	The gaol was designed by William Blackburn and constructed between 1788 and 1790. It was designed as a reformed gaol, following the principles of the first prison reformer John Howard. The first Governor was James Baker, who received £100 per annum. The gaol cost around £5,000 to build, on land procured from Henry Somerset, 5th Duke of Beaufort and was constructed of local stone, some 18,000 tons of which was removed from a quarry situated in Lower Redbrook.