Belle Vue Gaol (also known as Manchester City Gaol, Manchester Borough Gaol or Gorton Gaol) was a

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

prison in

Gorton Gorton is an area of Manchester in Greater Manchester, England. It is to the southeast of Manchester city centre. The population at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 36,055. Neighbouring areas include Levenshulme and Openshaw. A ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, England. It operated between 1850 and 1888. It was notorious at the time for abysmal prisoner living conditions. It was demolished in 1892.

Purpose

When the building of the gaol, located near Hyde Road, commenced circa 1845 it was intended to have been a short-term prison housing male and female inmates who were serving sentences of no more than six months. However, there are prison records that show that there were a few prisoners, mainly military prisoners, usually deserters, who were imprisoned there for up to two years. There were also facilities for securing prisoners awaiting trial at the

Assize Court The assizes (), or courts of assize, were periodic courts held around England and Wales until 1972, when together with the quarter sessions they were abolished by the Courts Act 1971 and replaced by a single permanent Crown Court. The assizes ...

(after July 1864) in Manchester and the

Quarter Sessions The courts of quarter sessions or quarter sessions were local courts that were traditionally held at four set times each year in the Kingdom of England from 1388; they were extended to Wales following the Laws in Wales Act 1535. Scotland establ ...

located nearby. The gaol was considered to be inadequate and as a result many other prisoners were sent to the New Bailey Prison in Salford.

Notable Former Inmates

George Gissing, novelist

References

External links

Belle Vue Gaol entry on PrisonHistory.org
Prisons in Greater Manchester 1850 establishments in England Buildings and structures demolished in 1892 History of Manchester Former buildings and structures in Manchester Demolished buildings and structures in Manchester Defunct prisons in England {{UK-prison-stub