Buckingham Old Gaol, sometimes known as Lord Cobham’s Castle, is a historic building in

Buckingham Buckingham ( ) is a market town in north Buckinghamshire, England, close to the borders of Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire, which had a population of 12,890 at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census. The town lies approximately west of ...

, the former county town of

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. The building is now a museum, shop and tourist information centre and is located on Market Hill in the town centre. It is a member of the

Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of Milton Keynes urban area, its urban area was 264,349. The River Great Ouse forms t ...

Heritage Association and the Association of Independent Museums.

History

Following an Act of Parliament passed on 30 June 1747 (21 George 2 c.12, known as Lord Cobham's Act), the original

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where Prisoner, people are Imprisonment, imprisoned under the authority of the State (polity), state ...

building was erected in 1748. The bulk of funding was from Richard Temple, fourth baronet of Stowe (1675–1749), who had been previously MP for Buckingham. It was built in the

Gothic style Gothic architecture is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It evolved from Romanesque ar ...

. One of the prisoners jailed here was the prize fighter Simon Byrne. He was tried at the Buckingham Assizes in 1830 for the manslaughter of another prize fighter, Alexander M'Kay. The rounded front of the building was added in 1839, designed by

George Gilbert Scott Sir George Gilbert Scott (13 July 1811 – 27 March 1878), largely known as Sir Gilbert Scott, was a prolific English Gothic Revival architect, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches and cathedrals, although he ...

, a local architect. This provided accommodation for the gaoler and became known as the Keeper's Lodge. For around 60 years, the Old Gaol acted as the

police station A police station is a facility operated by police or a similar law enforcement agency that serves to accommodate police officers and other law enforcement personnel. The role served by a police station varies by agency, type, and jurisdiction, ...

for Buckingham, until a new police station was built a short distance away on Moreton Road. In 1891 it became a

fire station __NOTOC__ A fire station (also called a fire house, fire hall, firemen's hall, or engine house) is a structure or other area for storing firefighting apparatuses such as fire apparatus, fire engines and related vehicles, personal protective equ ...

, and the C Company of the 1st Bucks Rifles rented part of the building for their

armoury An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

from 1892 until 1926. In 1907, public toilets were installed. In the 1950s, it became an antiques shop and

café A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café (), is an establishment that serves various types of coffee, espresso, latte, americano and cappuccino, among other hot beverages. Many coffeehouses in West Asia offer ''shisha'' (actually called ''nargi ...

. In 1974, the Aylesbury Vale District Council took over responsibility for the building. Buckingham Heritage Trust was formed in 1985 to save the building and it opened as a museum in 1993, together with a

tourist information centre A visitor center or centre (see American and British English spelling differences), visitor information center or tourist information centre is a physical location that provides information to tourists. Types A visitor center may be a Civic ce ...

. The Old Gaol Museum obtained finance from the

Heritage Lottery Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...

to add a glass roof over the original prisoners' exercise yard in 2000.

Museum

The museum is open to the public and tells the story of Buckingham and rural life, including the

Flora Thompson Flora Jane Thompson (née Timms; 5 December 1876 – 21 May 1947) was an English novelist and poet best known for her autobiography, semi-autobiographical trilogy about the English countryside, ''Lark Rise to Candleford''. Early life and f ...

Collection (author of '' Lark Rise to Candleford'') and Buckinghamshire Military Trust exhibits. A number of the original cells form part of the museum exhibits. The Buckinghamshire Military Museum Trust is based at the museum, and houses its collections there. In addition to arms, regalia, and other military memorabilia, the Buckinghamshire Military Museum Trust also holds a small collection of military musical instruments, including early examples of rope-tensioned side drums.

Gallery

Image:Buckingham OldCountyGaol01.JPG, Rear view of the Old Gaol. Image:Buckingham OldCountyGaol03.JPG, Cells in the gaol. Image:Buckingham OldCountyGaol04.JPG, Cell door in the gaol.

References

External links

* {{official, http://www.buckinghamoldgaol.org.uk
Visit Buckinghamshire listing

The Beautiful South information
Buckingham Prisons in Buckinghamshire Grade II* listed buildings in Buckinghamshire Local museums in Buckinghamshire Prison museums in the United Kingdom George Gilbert Scott buildings and structures Government buildings completed in 1748 Grade II* listed government buildings Museums established in 1993 Charities based in Buckinghamshire Defunct prisons in England Debtors' prisons