Wicklow Gaol
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}}
{{Use Irish English|date=December 2020}}
{{Infobox building
| name = Wicklow Gaol
| native_name =Priosúin Chill Mhantáin
| former_names =
| alternate_names = The Gates of Hell
| image = Wicklow Gaol - aerial - 2025-03-10 03.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Wicklow Gaol in 2025
| altitude =
| building_type = Prison
| architectural_style = Victorian prison
| structural_system =
| cost =
| ren_cost =
| location =
| address = Kilmantin Hill, Wicklow, Ireland
| client =
| owner =
| current_tenants =
| landlord =
| coordinates = {{coord|52.978835|-6.037132|display=inline,title}}
| start_date = 1702
| completion_date = 1843
| inauguration_date =
| material = slate, granite, red brick, timber, cast iron, concrete
| renovation_date =1995
| demolition_date = 1954 (partial)
| destruction_date =
| height =
| diameter =
| other_dimensions =
| floor_count =3
| floor_area =
| main_contractor =
| architect = William Vitruvius Morrison
| map_type = Ireland
| map_alt =
| map_caption = Location in Ireland
}}
File:Wicklow Gaol interior.jpg
Wicklow Gaol is a former prison, now a museum, located in the town of Wicklow, County Wicklow, Ireland
History
=Prison=
There has been a prison on the site since the late eighteenth century. Prisoners were held at Wicklow Gaol during the 1798 Rebellion and the Great Famine, as well as many held there prior to penal transportation.{{cite web|url=http://wicklownews.net/2013/10/wicklow-gaol-listed-among-the-top-10-most-haunted-places-in-the-world/|title=Wicklow gaol listed among the top 10 most haunted places in the world – WicklowNews|publisher=}}
The prison was extended in 1822 to a design by William Vitruvius Morrison, and further extended 1842-3.[https://www.wicklowshistoricgaol.com/history/major-events/1820-1843-building-expansion/ 1820-1843: Building Expansion]
The prison in 1877 was demoted to the status of ‘bridewell’, a prison for petty offenders awaiting trial, and closed down by 1900, but reopened in 1918 to hold republican prisoners during the Irish War of Independence and Irish Civil War (the most famous of them was Erskine Childers); the last prisoners left in 1924.[https://www.wicklowshistoricgaol.com/history/major-events/independence-era/ 1916-1923: The Independence Era][https://www.wicklowshistoricgaol.com/history/major-events/ 1928-2014-closure-renovation/ 1928-2014: Closure and Renovation]
=Museum=
In 1995 renovations began, and it reopened as a museum in 1998, claiming to be one of the world's most haunted buildings, due to the long history of suffering associated with it. The prison was featured on a 2009 episode of Ghost Hunters International.{{cite web|url=http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/tv-radio/haunted-wicklow-jail-to-feature-on-tv-show-26676913.html|title='Haunted' Wicklow jail to feature on TV show|date=1 September 2010|publisher=The Independent|accessdate=2 November 2019}}{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1473524/|title=Wicklow's Gaol |publisher=IMDB|accessdate=2 November 2019}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.wicklowshistoricgaol.com/ Official site]
{{Authority control}}
{{Museums and galleries in the Republic of Ireland by province|state=expanded}}
Category:Museums in County Wicklow
Category:History museums in the Republic of Ireland
Category:1998 establishments in Ireland
Category:Museums established in 1998
Category:Prison museums in the Republic of Ireland