About
Beaumaris Gaol was built in 1829 to a design by Joseph Hansom — the architect who later invented the Hansom cab — as a model prison intended to embody the reforming penal principles then transforming British attitudes to imprisonment, and it survives today as one of the most complete and unsettling Victorian gaols open to the public in Wales. Where Beaumaris Courthouse a short walk away represents the moment of judgement, the Gaol represents its consequence, holding prisoners sentenced to hard labour, transportation, or in the most serious cases execution, and together the two buildings form one of the most complete surviving illustrations anywhere in Britain of how the nineteenth-century justice system actually functioned from trial to punishment.
The building was designed around contemporary reforming ideas about separating prisoners by category and providing structured labour rather than simple confinement, and visitors today can walk through original cells, the exercise yard, the punishment cell, and the treadwheel — a grim mechanical device on which prisoners walked for hours to grind corn or simply to exhaust them, one of relatively few treadwheels surviving in situ anywhere in the UK. Most memorably, the Gaol retains the condemned cell and the site of the execution place used for the public hanging of Richard Rowlands in 1862, convicted of murdering his father-in-law — a case whose details, including a persistent local legend about Rowlands's dying curse on the parish church clock, are presented in full at the Gaol and give the visit a genuinely chilling historical weight rather than sanitised heritage packaging.
Interpretation throughout draws heavily on surviving prison records to document the everyday realities of Victorian incarceration: the food, labour, discipline, and daily routine imposed on inmates, many of whom had been convicted of offences that would scarcely warrant a caution today, such as petty theft or poaching. Presented together with Beaumaris Courthouse on a combined ticket, the Gaol offers visitors a rare, complete, and honestly told journey through the historic machinery of justice on Anglesey, balancing genuine historical seriousness with an accessible, well-interpreted visitor experience suitable for family audiences with appropriate guidance for younger children around the more difficult content.
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Plan Your Visit
⏱️ Recommended Visit Duration
💡 Visitor Tips
- Buy the combined ticket with Beaumaris Courthouse to follow the full story from trial to imprisonment across both connected sites.
- Some content, particularly around the condemned cell and execution history, is genuinely sobering — parents may want to prepare younger children or check with staff about suitability in advance.
- The audio guide, included in admission, adds considerable depth to the self-guided visit and is worth taking the time to listen through fully.
- Allow 60-90 minutes to explore the Gaol properly, longer if combining with the Courthouse the same day.
- The Gaol underwent a refurbishment closure in 2025-26 — check the Beaumaris Town Council website to confirm it has reopened before making a special trip.
- Wear sturdy, comfortable shoes; internal stairs and the exercise yard's uneven surfaces make the visit more physical than a typical museum.
- Combine with Beaumaris Castle and the town's Georgian seafront for a full day covering the site's medieval, Jacobean, and Victorian heritage layers.
Highlights
The Treadwheel
One of the Gaol's most striking surviving features is its treadwheel, a large mechanical device on which prisoners were made to walk for hours at a time as a form of hard labour, sometimes grinding corn but often serving no productive purpose beyond exhausting and disciplining inmates. Treadwheels were a hallmark of the reforming Victorian prison philosophy that combined physical labour with moral correction, embodying the belief that idle hands led to further crime and that hard, monotonous, repetitive work would instil discipline in offenders.
Relatively few treadwheels survive in their original prison setting anywhere in Britain, making Beaumaris's example of real significance for understanding the physical experience of Victorian imprisonment.
Visitors can see the scale and mechanism of the wheel up close and read contemporary accounts of the punishing daily quotas prisoners were expected to complete, a stark physical reminder of how differently the Victorians understood the purpose and methods of criminal punishment compared with today.
The Condemned Cell and Execution Site
The Gaol preserves the condemned cell where prisoners sentenced to death spent their final days, and the site of the execution place used for the public hanging of Richard Rowlands in 1862, convicted of murdering his father-in-law near Llanfaethlu. The case is presented in detail, including the enduring local legend that Rowlands cursed the clock on the tower of St Mary's Church as he was led to execution, supposedly causing it to stop at the moment of his death — a story that has become deeply embedded in Beaumaris folklore regardless of its historical accuracy.
This is the most emotionally weighty part of the visit, handled with appropriate seriousness by the site's interpretation, and gives visitors a genuine, unsanitised sense of the finality and public nature of capital punishment in Victorian Britain rather than a purely academic account.
Joseph Hansom's Reforming Prison Design
Beaumaris Gaol was designed in 1829 by Joseph Hansom, later famous for inventing the Hansom cab, at a period when prison architecture was being reshaped by reforming ideas about separating different categories of prisoner, providing structured labour, and moving away from the chaotic, unsegregated gaols of the eighteenth century.
The building's layout, with its separate wings, exercise yards, and carefully controlled internal circulation, reflects these principles directly, making Beaumaris a physical document of a specific and influential moment in the history of British penal reform.
Interpretation throughout the site explains how these architectural choices were intended to reform character as much as simply confine it, situating Beaumaris within the wider national story of changing attitudes to crime and punishment across the nineteenth century.
Original Cells and Daily Prison Life
A number of original cells survive largely intact, furnished to show the sparse conditions endured by ordinary prisoners held for offences ranging from petty theft and poaching to debt, alongside interpretation drawing on surviving prison records detailing the daily routine, diet, and discipline imposed on inmates.
These accounts humanise the building's history, showing that the great majority of those held here were ordinary Anglesey people convicted of relatively minor offences by modern standards, rather than notorious criminals, giving visitors a grounded sense of how the wider community actually experienced the Victorian justice system.
Collections
Beaumaris Gaol's principal historical asset is the building itself, an unusually complete 1829 Joseph Hansom-designed model prison retaining its treadwheel, condemned cell, punishment cells, and segregated wings for men, women, and debtors. Supporting the building, the site holds nineteenth-century prison records and case histories used throughout the interpretation to document real prisoners' experiences, alongside material relating to the 1862 execution of Richard Rowlands, the Gaol's most notorious historical case.
The Gaol is managed jointly with the nearby Beaumaris Courthouse as part of Isle of Anglesey County Council's heritage sites.
Hard Labour and Reform: The Victorian Prison
Interpretation of the treadwheel, cell blocks, and daily prison routine, explaining Joseph Hansom's reforming design principles and their impact on inmates.
The Execution of Richard Rowlands
Detailed account of the 1862 case, trial, and public execution of Richard Rowlands, including the local legend of his dying curse on St Mary's Church clock.
Current Exhibitions
No current exhibitions. Please check the museum website for updates.