Newcastle Prison
A History 1828 - 1925
Published on 4. August 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
199 pages
978-1-7392233-5-9 (ISBN)
Description
Beneath
the cover of darkness on a cold October night in 1925, the bodies of 12
executed men were quietly moved from the yard of the newly-closed Newcastle
Prison and reburied in All Saints Cemetery in Jesmond. This haunting event
marked a poignant chapter in the intriguing tale of Newcastle Prison. Once
celebrated as a cutting-edge facility designed by acclaimed architect John
Dobson, the prison opened its doors in 1828 to much fanfare. However, it
quickly became infamous for its overcrowded and unsanitary conditions. By the
time it closed its doors in 1925, it was deemed a dismal failure, and today, no
trace of the once-prominent structure remains.
Written
on the 100th anniversary of the closure of Newcastle Prison, this book invites
you to explore hidden stories and rare images from the lives of those
incarcerated, and the staff, who lived and worked within its walls. During its
years of operation, the Prison housed thousands of men, women, and children,
enduring a harsh environment marked by severe punishment. You will meet the
individuals who navigated life behind bars, find out about heartbreaking
narratives from the women's wing, uncover the mystery of the missing executed
bodies, and learn about audacious escape attempts.
Featuring
remarkable stories, alongside specially commissioned and never-before-seen 3D
modelled images of the prison, the book draws on detailed archival research and
the latest digital techniques to offer a unique
and revealing insight into the prison's architectural and social development,
vividly bringing the past to life.
the cover of darkness on a cold October night in 1925, the bodies of 12
executed men were quietly moved from the yard of the newly-closed Newcastle
Prison and reburied in All Saints Cemetery in Jesmond. This haunting event
marked a poignant chapter in the intriguing tale of Newcastle Prison. Once
celebrated as a cutting-edge facility designed by acclaimed architect John
Dobson, the prison opened its doors in 1828 to much fanfare. However, it
quickly became infamous for its overcrowded and unsanitary conditions. By the
time it closed its doors in 1925, it was deemed a dismal failure, and today, no
trace of the once-prominent structure remains.
Written
on the 100th anniversary of the closure of Newcastle Prison, this book invites
you to explore hidden stories and rare images from the lives of those
incarcerated, and the staff, who lived and worked within its walls. During its
years of operation, the Prison housed thousands of men, women, and children,
enduring a harsh environment marked by severe punishment. You will meet the
individuals who navigated life behind bars, find out about heartbreaking
narratives from the women's wing, uncover the mystery of the missing executed
bodies, and learn about audacious escape attempts.
Featuring
remarkable stories, alongside specially commissioned and never-before-seen 3D
modelled images of the prison, the book draws on detailed archival research and
the latest digital techniques to offer a unique
and revealing insight into the prison's architectural and social development,
vividly bringing the past to life.
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Language
English
Place of publication
Newcastle upon Tyne
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Newcastle Libraries & Information Service
Illustrations
79 black and white illustrations and 21 colour
Dimensions
Height: 228 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 15 mm
Weight
536 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-7392233-5-9 (9781739223359)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Dr
Patrick Low specialises in the history of execution and post-mortem punishment
in the North East of England. He is a published academic author and freelance
expert for the BBC's Murder, Mystery and My Family and a web designer.
In 2022 he developed, with Dr Shane McCorristine, an online history of
Newcastle Gaol.
Dr
Shane McCorristine is Reader in Cultural History at Newcastle University
specialising in the history of crime, exploration, and the supernatural. He is
a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and his books include William
Corder and the Red Barn Murder: Journeys of the Criminal Body (2014) and The
Spectral Arctic: A History of Dreams and Ghosts in Polar Exploration (2018).
Dr
Helen Rutherford is an Associate Professor in the Law School at Northumbria
University. She is a qualified solicitor. Her historical research interests
include the nineteenth century coroner and crime, trials, and punishment - with
a North East England focus. She is the editor (with Clare Sandford-Couch and
Patrick Low) of Execution Culture in Nineteenth Century Britain-From Public
Spectacle to Hidden Ritual (2020).
Dr
Clare Sandford-Couch is an Associate Lecturer in the Law School at Leeds
Beckett University. A solicitor and a legal academic for over 20 years, Clare
has published on legal history and visual culture, and criminal legal histories
in North East England in the nineteenth century. She is currently researching
policing and detection in nineteenth century Newcastle.
Patrick Low specialises in the history of execution and post-mortem punishment
in the North East of England. He is a published academic author and freelance
expert for the BBC's Murder, Mystery and My Family and a web designer.
In 2022 he developed, with Dr Shane McCorristine, an online history of
Newcastle Gaol.
Dr
Shane McCorristine is Reader in Cultural History at Newcastle University
specialising in the history of crime, exploration, and the supernatural. He is
a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and his books include William
Corder and the Red Barn Murder: Journeys of the Criminal Body (2014) and The
Spectral Arctic: A History of Dreams and Ghosts in Polar Exploration (2018).
Dr
Helen Rutherford is an Associate Professor in the Law School at Northumbria
University. She is a qualified solicitor. Her historical research interests
include the nineteenth century coroner and crime, trials, and punishment - with
a North East England focus. She is the editor (with Clare Sandford-Couch and
Patrick Low) of Execution Culture in Nineteenth Century Britain-From Public
Spectacle to Hidden Ritual (2020).
Dr
Clare Sandford-Couch is an Associate Lecturer in the Law School at Leeds
Beckett University. A solicitor and a legal academic for over 20 years, Clare
has published on legal history and visual culture, and criminal legal histories
in North East England in the nineteenth century. She is currently researching
policing and detection in nineteenth century Newcastle.
Content
1. Introduction
2. Life Inside
3. Prison Staff
4. The Women's Gaol
5. Escapes
6. Executions
7. Burial & Post-Mortem Punishment
8. Demolition and Beyond
2. Life Inside
3. Prison Staff
4. The Women's Gaol
5. Escapes
6. Executions
7. Burial & Post-Mortem Punishment
8. Demolition and Beyond