History

Crumlin Road Gaol is much more than a well known building in North Belfast. It is one of the most important Victorian buildings in Northern Ireland.

The gaol was designed in 1841 by Sir Charles Lanyon who was born in 1813 and died in 1889. Lanyon was an important architect, engineer and politician. It was built between 1843 and 1845 and was based on the plan of Pentonville Prison in London. The design of the Eastern State Penitentiary in Philidelphia, USA also influenced how the prison should be designed. This was because the Eastern State Penitentiary was the first prison to be laid out like a bicycle wheel, with four wings coming out like spokes from a central building. This is what was called the 'radial cellular system'.

The wings in the Crumlin Road Gaol are three stories high at one part of the building and 4 stories high at another. There are 640 cells in the gaol. Each of these cells opens onto landings which can be seen easily from the ground. Outside the prison there is a high, five sided wall surrounding the building.

Crumlin Road Gaol was a very advanced prison at the time it was built. It was the first in Ireland to be laid out in the radial cellular system. The gaol is of international interest because it is an early example of a modern way to plan and organise prisons. It is also a ‘grade A’ listed building and is of special importance in the history of prisons and building design.