Tolhouse Great Yarmouth contains the ‘condemned cell’ & houses one of the oldest prisons in England!

The Tolhouse is one of the oldest buildings in Great Yarmouth and dates back to the 12th century. This building was originally built as a fortified merchant’s house before the council took ownership. And from the 13th century it began to be used as a toll house for herring catches from the quay. In 1261, King Henry III gave permission for the Tolhouse to be used as a jail and soon after it was utilised for this purpose. Over the years it would have been home to witches, pirates and murderers. People imprisoned here would have lived in squalor and punishments were severe. In 1295 John de Waterbecke was hanged in Great Yarmouth for stealing a pair of shoes. The last man to be executed here was John Hannah in 1813, for murdering his wife. The 1865 Prison Act stated that all prisoners must have their own cell and the Tolhouse could not comply with these regulations as there was no room for expansion. Consequently the prisoners were relocated (1875 - 1878) and the jail closed. For five years it was left empty and marked for demolition. However in 1883 it re-opened as a museum and is now recognised as a grade one listed building. The easternmost cell in the Tolhouse was known as the ‘condemned cell’ and it was used for those sentenced to death. Some staff who work in the building have reported an eerie presence in the dungeon (where the four surviving cells are located) and have heard unexplained noises and voices here.

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