The Hexham Old Gaol is in the town of

Hexham Hexham ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Northumberland, England, on the south bank of the River Tyne, formed by the confluence of the North Tyne and the South Tyne at Warden, Northumberland, Warden nearby, and ...

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It is reputed to be the oldest purpose-built

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...

. The gaol was built under the order of Margot and

William Melton William Melton (died 5 April 1340) was the 43rd Archbishop of York (1317–1340). Life Melton was the son of Nicholas of Melton, and the brother of Henry de Melton, and John Melton. He was born in Melton in the parish of Welton, about ...

, the

Archbishop of York The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers th ...

, in 1330–33. It held prisoners from

Hexhamshire Hexhamshire is a civil parish in Northern England. It was incorporated into Northumberland in 1572. History Hexhamshire was originally a single parish based on the church of St Andrew, Hexham, and surveys from 1295, 1547 and 1608 all show that t ...

and, in the 16th century, also from the English Middle March, before their trial in the Moothall Court Room nearby. The gaol currently houses a museum, covering: archaeology, archives, costume and textiles, law and order, music, photography, social history, weapons and war. The collections include 15th and 16th century arms and armour, and objects of local historical interest. The Border Library holds the Butler Collection, books, recordings and music relating to the culture of

the Borders The Scottish Borders ( sco, the Mairches, 'the Marches'; gd, Crìochan na h-Alba) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Dumfries and Galloway, East Lothian, Midlothian, South Lanarkshire, West Loth ...

References

External links

Hexham Old Gaol
- official site

at Tynedale Learning Links

Information
from the 24 Hour Museum
Review
Prisons in Northumberland Local museums in Northumberland 1330s establishments in England Prison museums in the United Kingdom Defunct prisons in England Hexham {{UK-prison-stub