Hexham Old Gaol

About Hexham Old Gaol

Hexham Old Gaol is recognised as England's oldest purpose-built prison, constructed in the 1330s using stone reclaimed from Roman ruins. Standing on Hallgate in the centre of Hexham, the building is a striking survival of medieval justice and a scheduled monument that has served the town for nearly seven centuries. Its history is closely bound up with the lawless era of the Border Reivers, whose feuding and raiding across the Anglo-Scottish frontier shaped the turbulent story of this part of Northumberland. The gaol is managed today as a museum by North East Museums.

Visitors descend through the building, including a glass lift, to explore its atmospheric medieval dungeon and displays interpreting the region's Border history and the workings of the old prison. The museum runs seasonal opening, with daily summer hours and reduced days at other times of year, and offers a shop, mailing list and supporter and volunteering opportunities. The gaol is entering a new chapter through a reimagining project intended to enhance the visitor experience while conserving one of the North East's most distinctive historic buildings.

Featured in These Guides

Blog posts and guides that feature Hexham Old Gaol.

Christmas Markets in Hexham

Hexham Abbey Christmas Fair is on Saturday 12 December 2026, 9am to 3pm, with hundreds of stalls indoors and out, and the Farmers' Market falls on the same morning. A guide to the town's festive market weekends.

Hexham in World War Two

How a Tyne Valley market town lived through the Second World War, from evacuees off bomb-blasted Tyneside and the wounded of Dunkirk arriving at the emergency hospital to the Home Guard, the home front and the tragedies that touched Tynedale.

Family Activities in Hexham: Days Out with the Kids

The best family days out in Hexham, from The Sele park and the Abbey Grounds to swimming and soft play at Wentworth, the Old Gaol museum and a family day at the races, grouped so you can plan around the weather.

The Lost Buildings of Hexham

From the Gem Picture House that burned down to the vanished tanneries of Gilesgate, the demolished House of Correction and the old tenements cleared for Beaumont Street, here are the Hexham landmarks that time and the demolition men took away.

Interesting Facts About Hexham

From England's oldest purpose-built prison and a 1,300-year-old Saxon crypt to a bloody militia riot, a glove-making boom and one of the country's most scenic racecourses, here are the stories that make Hexham so distinctive.

Halloween in Hexham

England's oldest purpose-built prison, a genuinely eerie local mystery in the Hexham Heads, and a big Tyne Valley pumpkin patch: Halloween in Hexham.

Things to Do in Hexham: The Complete Guide

Hexham Abbey, the Old Gaol, Queen's Hall, Hadrian's Wall day trips, country walks, and a thriving market, everything worth doing in this historic Northumberland market town.

Local Museums and Archives Near Hexham

The Old Gaol, the Abbey's Big Story, Chesters Roman Fort, Vindolanda, and Corbridge, museums within easy reach of Hexham.

A Rainy Day in Hexham

The Abbey, the Old Gaol, Queen's Hall cinema, soft play, bowling, and the best cafes, what to do when it rains.

Weekend in Hexham, 48-Hour Itinerary

Hexham Abbey, Allen Banks, Hadrian's Wall, and dinner at a Top 50 gastropub, how to make the most of 48 hours.

The Border Reivers and Hexham

Four centuries of raiding, feuding, and rough justice, how the Border Reivers shaped Hexham and the Tyne Valley.

Heritage Walking Trail: A Self-Guided Tour of Hexham

A 2-mile loop through 1,350 years of history, Hexham Abbey, the Market Place, Moot Hall, Old Gaol, and Sele Park in 90 minutes.

Hexham Old Gaol: England's First Purpose-Built Prison

Built in 1333 from Roman stone, Hexham Old Gaol is the earliest recorded purpose-built prison in England, now an atmospheric museum.

History of Hexham

From St Wilfrid's Saxon abbey to the Border Reivers, the Battle of Hexham, and the arrival of the railway, 1,300 years of history.

Free Things to Do in Hexham

Hexham Abbey, Sele Park, Tyne Green, the heritage trail, and Allen Banks, a full day out in Hexham without spending a penny on entry fees.