The Devon and Exeter Reformatory Farm School for Boys was founded in 1855. It started life in Brampford Wood, which is just north of Exeter in the parish of Brampford Speke. The property was an ordinary house and not specifically built as a school.
Boys under the age of 14 years, who had been convicted of a crime, were sentenced to detention here. Prior to their arrival at the school, the boys were sentenced to a number of days in the adult prison in Exeter. The purpose of this was to discourage them from a life of crime by illustrating what lay ahead for them if they continued in their criminal ways.
They were educated at the school and also worked in the large school garden and carried out farm work. In this way they hoped to reform the boys’ ways from their criminal path. The school-room was set up from the end of the 19th Century when a schoolmaster was appointed.
The Superintendent was in charge of the school and, along with his family, lived on the premises. The Superintendent’s wife worked as the Matron and a farm bailiff also lived at the school.
The reformatory school changed location in 1900 and moved premises to Whipton.It eventually became part of the Northbrook House School, in Whipton, in 1955.
| Census Year | Name | Job | Age | Place of Birth | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1861 | William Harris | Master | 34 | Devon, Exeter | |
| Emma E. Harris | Matron | 31 | Devon, Exeter | ||
| Thomas Sparkes | General Servant | 25 | London | ||
| John H. Hallam | Bailiff | 24 | St. David’s Exeter | Lived in Cottage adjoining the school | |
| 25 inmates recorded | |||||
| 1871 | William Harris | Master | 44 | Devon, Exeter | |
| Emma E. Harris | Matron | 41 | Devon, Exeter | ||
| Elizabeth Perkins | Servant | 14 | Umberleigh, Devon | ||
| Carles Perkins | Farm Bailiff | 46 | Hardwike, Gloucester | ||
| Mary Ann Perkins | Assistant to Farm Bailiff | 44 | Hinckley, Leicester | ||
| 31 inmates recorded | |||||
| 1881 | William Harris | Master | 54 | Exeter, Devon | |
| John Hall | Bailiff | 27 | Kenn, Devon | ||
| 29 inmates recorded | |||||
| 1891 | William Harris | Master | 64 | Devon, Exeter | |
| Emma E. Harris | Matron | 61 | Devon, Exeter | ||
| Samuel Down | Bailiff | 36 | Devon, Winkleigh | ||
| Sarah Down | Assistant to Matron | 33 | Devon, Sampford Courtenay | ||
| 27 inmates recorded | |||||
| 1901 | John R. Sheppard | Superintendant & Head Schoolmaster | 45 | Hants., Gosport | |
| Emma J. Sheppard | Matron | 44 | Devon, Stonehouse | ||
| Arthur Harrison | Assistant Schoolmaster | 28 | Lancashire, Accrington | ||
| Florence E Rundle | General Servant (Domestic) | 23 | Devon, Exeter | ||
| Thomas Madge | Farm Bailiff | 37 | Devon, Bow | ||
| 37 inmates recorded | |||||
| 1911 | James Twigg | Superintendent | 45 | Yorkshire, Adel | |
| Margaret Elizabeth Twigg | Matron | 34 | Devon, Exminster | ||
| Joseph Frost | Schoolmaster | 39 | Derbyshire, Stanton | ||
| Thomas Madge | Farm Bailiff | 46 | Devon, Bow | ||
| James Tancock | Farm Labourer | 22 | Devon, Pinhoe | ||
| Ebenezer Cracknell | Gymnastic & Manual Instructor | 21 | Yorkshire, Leeds | ||
| 52 inmates recorded | |||||