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📍 Belfast Prison Crumlin Road Gaol
Belfast Prison (HMP Belfast), also known as Crumlin Road Gaol (Crumlin Road Gaol), is the only surviving former Victorian prison in Northern Ireland since 1996. Due to its architectural and historical significance, the Northern Ireland Environment Authority classified it as a Class A building. Now, it has been transformed into a tourist attraction for prison experiences, and even a venue for events and weddings.
The Crumlin Road Courthouse, which stands across from the prison, has been abandoned since it was closed. While the prison is in operation, there is a tunnel connecting the two buildings under the main road to transport prisoners. Currently, this abandoned courthouse is open for sale for hotel use.
The whole prison experience remains interactive. In addition to informational videos, there are also many “recreated” prison scenes. Prisoners were allowed to receive packages three times a week during their remand period. The package will be placed in the visitor area at the front gate, searched there, and then taken to the side wing for distribution. Prisoners will be called out of the cell alone and their packages will be picked up from this post office.
In the early days of prison, the age of criminal responsibility was only 7 years old, which meant that children could be imprisoned from the age of 7. According to records, the youngest child imprisoned at Crumlin Road Prison was only 10 years old. However, after a 13-year-old child named Patrick Magee (Patrick Magee) committed suicide in a C-wing cell because he did not want to face flogging, the law raised the minimum age to 14.
Each cell was initially designed for single occupancy, and an inspection report from 1849 recorded the prison's capacity as 320 people. However, in the 70s and 80s, the prison population reached nearly 1,400 people due to unrest and unjudged confinement. It is not unusual to have three inmates in each cell. During this period, there were still no hygiene facilities in the cell, and toilet pots were still being used. It appears that the level of hygiene was poor.
Although many of the conditions in the prison were less than ideal, I was surprised that they were given the opportunity to attend school every week. On the walls of the art room, there are many paintings drawn by prisoners. Not only is it now mixed with traces of visitors “visiting here,” but I can't figure out which are the works of that year.
Before 1961, 17 inmates were executed in prison. Prisoners are required to stay in this “meditation room” with 2 guards 18 hours before execution. The interior windows were blackened, leaving inmates waiting to die in this dark room.
Finally, we arrived at this room where countless lives were taken - the execution room. The whole air was filled with a depressing atmosphere, and we watched the full list of all the convicted prisoners inside. When the prisoner was taken to the execution room, he was bound with his legs tied, a hood on his head, and a rope around his neck. According to reports, above our heads were the original wooden beams and the original spare rope (which have not been used). In the early days, most of the inmates were strangled, so a metal ring on the gripper was added later to secure a broken neck.
After leaving the execution room, we went back outside in clear weather. Looking back at the entire prison's architecture from here, I had a different feeling from when I first visited.
When we left the prison, we saw the little flowers growing between the bricks, like all the people and stories that had survived adversity.
How do I get to Belfast Gaol?
💡 Address: 53-55 Crumlin Rd, Belfast BT14 6ST (Google Map RequestClick here)
💡 Tickets:Book tickets in advance
💡 Transportation:Travel to Belfast by train / Airline ticket price / European train prices
💡 Website:https://www.crumlinroadgaol.com/
💡 Business hours: 10:30 AM-3PM (Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Thursday)/4:30 PM (Friday, Saturday, Tuesday)
