Artist/Event Name: Ghost Hunting at Ruthin Gaol
Venue: Ruthin Gaol
Time: 21:00
Date: 21/08/2010
Town/City: Ruthin
Country: Wales
Postcode: LL15 1HP
Official Ticket Price: 47.99
Quick Ticket Links:
Recommended Ticket Website: http://www.haunted-experience.co.uk/events/rg1408.html
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Loading ...Ghost Hunting at Ruthin Gaol @ Ruthin Gaol - Description
The imposing facade of Ruthin Gaol awaits you at the entrance to the town, and has done since the 1600s.Now a popular museum and offices, the Gaol appears to still house some inmates long since its closure. Who still walks the dark corridors and who still seems to be serving time in one of the many cold, bleak cells? That’s for you to find out…
History
Until the 16th century, gaols were regarded mainly as a means of holding prisoners awaiting trial; the actual punishment inflicted varied from fines, through a spell in the stocks, to branding, whipping and execution. Executions at Ruthin generally took place in St Peter’s Square. The last execution on the Square is believed to have been that of a Franciscan priest, Father Charles Mahoney (or Meehan), in 1679.
Towards the end of the 16th century prisons had come to be used as a means of punishment – for debt, non-payment of fines, minor misdemeanours and especially vagrancy. Offenders and unconvicted people (male and female) were usually crowded together in unpleasant and unhealthy conditions. Small gaols, like the one at Ruthin, proved unable to cope. To counter this an Act of 1576 enabled Houses of Correction to be built. The main purpose of the House of Correction, also known as the “Bridewell”, was not to punish criminals but to eliminate vagrancy, which had become a problem throughout the county. Able-bodied idlers and the unemployed, instead of being thrown into prison, were sentenced to the Houses of Correction.
The judges at the Court of Great Sessions ordered the Denbighshire justices of the peace to build the first county House of Correction at Ruthin in 1654. The House was built at the bottom of Clwyd Street on the same site as the present jail buildings. However conditions at the House of Correction deteriorated as it came to be used as a general place of detention. The Denbighshire justices now decided to build an entirely new prison. The architect Joseph Turner of Chester was appointed to design it in 1775. This building served as the county jail until 1866.
After the Prison Act of 1865 it was decided to extend the existing gaol and a new four-storey wing was built. When completed the new prison could accommodate about 100 prisoners.
In 1877, under a new Prison Act, control of local prisons passed to the Home Office. In 1878 Ruthin County Gaol became H.M. Prison Ruthin and remained open for 38 years until 1916. In 1926 Denbighshire County Council bought the buildings from the Prison Commissioners and converted them for office and library use. During the Second World War the Gaol was taken over as a munitions factory. Floors were inserted in the space between the galleries of the 1866 block.
Paranormal Activity
A regular haunt of the Haunted Experience team has seen us conduct numerous investigations here over the last few years. There have been numerous reports of activity both experienced personally, by guests and stories we have been told.
Footsteps seem to walk through the cells above when no one is there and keys can often be heard jangling outside the cells. Most intriguingly is the sound of cell doors slamming closed echoes through the building, especially from the upper floors. This is made more fascinating by the fact that all the cell doors on these floors are locked…
A dark, imposing figure resides in the dark cell, and often causes guests to feel uneasy – the smell of what can only be described as rotting flesh floats around the cell, and women often feel they have been touched on the head by phantom hands.
The sound of a young girl humming is also heard around the gaol, as is the sound of heavy footsteps outside a number of the cells. This has been attributed to the negative presence of an unhappy gaoler by the name of William Kerr.
There is also William Hughes, the last man to be hung at the gaol, who also likes to make himself known in a variety of ways. He was the only person to be hung at the gaol, and guests often feel a sensation they liken to that of a rope around the neck in one of the cells.
What will you experience on your haunted experience?
The Event
Throughout the event you will have full access to Ruthin Gaol where you will be taking full part in all aspects of the event. You’ll be taking part in a wide range of experiments that will hopefully allow you to experience something truly paranormal. But that’s not all – you’ll be working with experienced investigators and mediums who will guide you through the night, whilst giving you full use and guidance of our ghost hunting equipment.
Don’t forget to bring your cameras and camcorders too – you really never know what you might capture!
This post was submitted by heben.
Getting There
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