Castle Museum, the Female Prison

Details

SE 6051 SE,
1112-1/22/133

YORK,
CASTLE PRECINCT,
Castle Museum: The Female Prison

(Formerly Listed as:CASTLE PRECINCT The Female Prison (The Castle Museum))

14.06.54

G.V.

I

Formerly known as: The Old Female Prison CASTLE PRECINCT.
Prison and yard, now museum. 1780-83; altered and wings added
1802; podium and steps 1820-50; modified and yard roofed over
for conversion to museum in 1938. Original building by Thomas
Wilkinson and John Prince repeating facade design of the Court
House opposite (now the Crown Courts, qv) by John Carr: C19
alterations by Peter Atkinson, senior.

MATERIALS: front of sandstone ashlar, inside of portico
rendered; upper storeys at rear of red brick in stretcher bond
over altered ground floor; inner side of left wing of painted
brick, outer side cement rendered and incised to resemble
ashlar; right wing of orange-red brick on outer side, inner
side of red brick in English garden wall bond, with stone
quoins; rear of both wings of ashlar with moulded ashlar
cornice beneath brick parapet with stone coping. Yard wall
originally of stone, built up in dark brick in English garden
wall bond with flat stone coping. Roofs not visible.

EXTERIOR: front of 2 storeys on low podium; pedimented
tetrastyle portico 'in antis' flanked by 3-bay ranges and
distyle in antis end bays, portico and end bays in giant Ionic
order and breaking forward slightly. Broad flight of steps up
to podium; second flight of steps to raised podium before
portico. Central door of 6 raised panels within portico,
flanked by blind alcoves, beneath small-paned lunettes and
arcaded hoodmould on moulded impost band. At each end of hood,
a small 12-pane fixed light in moulded surround inserted.
Additional doors in returns, one a double door of raised
panels, one of 6 flush panels. All doors in architraves of
painted stone with moulded cornice hoods. First floor band of
guilloche moulding beneath three radial-glazed oculi in
moulded surrounds. All ground floor windows are round headed
and radial glazed, those in end bays stepped back beneath
moulded round arch on moulded imposts. On first floor of
flanking ranges, windows are of 6 panes, and in end bays,
oculi with radial glazing. First floor band of guilloche
moulding continues across facade, running behind attached
columns in end bays. Moulded modillion eaves cornice, breaking
forward over portico and end bays, surmounted by balustraded
parapet. Parapet terminated by pedestal blocks carved with
garlands.
Rear of prison: 3 storeys, 7 bays, with 3-storey wings
projecting at each end. Openings largely altered, but at left
end of first floor 2-storey round-arched staircase window with
radial glazing survives. Remaining windows are 4-pane sashes
on first floor, squat 6-pane sashes on second floor, all with
stone sills and plain lintels. Rear elevation to right wing,
on river front, has single barred windows on ground and first
floors, tripled on second floor, with plain lintels and sills.
Left return: 3 storeys 8 windows. Windows are square and
either barred or unequal 9-pane sashes. Eaves cornice returned
at front end only. Right return: 3 storeys, 8 windows. Ground
and first floors not visible: on second floor windows have
cambered heads.

INTERIOR: largely altered. On first floor, staircases at each
end of centre range rise to adjoining wings, with slim bulbous
balusters, possibly reused from communion rail of former
chapel.

HISTORICAL NOTE: the Prison was bought by York Corporation in
1934 and modified to house the Kirk Collection of "bygones",
opening as the Castle Museum in 1938. Exercise yards at the
rear were roofed at this time to form Kirkgate, constructed
from re-erected fragments and facades of local buildings.
(An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in the City of York:
RCHME: The Defences: HMSO: 1972-: 85-6).


Listing NGR: SE6058451438

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

462998

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
An Inventory of the City of York II Defences, (1972), 85-6

End of official list entry

All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.