Newcastle Prison: A History 1828 - 1925

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.  

Table of Contents:
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

About the Author :
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.

Review :
coming soon