Publications | Down Survey | 2001 Issue Contents

New Light on the New Gaol
Items relating to the New Gaol, Downpatrick, in the collections of Down County Museum
Mike King

The New Gaol in Downpatrick was built between 1824 and 1830, on the site now occupied by Down High School, to replace the Old Gaol, which is now the home of Down County Museum. Construction was undertaken on the four acre site by John Lynn, according to designs by the Edinburgh architect, Robert Reid, using stone brought from a quarry at Newcastle.¹ All that now remains of the substantial gaol buildings are the impressive gatehouse and parts of the curtain-wall, which surrounded the complex.² Fortunately, various items and photographs relating to the New Gaol have been generously donated to the Museum by collectors concerned to preserve evidence of the history of the site for posterity. The aim of this article is to shed light on these items and place them in the context of the history of the New Gaol, which has been comprehensively researched by Caroline Windrum ³

Engraving of Captain Sydney Hamilton Rowan, gift of Mr B Mackey (DCM1998-125)

The first item from the Museum collection is an engraving of Captain Sydney Hamilton Rowan, first governor of the New Gaol, and elder of the Presbyterian Church in Downpatrick, and a man of strong humanitarian principles. He was the only brother of Archibald Hamilton Rowan, a United Irishman who had escaped to France and later America, before receiving a pardon and returning to Ireland. Rowan represents an important aspect of continuity between the regime of the Old Gaol, where he was Inspector from 1823 to 1830, and that of the New Gaol, where he was governor until his death in November 1847. Rowan had introduced a strict code of management in the Old Gaol, including increased cleanliness, a new system of cooking, new work regimes for both men and women, and the better schooling of inmates. Rowan also oversaw the construction of a treadmill in the Old Gaol in 1825, initially used for the routine exercise of male convicts, but later used as a punishment for breaking prison rules.

The central tower of the New Gaol (D J McNeill Collection)

The Gatehouse of the New Gaol (D J McNeill Collection)

Lead Letters from the gatehouse of the New Gaol, purchase (DCM1995-35)

Despite these improvements, Rowan found it impossible to apply the enlightened views of the prison reformers, relating to the classification and separation of prisoners, in the ill-constructed and badly overcrowded cell block of the Old Gaol. Such difficulties had already been recognised in an enquiry of 1819, when it was decided that a new gaol was needed for the 'virtues of security, classification, ventilation, employment, education and solitary confinemement.'

The New Gaol, opened in January 1831 at a cost of £65,000, was designed with these 'virtues' in mind. Of the four wings, which radiated from the central tower, the two rear wings housed male prisoners and the two front wings held females and debtors, all according to a strict system of classification, which included the separation of youths from adults. The imposing tower at the centre of the complex housed a chapel on the top floor, the governor's house on the first floor and the kitchens on the ground floor. The separate infirmaries for males and females were located just inside the impressive gatehouse, which still stands today. Of the inscription 'COUNTY GAOL' across the attic storey of the gatehouse's central bay with 'DOWNPATRICK' underneath, the lead letters of the word 'GAOL' are preserved in the Museum's collection.

Initially, the New Gaol had 21 staff, including eleven turnkeys, who had received instruction in Leitrim Gaol. Since the Prison Act of 1826, turnkeys had received uniforms. A number of buttons in the Museum collection with the legend 'DOWN GAOL' around a central crown and key design no doubt belonged to such uniforms.

The New Gaol had 150 cells and 67 other rooms with beds. Having been appointed as the new governor by the grand jury, Rowan did his best to adopt the 'separate system', allocating each prisoner a separate cell, to prevent 'corruption by communication' . He complemented the separate system with use of the 'silent system', which allowed prisoners to mix, but not to communicate. Inmates often spent over twenty hours a day locked up in a cell, spending the rest of their time in some form of employment or education. However, the design of the gaol did not allow surveillance of all the wings from a common point, and the task of monitoring the prisoners while under lock and key remained a labour-intensive aspect of the operation of the gaol until its closure.

Down Gaol button, gift of Mr D Fitzpatrick (DCM1986-68)

The planned refurbishment of the gaol was delayed by the need for urgent renovations to Downpatrick Courthouse, after a fire in 1855. In addition to the building of a new Courtroom and a suite of apartments by the architect Henry Smyth,⁴ an underground tunnel was constructed at this time, linking the Courthouse with the gaol, in order to secure prisoners in transit. The tunnel was photographed shortly before being blocked up.

The restriction of prisoners to life in their cells required a number of improvements to the New Gaol, including the purchase of new fixed iron bedsteads to replace hammocks, the removal of partition walls in the wings to open up the dark interiors, and the construction of new cells with enlarged doors and inspection holes. The new open aspect of the wings, created by the changes put to the grand jury in 1858, is recorded in a later photograph preserved by D J McNeill, now held by Down County Museum.

Key from the New Gaol, gift of Mr N L Williamson (DCM1998-282)

When Major L J Thompson was appointed as governor in 1867, he continued to use the separate system. However, the prison population dropped from a peak of 312 in 1851 to 70 in 1869, and the gaol was now considered too large, with many cells falling into disuse. In addition, Major Thompson had to deal with a number of incidents during his term of office. These included the smuggling of alcohol into the gaol, the first recorded escape attempt in 1873, the dismissal of three turnkeys for insubordination in 1874, and the death of a turnkey, who slipped on an unsafe stairwell, in 1878.5 Parts of the gaol were damp and in need of repair, and had to be closed down during this period. From this time, the Museum has in its collection an order for the discharge of ten prisoners, signed by Major Thompson, and dated 12 December 1879.

Photograph of Major L J Thompson, governor of the New Gaol ( D J McNeill Collection)

Following the setting up of the General Prison Board in October 1877, the New Gaol soon lost its former status, and on 1 April 1884 it became a convict depot. Of particular interest was the arrival in October 1884 of nineteen convicts from England, including eight of the 'Invincibles', convicted of involvement in the murder of the Chief Secretary, Lord Frederick Cavendish, and Under-Secretary Thomas Henry Burke in the Phoenix Park, Dublin, on 6 May 1882.⁶ Among the prisoners was James Fitzharris, one of the cab drivers convicted of conveying the murderers to and from the scene of the crime.

Internal View of wing of the New Gaol ( D J McNeill Collection)

The following (abridged) report of the arrival of the convicts appeared in the Down Recorder on 25 October 1884:

'Yesterday morning, at about eight o'clock. H.M. gunboat Valorous arrived off Newcastle, with nineteen convicts on board, intended to be transmitted to the newly-established convict prison in Downpatrick. The vessel took up her anchorage at about a mile distant from the town of Newcastle, and at about one o'clock put the convicts ashore at the quay under the charge of three warders and a chief-warder from Chatham, and an escort of blue-jackets. The convicts were at once taken to the police barrack, to await the arrival of a constabulary escort from head-quarters at Downpatrick...Nothing was known in Downpatrick about their arrival in the neighbourhood until shortly after two o'clock yesterday afternoon. At this hour a strong body of police, consisting of twenty-four men, under the command of District-Inspector Leathem, left town for Newcastle on cars and waggonettes. They arrived there at about four o'clock, and, on reaching the barrack, the convicts were handed over to the charge of Mr. Leathem. The prisoners were immediately placed on the vehicles, one on either side, and were chained and hand-cuffed to each other across the cars. A policeman sat beside each convict. In this manner, they were brought to Downpatrick, the cars being preceded by an escort of mounted constabulary. The convicts were dressed in dark frieze overcoats, with light-coloured caps. Their arrival here was awaited with great interest. From before six o'clock the streets were crowded with persons of all classes, who seemed to have but the one object of getting a sight of the prisoners. It was after seven o'clock when they reached here, and, as the cars passed through the streets, the faces of the convicts were eagerly scanned. The vehicles proceeded to the prison at a rapid rate, and were followed by an immense crowd, which gathered around the jail gate, where a good view was obtained of most of the convicts...

James Fitzharris, known as 'Skin the Goat', had first been brought to trial in April 1883, at the Green Street Courthouse, Dublin, when he was acquitted of murder.⁷ He was subsequently tried and found guilty of conspiracy to murder - hence his arrival in Downpatrick in October 1884. The nickname 'Skin the Goat' is said to relate to the very fine goat which Fitzharris had kept in his back yard. A friend and neighbour told Fitzharris that the goat's skin would fetch a good price when the animal died, and in a rash moment, when he was short of money, Fitzharris killed the goat and sold its skin. Since that time, he was known as 'Skin the Goat'.⁸ Although most of the Invincibles were released from Mountjoy Prison in 1891, Fitzharris was only released finally, from Maryborough Prison, on 23 August 1899.⁹

In the Museum collection is a horn spoon of the type known to have been issued to prisoners, to avoid the possibility of metal implements being turned into tools or weapons to aid escape. On the back of the handle the name 'John FITZHARRIS' is roughly scratched. Fitzharris is sometimes given the name John, although he was usually referred to as James.⁷ The spoon was said by the donor to have come from Fitzharris' cell in the New Gaol. It is interesting to note that the key illustrated in this article is also said to have come from Fitzharris'cell. The key was originally collected by a builder, Mr Miller, who worked on the site when the new Down High School complex was being built. Clearly, the arrival and detention of 'Skin the Goat' made a considerable impression in Downpatrick, and items which could be associated with him in some way were actively sought out and collected by individuals between the closure of the gaol in May 1891 and its demolition prior to 1929. It certainly appears that around the turn of the century there were opportunities for local people to enter the gaol grounds to have their photograph taken in the now overgrown yards of the complex.

Photograph of a group next to the rotunda just inside the gatehouse of the New Gaol (D J McNeill Collection)

Almost the entire New Gaol complex was demolished, not without some difficulty, between 1927 and 1929.¹⁰ Only the gatehouse and a lowered perimeter wall still survive today. Work on the High School followed, and the opening of the school was noted in the Down Recorder on 9 September 1933:

'Numbering about 100, the High School pupils, when they cheered on Tuesday morning, cheered enthusiastically, on the occasion of the informal opening by Lord Bangor of the first term. Mr W A Bell, MA, headmaster, accompanied by his staff received the Executive and Advisory Committees, together with a few parents and friends. But not in state. For, though the classrooms were finished, somewhere within carpenters were hammering and sawing; workmen were busy converting the long-disused rooms at the lodge into apartments for the caretaker and to accommodate bicycles and games equipment...Nevertheless all this did not prevent visitors from admiring the handsome institution, designed on the most modern lines, no less than its delightful natural setting.'

Photograph of the demolition of the New Gaol, 1927-9 ( D J McNeill Collection)

Among those present was Mr C J Love, the Regional Education Committee's architect, whom Lord Bangor congratulated for 'the fine building which he had designed'. Since that time, various additions and improvements have been made to the High School, but the gatehouse and perimeter wall still remain to remind pupils and passers-by alike that a monumental gaol complex stood on the site for almost a century, actively serving the prison system in Ireland until the last decade of the Victorian era.

Mike King is Curator of Down County Museum.

Acknowledgements
I would like to thank the staff of the Local Studies section at the SEELB Library and Information Service in Ballynahinch for supplying me with relevant newspaper articles and references for the article. I am also grateful to Brian Crowley and Niamh O'Sullivan of Kilmainham Gaol for their helpful advice, and for allowing me to reproduce the plan of the New Gaol and the images of James Fitzharris in this journal. On a recent visit to Kilmainham Gaol, we were surprised to discover that, like the Old Gaol (Down County Museum), Kilmainham Gaol was almost demolished to make way for a car park. Fortunately for us all, both are still standing!

1.	The Museum holds a copy of a document dated 20 August 1821 (PRONI T1434) from three of the Commissioners appointed by the grand jury for carrying into execution the building of a new gaol for County Down. It lists land to be used for this purpose and is signed Downshire, Matthew Forde and J Waring Maxwell.
2.	See Archaeological Survey of County Down (Belfast 1966), 401.
3.	See C Windrum, 'The provision and practice of prison reform in County Down 1754-1894', in L Proudfoot (ed), Down History and Society (Dublin 1997), 327-52. Caroline Windrum wrote her important article with the help of funding from the Friends of Down County Museum for a one-year fellowship in the Institute of Irish Studies, Queens University, Belfast. I am indebted to her research, which forms a vital backdrop for my consideration of the Museum's collections relating to the New Gaol.
4.	See note 1 relating to Dick Oram's article in this edition for details of Henry Smyth's career.
5.	A postcard recalling an escape from the New Gaol was apparently produced some years ago, but the Museum does not hold an example. Should anyone have such a postcard, the Museum would be delighted to copy it for use in future exhibitions.
6.	The events surrounding the murders were well recorded in the pages of the London Illustrated News; see P Cooke, A History of Kilmainham Gaol 1796-1924 (Dublin 1995), 29.
7.	See P Tynan, The Irish National Invincibles and their times (London 1896), 324. Tynan refers to 'Skin the Goaf' as John Fitzharris, rather than the normal James, matching the name on the Museum's horn spoon from the New Gaol.
8.	J B Hall, Random Records of a Reporter (Dublin 1930).
9.	T Carey, Mountjoy, The Story of a Prison (Cork 2000), 171-2.
10.	See G Wheeler, John Lynn - Architect/Contractor/Engineer, Lecale Miscellany ( 1997), 28-31.