May 16, 2011 10.22 am This story is over 160 months old

Lincoln Castle male prison opens to public

Open prison: The male prison inside Lincoln Castle will be open to visitors for the first time.

The Lincoln Castle male prison will be open to the public for the first time.

The castle’s grounds are home to a Victorian prison with a unique chapel and female prison which are already open to the public.

On May 21 the male prison will also be open to visitors, alongside 1,000 years of traditional crafts day.

Tickets will cost £11 for adults, £8.50 for concessions, £4.75 for children 5 to 18, or £28 for a family ticket.

The day of traditional crafts will consist of demonstrations of weaving, blacksmithing and tapestry-making in order to keep dying crafts alive.

The arts and crafts will take place in three different venues: the male prison, the castle grounds and Lincoln Cathedral.

Lincoln jail was built in 1787 and was extended in 1847, this included the building of the chapel.

Lincoln prison introduced the American system of leaving prisoners in isolation and where only allowed to speak to prison officials or the prison chaplain.

Related Report: Lincolnshire Echo | Photo Credit