Already a subscriber? Sign in here
Read this article now for free!
Enter your email below to read the full article, and to receive our weekly newsletter with a round-up of The Past's top stories.
Or, subscribe for unlimited access
below Overlooking some of the male felon cells, which were arranged in threes on either side of a corridor, in blocks linked by communal dayrooms. The walls of an exercise yard can be seen at the bottom of the picture, while the remains of a series of felon workshops are just visible top right (and more clearly shown on p.32).
New Bailey, Salford: prison’s industrial revolution
At its peak, New Bailey was the largest jail in England, but its imposing Georgian buildings were designed on the basis of radical progressive ideals. Modern development has wiped away all traces of the pioneering prison above ground, but archaeologists are now bringing its methods to light once more, as Rachael Reader and Michael Nevell explain.
Every weekday morning, thousands of commuters pile out of Salford Central Station, heading to work in Manchester. But as they set off on the final leg of their journey, little do many of them realise that they are passing the site of what was once the largest prison in the country, and one that was built along radically progressive lines, pioneering a new form of criminal justice that emphasised moral reform over brutal punishment.
Between 1787 and 1871, New Bailey Prison dominated the banks of the River Irwell. But as the local population rocketed in the white heat of the Industrial Revolution, prison populations also soared, putting pressure on the site’s aspirational intentions, and
-- or --
Or, subscribe for unlimited access
Or, subscribe for unlimited access
Latest from Current Archaeology
