Writing on the wall

Australian descendants of a York prisoner make the trip around the world to see where their ancestor was imprisoned.

Pam Naylor, her daughter Rachel and granddaughter Laura, from Melbourne, came all the way to York to see where Simon Hargreaves, their ancestor, was imprisoned in 1829 for stealing food.

Simon, who lived in Leeds, was originally sentenced to death after being caught with a "boiled egg in one pocket", but this was commuted to transportation for life. Certainly Pam was grateful for this change. "I suppose we wouldn't be here today if Simon had been executed," jokes Pam, Simon's great-great granddaughter.

While in prison at York Castle, now York Castle Museum, Simon wrote his name on the wall of the exercise yard, which can still be seen today. The museum also chose Simon as one of the projected characters appearing in the cells to help tell the story of the type of people once imprisoned there.

Digging through the past

"Mum did some research," says Rachel, "but we never knew all the details. All we knew was Simon was deported to Tasmania. It wasn't until the York Museum Trust got in contact with us that we learnt about Simon's time in York and the mark he made on the prison wall."

When asked if the family made it to England often, Rachel added, "My husband is English, -coincidentally from Yorkshire in fact - so we've been to visit a few times. It was certainly faster for us to get here than it took Simon to travel to Australia. Three months at sea must have been horrible for him. But we're glad to be here enjoying York. Enjoying it more than Simon did, anyway".

After three unsuccessful escape attempts Hargreaves eventually became a successful business owner in Australia and raised a family, including Pam's great granddad, also called Simon.

See his name scratched into the prison yard wall for yourself at The Castle Museum. Call  687687.

About the author