Bodmin Jail is a historic former prison situated in Bodmin

Bodmin

Bodmin is a civil parish and major town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated in the centre of the county southwest of Bodmin Moor.The extent of the civil parish corresponds fairly closely to that of the town so is mostly urban in character...

, on the edge of Bodmin Moor

Bodmin Moor

Bodmin Moor is a granite moorland in northeastern Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is in size, and originally dates from the Carboniferous period of geological history....

 in Cornwall

Cornwall

Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...

. Built in 1779 and closed in 1927, the large range of buildings is now largely in ruins, although parts of the prison have been turned into a tourist attraction.

History

Bodmin Gaol was designed by Sir John Call

Sir John Call, 1st Baronet

Sir John Call, 1st Baronet was an English engineer and baronet.He was born at Fenny Park, Tiverton, Devon, educated at Blundell's School and went to India at the age of 17 with Benjamin Robins, the chief engineer and captain-general of artillery in the East India Company's settlements...

 and built in 1779 by prisoners of war, and was operational for 150 years, in which it saw over 50 public hanging

Hanging

Hanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain...

s. It was the first British prison to hold prisoners in individual cells.

The Debtors Act of 1869 abolished imprisonment for debt so the prison had spare space that was taken over by the Admiralty

Admiralty

The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...

 for naval prisoners. Eventually, the naval prison occupied an entire wing of the building, before it was closed in 1922.

During World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 the prison was deemed worthy of holding some of Britain's priceless national treasures including the Domesday Book

Domesday Book

Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...

 and the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom

Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom

The collective term Crown Jewels denotes the regalia and vestments worn by the sovereign of the United Kingdom during the coronation ceremony and at other state functions...

.

The first hanging was apparently in 1785, but the finishing date of the jail was in 1788. Executioners were paid about £10 a hanging. The last person to be hanged was in 1909, subsequent executions took place in Exeter Prison.

The jail closed in 1927. Since that date, there has been no prison within the county of Cornwall.

Today

Much of the jail remains in ruins, and presents a forbidding aspect when seen from a distance. Some parts have been refurbished and these now form a tourist attraction with exhibitions telling of the history of the jail and of offenders imprisoned there.

The exhibits are not lavish and are fairly basic in design, showcasing gory mannequin

Mannequin

A mannequin is an often articulated doll used by artists, tailors, dressmakers, and others especially to display or fit clothing...

s accompanied with plaques, describing the offence committed by particular persons and their sentence, in their respective cells. Because of the style of exhibit, it has been likened to such attractions as The London Dungeon.

Ghosts

With its forbidding aspect, Bodmin Gaol has attracted many ghost

Ghost

In traditional belief and fiction, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to...

 stories and paranormal

Paranormal

Paranormal is a general term that designates experiences that lie outside "the range of normal experience or scientific explanation" or that indicates phenomena understood to be outside of science's current ability to explain or measure...

 researchers, and there is a ghost walk/night available for tourists.

Series 6, Episode 1 of Most Haunted

Most Haunted

Most Haunted is a British paranormal documentary reality television series. The series was first shown on 25 May 2002 and ended on 21 July 2010. It was broadcast on Living and presented by Yvette Fielding. The programme was based on investigating purported paranormal activity...

, a British made reality TV show, saw the crew attempt their paranormal activities at the jail with presenter Yvette Fielding

Yvette Fielding

Yvette Fielding is a British broadcaster, producer and actress. She is best known for being the presenter of the TV shows Blue Peter, Most Haunted and Ghosthunting With....-Early life and career:...

 and medium

Mediumship

Mediumship is described as a form of communication with spirits. It is a practice in religious beliefs such as Spiritualism, Spiritism, Espiritismo, Candomblé, Voodoo and Umbanda.- Concept :...

, Derek Acorah

Derek Acorah

Derek Acorah is a British medium. He is best known for his work on Most Haunted, broadcast on Living, between 2002 and 2005. He recently presented the series Derek Acorah on Sky Real Lives...

. Unsuccessful with many attempts, the team supposedly made contact with many light and sound entities, whilst Acorah claimed to have been possessed by a bothered spirit named Kreed Kafer, a South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

n. It has since come to light that "Kreed Kafer" was a fictional character, who was created purely by parapsychologist and crew member Ciarán O'Keeffe

Ciarán O'Keeffe

Dr. Ciarán O'Keeffe is a British parapsychologist. He has held a Research associate position at Université de Toulouse, Le Mirail and also an online tutor position at Derby University. Previously employed at Liverpool Hope University, lecturing in Psychology with a parapsychology component, Dr...

, to test Derek Acorah and his abilities. The name was created because it was an anagram of the phrase 'Derek Faker'.

External links

• Bodmin Jail Official Webpage