"...the floor was strewn with bundles of clothes, and a prisoner, with his hair wet and clinging in matted pencils about his face, busy dressing himself in... Flannels, shirt, and stockings, and with a couple of warders in large aprons standing nearby."

(Criminal Prisons in London and Scenes of Prison Life by H. Mayhew and J. Binny, first published in 1862.)

In the nineteenth century many thought "cleanliness was next to Godliness" and prisoners followed strict hygiene rules:

"Every Prisoner shall make his or her own bed, and be washed before 9 o'clock every morning, on pain of forfeiting one day's allowance of provisions. Soap, towels, and combs provided for washing by the Gaoler..."

The bath in this cell, and the one next door, are made of earthenware. They were used by male prisoners who were allowed one bath a week.

There were also strict regulations about keeping the gaol clean:

"The chambers and cells shall be swept out by the Prisoners every morning before the same are left, and washed clean twice a week in the summer, and once in the winter... The day rooms, stairs, and stair-cases shall be washed and cleansed by the Prisoners, on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays, in every week in the summer, and on Wednesdays and Saturdays in the winter; and also the yards, baths, and privies in the same order..."

("County of Denbigh Rules and Regulations for the Government of the Gaol, and Female Prison at Ruthin, 1826.")