Hexham Old Gaol

Hexham Old Gaol stands in Hallgate in Hexham, Northumberland. Built in 1332 for the Archbishop of York, William Melton, it was designed as a three-storey rectangular prison in medieval style. The ground floor once had a doorway that was later replaced by a mullioned window and a new arched entrance. Upper floors received lancet windows after the original blind walls proved too dark. Heavy corbels supported the eaves above the top storey. Inside, two vaulted cells in the basement held prisoners from Hexhamshire and the English Middle March. The gaol served as a temporary lock-up before trials at the nearby Moot Hall. During the 1761 Hexham Riot, troops fired on protesters in the Market Place and many rioters were jailed here. After the prison closed in 1820, the building became a bank and solicitor’s office. It later housed the 2nd Northumberland Rifle Volunteers until 1891 and served as a fire lookout in the Second World War. In 1980 it reopened as a museum covering archaeology, costume, law and local history. Visitors find displays of 15th- and 16th-century arms and armour alongside textiles and social history exhibits. The Border Library holds the Butler Collection of books and recordings on Borders culture. Original features include the vaulted cells, later windows and the central arched doorway. The museum sits on Hallgate, close to Hexham Abbey and the Moot Hall.