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During your Guided Tour, a Prison Officer will shine a light on what life was like for prisoners, officers and visitors. This no-holds-barred tour will bring this historic and fascinating prison to life.
You’ll be met by one of our Tour Guides with encyclopaedic knowledge of the prison’s rich history, dating back to the Georgian Era to modern day. During your 1.5 hour tour, you’ll explore every corner of this iconic prison. You’ll visit 2 traditional Victorian Prison wings, wander the landing just as officers did for 200 years and discover what it was like to be locked behind the steel doors.
Book NowReception: This is where all prisoners entering or leaving the prison were processed. Here, you’ll see the BOSS chair (Body Orifice Security Scanner).
Exercise Yards: Walk the two exercise yards, both bound by the foreboding high prison walls. Discover intriguing facts, such as why was netting placed over the main exercise yard and whether prisoners always walked in a clockwise direction?
Healthcare: See where prisoners queued for their medication and where drug and alcohol addiction programmes were administered.
Visits: The only place within the prison walls where prisoners could meet with people from outside the jail. Learn about the number of visits a prisoner was entitled to, the duration of these visits and why this area had the highest level of security and scrutiny within the prison.
Book NowExecutioner’s Bedroom: This is where many executioners, such as Albert Pierrepoint, spent the night before sending the condemned man through the drop.
Condemned Man’s Cell: Here, prisoners would have spent their final days before being hanged.
Execution Room: One of the darkest places within the prison. A total of eight men lost their lives in this room after committing horrendous crimes. Learn about George Riley the last man to be executed at Shrewsbury Prison in 1961. Hear the stories of how executions happened, why public executions were outlawed and why The Death Penalty was abolished in 1965. You’ll also discover what made Albert Pierrepoint The World’s Most Well-Known Executioner.
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