Address Ruthin Gaol, Clywd Street, Ruthin, Denbighshire

Ruthin gaol is the only purpose-built Pentonville style prison open to the public as a heritage attraction. People can spend time exploring its nooks and crannies and learn about life in the Victorian prison system. See how the prisoners lived their daily lives: what they ate, how they worked, and the punishments they suffered. Explore the cells including the punishment, 'dark' and condemned cell. Find out about the Welsh Houdini and William Hughes who was the last man to be hanged there.
North East Wales Archives are also housed in the Gaol.
Significant collections relating to regional crime and punishment organisation or to a particular individual Ruthin Gaol ceased to be a prison in 1916 when the prisoners and guards were transferred to Shrewsbury. The County Council bought the buildings in 1926 and used part of them for offices, the county archives, and the town library. During the Second World War the prison buildings were used as a munitions factory, before being handed back to the County Council, when it was the headquarters of the Denbighshire Library Service. In 2004 the Gaol was extensively renovated and reopened as a museum