	As late as 1851 the "Merlin", the local paper, noted that "the diet in the County Gaol is now confined to oatmeal porridge, milk and bread; meat and vegetables not being allowed. It is said that the knowledge of this spartan fare has already had a good effect outside the prison walls." The message being that would-be criminals would be deterred from crime simply by knowing how dreadful prison fare actually was.