CRIME & PUNISHMENT

The Reformers

Chapter 3: Crime and punishment in Britain, c1700-c1900, c1700-c1900

Lesson 3 of 4

Three people who changed how prisons were run.

John Howard

A sheriff in Bedfordshire who inspected prisons across Britain and Europe and published The State of the Prisons in 1777.

Elizabeth Fry

A Quaker who from 1813 worked with women prisoners at Newgate, teaching them reading, sewing and the Bible.

Robert Peel

As Home Secretary he passed the Gaols Act of 1823, putting some of the reformers' ideas into law.

Howard's ideas

Gaolers should be paid a wage, prisons inspected, and prisoners kept clean and healthy.

Fry's ideas

Women warders for women prisoners, education, useful work and religious teaching.

Peel's Gaols Act

Paid gaolers, regular visits by chaplains, women warders, and education for prisoners.

openrevise.com

EDEXCEL GCSE HISTORY · PAPER 1 · CRIME & PUNISHMENT

The Separate and Silent Systems

Chapter 3: Crime and punishment in Britain, c1700-c1900, c1700-c1900

Lesson 3 of 4

Two competing ideas for how to reform prisoners.

Separate system

Prisoners were kept in their own cells almost all the time, so they could reflect on their crimes and could not be corrupted by others.

Silent system

Prisoners worked together but were forbidden to speak, and were punished if they did.

Hard labour

Prisoners did pointless, exhausting work such as the treadwheel, the crank or picking oakum.

The aim

To make prison hard enough to deter, while giving prisoners the chance to reform.

openrevise.com

EDEXCEL GCSE HISTORY · PAPER 1 · CRIME & PUNISHMENT

Pentonville Prison

Chapter 3: Crime and punishment in Britain, c1700-c1900, c1700-c1900

Lesson 3 of 4

The chapel at Pentonville: separate even in church.

Henry Mayhew and John Binny, The Criminal Prisons of London (1862); public domain copies on Wikimedia Commons.

Pentonville opened in London in 1842 as a model of the separate system. Each of its 520 prisoners had his own cell, where he ate, slept and worked alone.

LIFE AT PENTONVILLE

Cells

Each prisoner had a cell with a toilet, a hammock and work such as weaving or shoemaking.

Masks

Prisoners wore masks or peaked caps outside their cells so they could not recognise each other.

Chapel

Prisoners sat in separate cubicles in chapel.

Effects

Long isolation caused mental illness and suicides.

openrevise.com

EDEXCEL GCSE HISTORY · PAPER 1 · CRIME & PUNISHMENT

Did Pentonville Succeed?

Chapter 3: Crime and punishment in Britain, c1700-c1900, c1700-c1900

Lesson 3 of 4

SUCCESSES

• Cleaner and healthier than eighteenth-century gaols.

• Kept first-time offenders away from hardened criminals.

• Gave prisoners work, religious teaching and time to reflect.

• Became a model for dozens of new prisons.

FAILURES

• Isolation caused mental illness and suicides.

• It did not clearly reduce reoffending.

• It was expensive to build and run.

• The separate system was gradually abandoned later in the century.

openrevise.com

EDEXCEL GCSE HISTORY · PAPER 1 · CRIME & PUNISHMENT

Key Terms

Chapter 3: Crime and punishment in Britain, c1700-c1900, c1700-c1900

Lesson 3 of 4

Gaoler

The person who ran a prison.

Gaols Act

Peel's 1823 law reforming how prisons were run.

Separate system

Keeping prisoners alone in their cells to reflect and reform.

Silent system

Prisoners worked together but were not allowed to speak.

Hard labour

Exhausting, often pointless work such as the treadwheel or the crank.

Treadwheel

A large wheel prisoners had to walk on for hours.

Pentonville

The model prison opened in London in 1842.

openrevise.com

EDEXCEL GCSE HISTORY · PAPER 1 · CRIME & PUNISHMENT

Summary & Exam Focus

Eighteenth-century gaols were dirty, mixed and run for profit.

John Howard and Elizabeth Fry campaigned for cleaner, fairer prisons.

Peel's Gaols Act of 1823 put reform into law.

Pentonville (1842) used the separate system - with mixed results.

EXAM FOCUS

Explain why there were changes to prisons in the period c1700-c1900. (12 marks)

Link the changes to causes - reformers, the decline of the Bloody Code and transportation, new ideas about reform.

openrevise.com

EDEXCEL GCSE HISTORY · PAPER 1 · CRIME & PUNISHMENT

Exam Practice - Prisons and Prison Reform

Chapter 3: Crime and punishment in Britain, c1700-c1900, c1700-c1900

Lesson 3 of 4

Answer all questions. Use specific names, dates and examples in every answer. · 35 minutes

Question 1 · 4 marks · Explain one way

Explain one way in which prisons in the eighteenth century were different from prisons in the late nineteenth century.

Question 2 · 12 marks · Explain why

Explain why there were changes to prisons in the period c1700-c1900. You may use the following in your answer: John Howard; the end of…

Question 3 · 16 marks · How far do you agree?

"The separate system at Pentonville was a failure." How far do you agree? Explain your answer. You may use the following in your answer…

openrevise.com

EDEXCEL GCSE HISTORY · PAPER 1 · CRIME & PUNISHMENT

Question 1 · 4 marks · Explain one way

Chapter 3: Crime and punishment in Britain, c1700-c1900, c1700-c1900

Lesson 3 of 4

“

Explain one way in which prisons in the eighteenth century were different from prisons in the late nineteenth century.

HOW TO ANSWER IT

Command word: Explain one way. Worth 4 marks, so plan before writing.

openrevise.com

EDEXCEL GCSE HISTORY · PAPER 1 · CRIME & PUNISHMENT

Question 2 · 12 marks · Explain why

Chapter 3: Crime and punishment in Britain, c1700-c1900, c1700-c1900

Lesson 3 of 4

“

Explain why there were changes to prisons in the period c1700-c1900. You may use the following in your answer: John Howard; the end of transportation. You must also use information of your own.

HOW TO ANSWER IT

Command word: Explain why. Worth 12 marks, so plan before writing.

openrevise.com

EDEXCEL GCSE HISTORY · PAPER 1 · CRIME & PUNISHMENT

Question 2 · mark scheme

Chapter 3: Crime and punishment in Britain, c1700-c1900, c1700-c1900

Lesson 3 of 4

12 marks available. Award a mark for each point made.

Level 1 (1-3)

A simple or general answer

Level 2 (4-6)

Some explanation of one or more reasons, with some knowledge

Level 3 (7-9)

A developed explanation linked to the question, with accurate knowledge

Level 4 (10-12)

An analytical explanation of several reasons, with knowledge that goes beyond the stimulus points

openrevise.com

EDEXCEL GCSE HISTORY · PAPER 1 · CRIME & PUNISHMENT

Question 3 · 16 marks · How far do you agree?

Chapter 3: Crime and punishment in Britain, c1700-c1900, c1700-c1900

Lesson 3 of 4

“

"The separate system at Pentonville was a failure." How far do you agree? Explain your answer. You may use the following in your answer: prisoners' cells; mental illness. You must also use information of your own. (16 marks, plus 4 for spelling, punctuation, grammar and specialist terminology)

HOW TO ANSWER IT

Command word: How far do you agree?. Worth 16 marks, so plan before writing.

openrevise.com

EDEXCEL GCSE HISTORY · PAPER 1 · CRIME & PUNISHMENT

Question 3 · mark scheme

Chapter 3: Crime and punishment in Britain, c1700-c1900, c1700-c1900

Lesson 3 of 4

16 marks available. Award a mark for each point made.

Level 1 (1-4)

A simple or generalised answer

Level 2 (5-8)

Some analysis, with a judgement that is asserted

Level 3 (9-12)

Analysis of both sides with accurate knowledge and a supported judgement

openrevise.com

EDEXCEL GCSE HISTORY · PAPER 1 · CRIME & PUNISHMENT

Question 3 · mark scheme (cont.)

Chapter 3: Crime and punishment in Britain, c1700-c1900, c1700-c1900

Lesson 3 of 4

Level 4 (13-16)

Sustained analysis, knowledge beyond the stimulus, and a clear, justified judgement

SPaG (4)

Accurate spelling, punctuation and grammar, with specialist terms such as separate system and hard labour

openrevise.com

1 / 19

← → to move, F to present full screen, G for every slide at once.