Last Updated: Thursday 13th July, 2000

The Old Gaol

The Archbishop of York, Lord of the Manor of Hexham, wrote in 1330:
We order you to build a good strong gaol, in which our prisoners may be kept safely...and in 1332:
see that you supply our gaol at Hextildesham with fetters, manacles and other implements necessary for safe keeping. We have appointed John of Cawood, the barber and serjeant of our manor, as keeper of this same gaol ... see he receives the customary twopence daily for his service,

This is the earliest documented prison in Britain, though it no longer holds prisoners. Now it houses the Border History Museum.
It tells of the Wardens and their courts,
The Reivers and their lawless lifestyle
The towers and bastles of the Border Dales
The Old Gaol also houses a research library covering
past times in Tynedale.