Village Lockup, Church Street, Digby, Lincolnshire
This small building covers a well in the centre of the village. It dates from the 17th century. It is also believed locally to have been used as the village lockup. It is similar in style and appearance to other 'lockups' of this period at Breedon-on-the-Hill and Worthington in Leicestershire. Before a national system of policing was set up many villages had their own lockup. Petty criminals or drunks were held for a short time before being released or sent to a larger town for trial. They were often built as part of a complex including the village pound, stocks and pillory. They date back to around the 1560s. Generally the lockup was used by the parish constable who had the unpaid job of keeping law and order in his own parish.
