Standing at the gateway to the Royal Forest of Dean, the jail was completed in 1791 and is now a Grade II* listed building. Behind the austere gatehouse entrance, the prison, with it’s formidable sandstone façade remains much as it was when first built.
In 2003 the Jail was purchased by its new owners and refurbished partly as a Baronial style family home and partly to house the owner's personal collections of crime related memorabilia, ephemera and curiosities.
What can be found at the venue?
Collection of artifacts, Historic building or site
Related crime and punishment profession / organisation
Police, Prison
Significant collections relating to regional crime and punishment organisation or to a particular individual
Littledean describe their collections as 'an extraordinary Aladdin's Cave of curiosities' which 'touches on a great many sad, disturbing, quirky and at times taboo subject matters - so be warned!!!' It includes the hangman’s noose that was used on the man they couldn't hang - John 'Babbacombe' Lee. The skull remains of the last man in Britain to be gibbetted, then hung, drawn and quartered and touching closer to more modern times; belongings of Fred and Rose West.
Also: punk rock memorabilia; village stocks and pillory; UK Government issue hangman's nooses; celebrity sleaze, scandal and debauchery; serial killers' letters and artwork; true crime memorabilia; objects from witchcraft and pagan rituals; Ku Klux Klan robes, insignia and memorabilia; guillotine and body cages; instruments of punishment and torture through the ages; exhibition area relating to Nazi, Holocaust years, including genuine death camp and Nazi SS uniforms, insignia etc; a murder victim’s full size skeleton; Oswald Mosley’s Blackshirts, British Freikorps, Fascism in Britain; artefacts relating to Charles Bronson, the Kray twins etc.
The collection also claims to include the UK’s largest private collection of British and foreign Police memorabilia, including police weapons, uniforms, Victorian hand painted truncheons, tipstaffs and insignia.
Does the venue have an online collections catalogue?
Details of opening for public access and / or research services
Closes at end of tourism season; re-opens in April so check; day visits are from 10am to 5pm (last entry 3.45pm)
Charges: Adults: £10.00; Senior Citizens: £9.00; Children (Children 3 years - 18 years ): £9.00; the website states that the museum is not suitable for children under 18.
Available services or facilities
Visitor parking
Accessibility and disability arrangements / Covid requirements
