Bodmin Jail

Dominating the moorland, the forbidding 18th-century Bodmin Jail was built of granite from a local quarry during a period of prison reform lobbied for in the reign of King George III.

Championed by campaigner John Howard, the purpose-built penitentiary was constructed by military engineer Sir John Call and included individual cells and separate wings for men and women, hot water, a chapel, and workshops. Considered to be the ultimate in modern prison design, the regime was nevertheless extremely tough and focused on achieving rehabilitation through harsh punishments, solitary confinement, and religious teachings.

Bodmin Jail quickly became notorious for its severe treatment of prisoners convicted of relatively minor crimes. Punishments included the cruel and exhausting “everlasting staircase,” a type of treadmill on which prisoners would spend hours to power a shaft that milled the prison’s corn. The image below shows the everlasting treadmill being used at HMP Pentonville in 1895.

Fifty-five prisoners, including eight women, were publicly executed at Bodmin, which proved such a popular attraction that a train station was built especially to accommodate the influx of spectators.

The last prisoner to be executed at Bodmin Jail was 23-year-old miner William Hampton, who was hanged in 1909 for the murder of his girlfriend, Emily Tredrea. Hampton had strangled Emily after she tried to end their relationship. Upon convicting Hampton, the jury recommended mercy, and his solicitor petitioned for a reprieve from execution. This was, however, to no avail, and he was hanged just weeks later by official executioner brothers Thomas (shown below) and Henry Pierrepoint. Henry’s son Albert Pierrepoint would go on to become the country’s most prolific and famous hangman, who from 1932–1956 executed around 500 convicts.

In 1850, due to serious overcrowding, which saw many prisoners sharing a single cell, Bodmin Gaol was deemed insanitary and unfit for purpose. In less than a decade, a new prison was built, designed to house greater capacity.

In 1887, the Royal Navy occupied a whole wing of the new building to imprison naval convicts. The women’s wing closed in 1911, and following the outbreak of the First World War (1914–1918), many prison officers and prisoners were called up to fight for their country. During this time, the almost empty jail was used to house many of the nation’s treasures, including the Crown Jewels and the Domesday Book.

The last prisoner left Bodmin in 1923, and in 1927, after 150 years of use, this menacing institution finally closed its doors. The wings and roof were stripped of their value and reutilised. In the 1930s, the administration block of the abandoned former jail was briefly used as a nightclub and casino. After it proved impossible to detonate in the 1940s due to the thickness of its walls, the former jail sat spookily dilapidated and unused for almost 100 years.

In 2004, parts of the building were developed and turned into a popular tourist destination. Then, in 2017, a wealthy businessman visiting the area fell in love with the jail site and the building’s enthralling historical narrative. Together with a huge investment, an amazing vision, and an incredible team of architects, planners, and designers, he undertook a massive project to preserve and transform the main prison building and museum into the beautiful 4-star hotel and rebranded tourist attraction that we see today.