Spooky Times at Bodmin Jail

hayley_bp
3 January 2023

The redevelopment of the historic Bodmin Jail has been five years in the making. A dedicated team of investors, planners, architects and designers worked to help preserve this site and enable it to continue telling its story for years to come.

Undergoing a complete transformation

It required a £40 million investment to restore the historical landmark and create a 70 bedroom, four star boutique hotel and a multi sensory, fully immersive state of the art visitor attraction. Today it is truly one of the best attractions we have in the South West, bringing in visitors of all ages and many paranormal investigators.

Built during the reign of King George on the edge of Bodmin Moor, Bodmin Jail was part of a groundbreaking prison reform and became the first prison in Britain to hold prisoners in individual cells. Prisoners of war were forced to become the builders and it took 20,000 tonnes of local Delank granite and stone from the adjacent Coocoo Quarry to complete the building works which came to completion in 1779.

A brief history

The resulting building was a milestone in prison design. It was one of the first modern prisons with segregated male and female areas, hot water, access to baths and lavatories, light and airy areas for prisoners to live and work, a heating and cooling system and prisoners were also paid for their work whilst there.

For the first two decades of Bodmin Jail’s life the numbers were relatively low. However by 1820 the populations of residents at the jail had increased to such a degree that all of the cells were now filled with multiple occupants and fever was taking over. The overcrowding required the jail to be extended multiple times over the years.

The bloody truth

55 public executions took place within the walls of Bodmin Jail for crimes such as rape and murder but also for crimes that by today’s standards, would be considered petty offences. The last hanging at the gallows of Bodmin Jail was of a 23 year old man found guilty of murder by strangulation, killing his 16 year old girlfriend Emily Barnes Trewarthen Tredea after she had tried to break off their relationship. He was given no reprieve and was executed at Bodmin on 20th July 1909.

The jail closed its doors as a penal institution in 1929 but the building continued to serve many purposes over the years. Initially it opened as a casino, nightclub and attraction with mock executions in 1930. It was a popular destination for revellers and gamblers in the local area but when a section of the roof was removed for repairs the weather got in, the jails walls started to crumble. Many parts of the building were left derelict and in the 30’s and 40’s attempts were made to blow up the original building but the walls were so thick and well built, over a meter in some places, that this proved impossible.

Fast forward to today

In 2004 the local Wheten family purchased the ruined building and invested money in restoring old walls and turning parts of the historical monument into a tourist attraction that sought to tell the stories of many of the inmates.

In 2015, a businessman was on holiday with his family when he visited the Bodmin Jail attraction and fell in love with the iconic building and the depths of heritage hidden in the dark corridors and grimy cells. His vision of turning this historical landmark into a world class tourist attraction and hotel is now a reality.

Having experienced it, we would recommend children eight and above attend – to avoid nightmares!

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