The area of the Black Hole of the Police Station, Douglas, Isle of Man, 1932-34...

On the back of this photograph John James Frowde writes, "The area of the Black Hole of the Police Station, and the entry thereto. Judging by the stretch and height of the stone under structure of the Customs House, and by the quantity of building stone on the site of the cellar, it must have been of considerable extent, and possibly spacious enough to house, for a night, a considerable number of roysterers on occasion. It may have functioned as a coal cellar , or a storage ditto for contraband. The latter the more likely. It would seem that access to it from the building above has long been cut off, when only a few loose planks are there to guard the opening. (2.1.35) Mr Clague informed me that in levelling out this area, he came across, & demolished, the police cell 'black hole', in a line with the boarded up passage in the print. He said that its dimensions would be 9 feet by 7, approximately."