WHAT lies beneath the historic town of Devizes was recently showcased in an episode of The Great British Dig: History in Your Garden on More4, where a team of archaeologists explored a Victorian prison.

Presented by Hugh Dennis, the show set out on a mission to find what secrets were buried under the feet of residents in an ordinary suburban housing estate.

Devizes House of Corrections was one of the first of its kind in the UK. The building opened in 1817, replacing the Old Bridewell prison, and for a little while became the only prison in Wiltshire.

Hugh Dennis noted at the beginning of the episode which aired on January 12: “Its revolutionary design aimed to control the prisoners both physically and mentally.

“The walls and buildings of this massive jail have vanished, but with the help of the local community, we want to uncover the prison’s lost footprint.”

Designed with the aim of ‘fixing’ petty criminals in Wiltshire, guards were responsible for controlling the lives of around 700 people in the 1830s, according to Devizes Heritage.

Criminals facing this type of prison were expected to do hard labour, with public hangings being common. But the difference with this prison was that prisoners were under constant surveillance by guards who could apparently monitor them via their observation tower which overlooked their cells.

One of the archaeologists stated before they began the observation process: “It was designed to change the way prisoners behaved, but also how they thought.”

They found a host of items including a toothbrush which was made of bone.

Historian Dr Michala Hughes said when looking at the artefact: “Working-class people in the 19th century period had bad teeth. So that definitely would have been for someone like the governor, it definitely wouldn’t have been for the prisoners. Only wealthy people had toothbrushes around that time.”

They also discovered some large hinges, which revealed large bolts going through the artefact.

Hannah Russ who presents the finds on screen and after the show said: “They’re amazing. It’s really nice that we’ve got some of the wood from the door preserved on here because it’s right next to the iron. So the corrosion has sunk into the wood and preserved it.”

Investigating just how secure the prison was, the team found a solid floor made of concrete; a material fairly new at the time it was used.

Hugh noted: “This suggested that the builders were using the best and strongest materials available for the job.”

At the end of the show, the reconstruction of the site was revealed, showing what the building would have looked like using a 3D virtual model, where Hugh added: “You get a sense of how terrifying this prison was.”