The highlight of a one of the most rubbish days of exploring I've had was a very enjoyable wander around an old Victorian prison which closed it's doors in 2013. This was a permission visit, the company operates out of three former prisons offering people the chance to see inside, until they inevitably get redeveloped.

Before this our day had consisted of fail following fail - some were sealed, one we were almost into after about half an hour of searching until security decided to turn up and unlock the gate situated about ten metres away from us necessitating a quick dive stomach first into the grass and tense wait before running for it. Another site had a dog training handler and pooch stood outside. So all in all a rubbish day but we did find a couple of new (sealed) places we weren't expecting.

And then a sea gull dropped it's load on me when I was walking through one of the prison exercise yards....

1 -The Visitation Centre - The building where prisoners were able to meet family and friends, either in open visits taking place inside a hall or closed visits where the prisoner and other person were separated behind glass. This building also contained holding cells and the strip search area.



2


3


4


5 - Strip search area.



6 - Visitation building on the right.



7 - Former gate house.



8 - Roadway with the original Victorian A & B wings on the right, joined to the newer C wing on the left by an elevated walkway. On the left in the foreground is the education centre building which sadly wasn't accessible.



9 - Entrance to A & B wings.



10 - B wing.



11


12


13


14 - 'Constant Observation Cell' - for patients at risk of killing themselves.



15 - Former padded cell, sadly all the padding had been removed at some point in the past.



16 - A wing, a more recognisable layout for a Victorian prison.



17


18


19


20


21


22


23


24 - My favourite part of the building, the chapel/theatre located between A & B wings.



25


26


27 - The A wing extension which contained prisoner workshops and office space as well as a large shower room.



28


29


30 - C wing was a boring, bland modern affair full of completely empty cells.



31


32


33 - The Debtors Prison would have been at one time a separate cell block for prisoners whose only crime was owing money. In later life it was the prison medical block.



34


35


36


Thanks for looking

Excellent break-in/images and you didn't get detained!
You need a bush hat* mate... it helps when the wild life gets the drop on you


*Great for shooting too because a floppy one gives way when you're using the viewfinder.
Keeps the sun and other shit out of your eyes...

Wow, this is a cool site to tour. Looks to beat Eastern State Pen in "epicness" too.

great series of photographs. Been a long while since I was shooting a prison and this one is in outstanding shape.

Posted by inacron Wow, this is a cool site to tour. Looks to beat Eastern State Pen in "epicness" too.

I wouldn't necessarily go that far, it's a lot smaller than Eastern State and a different kind of prison so they're both great in their own ways!