[1] Wiltshire Justices decided to build a formal house of corrections, following the example of Bridewell Prison, London, which had opened in 1556.

Between 1770 and 1806 various improvements were made to the bridewell after an inmate Thomas Platt died of cold and hunger in custody.

[3] By 1882 the building had been renamed The Grange, and was used as an infants' day nursery from 1895 till 1903, and later as a home for elderly women.

The Devizes County House of Corrections was opened in 1817 after taking seven years to build, and was the replacement for The Old Bridewell.

It was located on the west side of Devizes, near what is still called Prison Bridge over the Kennet and Avon Canal.

[2] The prison, designed by Richard Ingleman, was a polygon of brick and stone with the governor's building in the middle.