From the 1640s Scarborough's criminal fraternity were boarded in the prison at Newborough Bar. Cells were 9 feet square and 7 feet high. Some of them were below ground level and "en-suite" meant that the grating in the floor was directly above the open local sewer. There was a "hop it" or lock-up for drunken or unruly prisons to sober up or cool off.
There were three "bedrooms" where debtors could pay 3 old pennies to hire a bed for the night from the jailer and a fourth where, if you provided your own bed, you could have relative luxury for 6 old pennies a week. Conditions were appalling and it was a regular sight to see dirty hands thrust through the pavement gratings and hear plaintive cries for bread or water.
