Victorian jail cell attraction opens at Shrewsbury Prison

A new museum and Victorian jail cell were unveiled a the Dana Prison on Bank Holiday Monday by the last prison governor, Gerry Hendry.

Mr Hendry, said: “One of the last questions I was asked before I retired was what would I like to see happen to the site, and I said I would like it to be preserved for the people of Shrewsbury and Shropshire. So the idea of it being a living museum is fantastic.

“Prisons have long been closed environments, secret places shut off from the public, but Shrewsbury Prison is now open for everyone to see a part of living history.

“I think Shrewsbury was a great prison and I was sad that it was closed down. It was doing good work and was humane. It was treating offenders’ behaviours and changing them for the better. But now thankfully it’s legacy is still here.”

He said the addition of the Victorian cell brings the prison to life once more.

“I think it’s important people come to experience it for themselves,” he added.

“You can actually get a feel for what it was like and the new museum helps to do that too.”

Actors on site give an insight into what life would have been like at the Dana more than 100 years ago.

A young woman tells the story of how she lived in a cell with baby. The woman was due to be hanged for stealing a piece of ribbon but the execution was halted because she was pregnant.

In Victorian times the baby was allowed to live with the mother in the prison until the age of nine months, when it would be sent to an orphanage.

Mayor of Shrewsbury, Jane MacKenzie said: “I think it is a great amenity for the local community.

"Opening up the prison so people can come and see what it is like is a great tourist attraction.

“The new cell is wonderful and it is such a good idea to put an actor in there because it really brings it to life.”

Mr Hendry also cut the ribbon to the new museum which features the Bible used between 1911 and 1961 for executions.