Transportation was where convicted criminals were sent to the colonies to serve their sentence. Any criminal with a sentence of 7 years or longer could be transported.  The Gaol records show many individuals being sentenced to 7 years penal servitude and transportation. 

Transportation was introduced regularly as part of the penal system in the early eighteenth century, with convicts going to the American colonies. This ended in 1775 with the American Revolution but commenced again in 1787 with convicts being sent to Australia. In 1840 transportation to New South Wales was discontinued but continued to Van Dieman’s Land (Tasmania) until 1853. In 1849 transportation started to Western Australia.  Prisoners who received a transportation sentence were not normally allowed to return to England.

Most prisoners receiving a transportation sentence were sent initially  to the Hulks in London and served the first part of their sentence in solitary confinement before being assigned to a convict ship and leaving England.

Penal Servitude was introduced by the 1853 Penal Servitude Act that retained only long-term transportation and the 1857 Penal Servitude Act abolished the sentence of transportation - but in fact prisoners were still transported after this date.

Penal Servitude was a term of imprisonment that usually included hard labour and was served in this country. Ranging from 3 years to life, it was for those who would have been transported for less than 14 years. It could also be used as an alternative sentence for those liable to transportation of 14 years or more.

Sentences of 7 years transportation or less were substituted by penal servitude for 4 years; 7 to 10 years transportation by 4 to 10 years; 10 to 15 years by 6 to 8 years’ penal servitude; over 15 years’ transportation by 6 to 10 years’ penal servitude; transportation for life by penal servitude for life.

Therefore records tended to put transportation and penal servitude together. . This clumsy system of converting transportation to penal servitude equivalents was theoretically ended by the Penal Servitude Act of 1857; subsequently prisoners were sentenced directly to penal servitude if found guilty of offences that formerly warranted transportation. However, in practice,  convicts were still being transported as late as 1867 so there continued to be a hazy overlap between the sentencing of transportation and penal servitude for many years. 

It is possible to make a 'best guess' for the prisoners that passed through Bedford Gaol where 'penal servitude and transportation' are both given as the sentence. 

For prisoners sentenced to 7 years or more before 1853 then they were likely to have been transported.  Prisoners sentenced after 1867 are likely to have served their sentence in English prisons.  Between 1853 and 1867 for sentences of 7 years or more, either or elements of both sentences could have been applied.  Only by tracing what happened to individuals is it possible to determine where their final sentence was actually served. For examples within the GAOL databases try searching on Henry Catlin (1843); William Jones (1861); and Walter Pratt (1864).

The records held at Fremantle Prison Western Australia do show that prisoners sentenced to Penal Servitude but not transportation, but who were in fact transported, could return to England at the end of their sentence.

Examination of the transportation records indicate that in general only a few prisoners died during transportation, surprising when the general heath of prisoners leaving England was often poor.  Many prisoners did very well after being transported - serving only a short time confined, or labouring before being released on licence.