Wicklow Gaol
Wicklow Gaol | |
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Priosúin Chill Mhantáin | |
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Alternative names | The Gates of Hell |
General information | |
Type | Prison |
Architectural style | Victorian prison |
Address | Kilmantin Hill,Wicklow,Ireland |
Coordinates | 52°58′44″N6°02′14″W/ 52.978835°N 6.037132°W |
Construction started | 1702 |
Completed | 1843 |
Renovated | 1995 |
Demolished | 1954 (partial) |
Technical details | |
Material | slate,granite,red brick,timber,cast iron,concrete |
Floor count | 3 |
Design and construction | |
Architect(s) | William Vitruvius Morrison |
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d9/Wicklow_Gaol_interior.jpg/220px-Wicklow_Gaol_interior.jpg)
Wicklow Gaolis a former prison, now amuseum,located in the town ofWicklow, County Wicklow, Ireland
History[edit]
Prison[edit]
There has been a prison on the site since the late eighteenth century. Prisoners were held at Wicklow Gaol during the1798 Rebellionand theGreat Famine,as well as many held there prior topenal transportation.[1]
The prison was extended in 1822 to a design byWilliam Vitruvius Morrison,and further extended 1842-3.[2]
The prison in 1877 was demoted to the status of ‘bridewell’, a prison for petty offenders awaiting trial, and closed down by 1900, but reopened in 1918 to hold republican prisoners during theIrish War of IndependenceandIrish Civil War(the most famous of them wasErskine Childers); the last prisoners left in 1924.[3][4]
Museum[edit]
In 1995 renovations began, and it reopened as a museum in 1998, claiming to be one of the world's mosthaunted buildings,due to the long history of suffering associated with it. The prison was featured on a 2009 episode ofGhost Hunters International.[5][6]
References[edit]
- ^"Wicklow gaol listed among the top 10 most haunted places in the world – WicklowNews".
- ^1820-1843: Building Expansion
- ^1916-1923: The Independence Era
- ^1928-2014-closure-renovation/ 1928-2014: Closure and Renovation
- ^"'Haunted' Wicklow jail to feature on TV show ".The Independent. 1 September 2010.Retrieved2 November2019.
- ^"Wicklow's Gaol".IMDB.Retrieved2 November2019.