Under the Crumlin Road
The Crumlin Road Gaol in north Belfast, built to designs by celebrated architect Sir Charles Lanyon, received its first prisoners (106 in number, marched in procession in chains) in 1846, succeeding Carrickfergus as the new Antrim County Gaol. Directly opposite, also from Lanyon designs, the grander Crumlin Road Courthouse was built at the same time. The new prison initially housed women and children as well as male prisoners. It was divided between four wings (A–D), each three stories high, and each holding different categories of prisoner (remand, sentenced, lifer, long-term prisoner). These two buildings of course transformed the justice system in Belfast but also the Crumlin Road itself, formerly an area of gentlemen's residences and now an important thoroughfare for a rapidly growing city. Crumlin Road gaol remained in use until 1996 when the last prisoners were moved out of a now crumbling building. In the intervening years, more than 25,000 prisoners, inclu...