Newspaper cuttings from 1805
Royal Cornwall Gazette 06 July 1805
"His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales is about to erect at his own expense, a chapel at Prince Town, on the forest of Dartmoor under the direction of Thomas Tyrwhitt, esq. lord warden of the stannaries. It will be a chapel of ease to the parish of Lydford. We understand the Lord Warden has suggested to government the propriety of erecting a building near the above, for depositing such prisoners of war as shall be brought into the port of Plymouth, who may without difficulty be conveyed up the river Tamar, and landed a few miles from the spot."
"His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales is about to erect at his own expense, a chapel at Prince Town, on the forest of Dartmoor under the direction of Thomas Tyrwhitt, esq. lord warden of the stannaries. It will be a chapel of ease to the parish of Lydford. We understand the Lord Warden has suggested to government the propriety of erecting a building near the above, for depositing such prisoners of war as shall be brought into the port of Plymouth, who may without difficulty be conveyed up the river Tamar, and landed a few miles from the spot."
An interesting little newspaper cutting giving an indication that the village of Princetown had both its name and a church before the prison was built.
Morning Chronicle 21 October 1805
"PRISON of WAR, DARTMOOR.
THE COMMISSIONERS for conducting his Majesty's Transport Service, and for the Care and Custody of Prisoners of War, Do hereby Give Notice, That they will be ready at this Office, on Monday, the 16th day of December next, to receive sealed tenders from such persons as may be willing to CONTRACT for the BUILDING of a PRISON, for the Confinement of Five Thousand Prisoners of War, on Dartmoor, in Devonshire. Plans and Specifications will be laid for inspection on Monday, the 18th day of November next, at this Office, and at Torr Royal on Dartmoor, near the spot on which the prison is to be built. The tenders are to contain Proposals for Prices for executing the work, including every trade, or for any separate trades respectively, with the names of sufficient sureties for fulfilling the contracts thereafter to be entered into. The buildings and boundary walls will cover about fifteen acres ; they are to be constructed of moor stone, to be broken from the scattered rocks on the spot, where there is also fine gravel, sand, and water ; they are to be floored with timber, and roofed with timber and slate. Torr Royal is distant from Moreton 15 miles, from Plymouth 15 miles, from Tavistock six miles, and from Lophill Quay nine miles, where there is good lime, and to which there is navigation up the Tavy, from Plymouth. No tenders will be received after one o'clock on December the 16th, the day of treaty, nor will any be attended to unless the party, or an agent for him, should attend."
"PRISON of WAR, DARTMOOR.
THE COMMISSIONERS for conducting his Majesty's Transport Service, and for the Care and Custody of Prisoners of War, Do hereby Give Notice, That they will be ready at this Office, on Monday, the 16th day of December next, to receive sealed tenders from such persons as may be willing to CONTRACT for the BUILDING of a PRISON, for the Confinement of Five Thousand Prisoners of War, on Dartmoor, in Devonshire. Plans and Specifications will be laid for inspection on Monday, the 18th day of November next, at this Office, and at Torr Royal on Dartmoor, near the spot on which the prison is to be built. The tenders are to contain Proposals for Prices for executing the work, including every trade, or for any separate trades respectively, with the names of sufficient sureties for fulfilling the contracts thereafter to be entered into. The buildings and boundary walls will cover about fifteen acres ; they are to be constructed of moor stone, to be broken from the scattered rocks on the spot, where there is also fine gravel, sand, and water ; they are to be floored with timber, and roofed with timber and slate. Torr Royal is distant from Moreton 15 miles, from Plymouth 15 miles, from Tavistock six miles, and from Lophill Quay nine miles, where there is good lime, and to which there is navigation up the Tavy, from Plymouth. No tenders will be received after one o'clock on December the 16th, the day of treaty, nor will any be attended to unless the party, or an agent for him, should attend."
And here we have the very first official tender for the building of Dartmoor Prison. The reference to 'Lophill Quay' is puzzling. Some 13 miles from Princetown lies Liphill Quay, but that place is somewhat inland of the River Tavy. A mystery to be further explored ...