Object Record
Images
Metadata
Object ID # |
1959.023.007 |
Object Name |
Key |
Title |
Gaol Door Key (19th-century) |
Lexicon category |
2: Building Furnishings |
Date |
19th-century |
Year Range from |
1854 |
Year Range to |
1890 |
Artist |
Unidentified maker |
Made |
Unknown |
Place of Origin |
Unknown |
Description |
A large iron gaol door key. The handle end has a ovoid shape with a slight tip shape present on the inside surface. The ovoid loop is flat front and back and is slightly heart-shaped. The shank is thick and has three rings decorating it, as well as two more before the insertion area of the key. The insertion end is very large (4.3 cm high) and has two mirror-image teeth with a stepped design to them. There is no maker's identification. |
Provenance |
The key was formerly used at the Grey County gaol at Owen Sound, Grey County, in the 19th-century. The newly-created County of Grey had provisional status until its Courthouse and gaol (jail) could be built in the early 1850s. The limestone structure, built by Scottish masons, fronted Bay Street, which is now known as 3rd Ave. East, Owen Sound. The gaol in its early days was considered very insecure, so improvements were made over the years. It is not known if this key dates to the 1850s, or if it was acquired later on. Edward Miller and John Miller served as the County's first gaolers. |
Collection |
Organizational/Government Collection |
Material |
Iron |
Dimensions |
W-1.969 L-6.496 D-0.591 inches |
Found |
Owen Sound, Grey County |
People |
Butchart, George Webster Miller, John P. |
Subjects |
Keys (Hardware) Jails |
Search Terms |
Grey County Courthouse & Gaol (Jail) |
Function |
A key that was formerly used at the Grey County gaol (jail) building at Owen Sound in the 19th-century. |