Listed Building record TQ 75 NE 554 - THE ROTUNDA AT MAIDSTONE PRISON

The following text is from the original listed building designation:
BOXLEY ROAD 1. 5278 (South-East Side) The Rotunda at Maidstone Prison TQ 7656 SW 5/179C 26.7.73. II GV 2. Built between 1809 and 1811 by Daniel Alexander. This is the only remaining Turnkey's House, of 4. Originally the building was attached to buildings on all 4 sides for reasons of security. It is now all one floor with basement but appears originally to have been 3 storeys and basement. Built of Kentish ragstone. Slate roof with wide moulded eaves cornice. Stringcourse from 1st floor to ground floor. Circular in shape but the 2 lover floors splay out on all 4 aides and were originally attached to other buildings. The 2nd floor windows are blank sashes. The 1st floot has 2 round-headed windows on each elevation. The ground floor has fixed windows set in segmental openings with cast iron columns. Attached to Theatre block on ground floor. Domed interior.
All the listed buildings at Maidstone Prison form a group.
Listing NGR: TQ7612656279 (1)

Rotunda at Maidstone Prison. The large roundhouse lay at the centre of the original complex. It was built during the initial construction of the prison between 1810 and 1822. It consisted of three stories with a mixture of keeper's accommodation and offices on the lower two floors, and a chapel on the taller top storey. The chapel has been floored and subdivided into offices. At the centre of the tower there is a cast iron stair inside a cylindrical brick core which rises to the top of the block. The structure is carried on cast iron columns from which brackets project. There is now no natural lighting in the stairwell but originally this would have been lit by the strange tall lantern shown in early engravings. Around the stair there is a narrow circular corridor from which four corridors radiate to give access to four rooms. Each room is wedge shaped. Some retain their original cornices. The large round tower was the geographical and administrative centre of the site. The upper two floors were linked to the flanking wings by iron walkways.

Historic England archive material: BF090993 HMP MAIDSTONE, COUNTY ROAD, MAIDSTONE

<1> English Heritage, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest (Map). SKE16160.