The old Down County Gaol is an authentic Georgian Gaol, used between 1796 and 1830, and now the home of Down County Museum, on the Mall, Downpatrick.
Work started on the gaol in 1789, the year of the French Revolution, and the gaol was overcrowded with rebels, many wounded after the battles of the 1798 rebellion in Down.
The gaol is located next to the Courthouse, dating to 1735, and held prisoners sentenced there, including many who were later transported to Australia.
The original granite-lined cells, with original doors, survive on the ground floor of the cell block at the rear of the site.
In the centre of the complex stands the Governor's Residence, where the gaoler lived, and where the United Irishman Thomas Russell was held before his execution at the gates of the gaol in 1803.
The exteriors of the buildings and the high curtain wall of the gaol have been restored over a period of 25 years, and the gaol is therefore one of the best preserved examples of its date and type in Europe.
Email:
mail@downcountymuseum.com
Web:
www.downcountymuseum.com
Contact: Mike King
Down County Museum
The Mall, English Street
Downpatrick, County Down
Northern Ireland
BT30 6AH
Tel: +44 (0) 28 4461 5218
Fax: +44 (0) 28 4461 5590