Belle Vue Gaol
{{Short description|Victorian prison in Gorton, Manchester, England}}
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File:Belle Vue Prison 1870.jpg
Belle Vue Gaol (also known as Manchester City Gaol, Manchester Borough Gaol{{cite web | url=https://www.manchester.gov.uk/directory_record/212407/prison_records | title=Archive and local collections - Prison records | Manchester City Council | access-date=17 June 2023 | archive-date=27 May 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230527215010/https://www.manchester.gov.uk/directory_record/212407/prison_records | url-status=live }} or Gorton Gaol) was a Victorian prison in Gorton, Manchester, England. It operated between 1850 and 1888. It was notorious at the time for abysmal prisoner living conditions. It was demolished in 1892.
Purpose
When the building of the gaol, located near Hyde Road, commenced circa 1845 it was intended to have been a short-term prison{{cite web | url=https://www.manchester.gov.uk/directory_record/212407/prison_records | title=Archive and local collections - Prison records | Manchester City Council | access-date=17 June 2023 | archive-date=27 May 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230527215010/https://www.manchester.gov.uk/directory_record/212407/prison_records | url-status=live }} housing male and female inmates who were serving sentences of no more than six months. However, there are prison records that show that there were a few prisoners, mainly military prisoners, usually deserters, who were imprisoned there for up to two years. There were also facilities for securing prisoners awaiting trial at the Assize Court (after July 1864) in Manchester and the Quarter Sessions located nearby.{{cite web|url=http://www.manchester.gov.uk/info/448/archives_and_local_studies/3808/court_and_prison_records/4|title=Court and Prison Records|publisher=Manchester City Council|accessdate=17 October 2009|work=manchester.gov.uk|at=Quarter Sessions Courts|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20091117184734/http://www.manchester.gov.uk/info/448/archives_and_local_studies/3808/court_and_prison_records/4|archivedate=2009-11-17|url-status=dead}} The gaol was considered to be inadequate and as a result many other prisoners were sent to the New Bailey Prison in Salford.{{cite web|url=http://www.manchester.gov.uk/info/448/archives_and_local_studies/3808/court_and_prison_records/8|title=Court and Prison Records|publisher=Manchester City Council|accessdate=17 October 2009|work=manchester.gov.uk|at=Prison Records|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20091117184744/http://www.manchester.gov.uk/info/448/archives_and_local_studies/3808/court_and_prison_records/8|archivedate=2009-11-17|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://www.manchester-family-history-research.co.uk/new_page_4.htm|title=Manchester and Salford Prison Records: Belle Vue|last=Lodge|first=Gerard|publisher=Manchester Family History Research|accessdate=17 October 2009|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20091031072000/http://manchester-family-history-research.co.uk/new_page_4.htm|archivedate=2009-10-31|url-status=dead}}
Notable Former Inmates
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.prisonhistory.org/prison/manchester-city-gaol-and-house-of-correction/ Belle Vue Gaol entry on PrisonHistory.org]
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{{Prisons in North West England}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Prisons in Greater Manchester
Category:1850 establishments in England
Category:Buildings and structures demolished in 1892
Category:History of Manchester
Category:Former buildings and structures in Manchester
Category:Demolished buildings and structures in Manchester
Category:Defunct prisons in England
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