(Criminal Prisons in London and Scenes
of Prison Life by H. Mayhew and J. Binny, first published in 1862.)
"Oakum Picking."
(Criminal Prisons in London and Scenes of Prison Life by H. Mayhew and J. Binny, first published in 1862.)
| oakum picking | |
| Oakum picking, the unravelling and cleaning of rope or "junk", was introduced into prisons as a punishment for men in 1840: | |
| "...prisoners were given a weighed quantity of old rope cut into lengths equal to that of a hoop stick. Some of the pieces are white and sodden looking... others are hard and black with tar upon them. The prisoner takes up a length of junk and untwists it and when he has separated it into so many corkscrew strands, he further unrolls them by sliding them backwards and forwards on his knee with the palm of his hand until the meshes are loosened. The strand is further unravelled by placing it in the bends of a hook fastened to the knees and sawing it smartly to and fro which soon removes the tar and grates the fibres apart. In this condition, all that remains to be done is loosen the hemp by pulling it out like cotton wool, when the process is completed... The place is full of dust... the shoulders of the men are covered with brown dust almost as thick as the shirt front of a snuff taker... the hard rope cuts and blisters their fingers." | |
|
(Criminal Prisons in London and Scenes
of Prison Life by H. Mayhew and J. Binny, first published in 1862.)
|
|
|
|
|
"Oakum Picking." (Criminal Prisons in London and Scenes of Prison Life by H. Mayhew and J. Binny, first published in 1862.) |
|
| .Oakum picking was very unpleasant and prisoners were punished if their work was "light" or short. Sometimes the prisoners were paid - "money for old rope". | |