The Old Gaol and attached former cell block wall

The Old Gaol and attached former cell block wall

This building was formerly the centrepiece of a cruciform gaol, now substantially reduced. It is constructed of local green squared stone, bearing visible scars where the painted brick marks the removal of the original wings. The octagonal roof is hipped in slate with a deep flat eaves, and corniced stone chimneys rise on the longer north-west and south-east slopes.

Of the four original wings, only three remain in altered form: the south-west range, the truncated south-east range, and the tall south-west wall of the north-west cell block.

The original architecture is best preserved on the four diagonal facets, which are of stone with a raised plinth and eaves course. These facets feature 16-pane sashes in flush surrounds to each floor. Doorways with 20th-century doors are present in the west and south facets. The principal faces have all been damaged in various ways. The north-east and north-west sides carry painted brickwork with few openings. The north-east side has stonework in the gable, presumably visible above the roof line as appears on the south-west. The north-west side has a cast-iron blocked doorcase at ground floor, with the former cell block wall running north-west from the right corner. This north-west wall section includes one bay with a barred overlight door and barred window above, followed by a short canted section, then the main west front with four small barred windows to the ground floor and one above to the right; the remainder of the first floor was removed. Historical records from 1983 indicate the wall was then substantially larger, extending further north-west with three tiers of six small iron-barred window openings fitted with ashlar lintels and frames. The former interior is brick-faced.

The south-west range comprises two parts. A shorter original section projects from the octagonal core, with a pediment visible above the roof of the second part and below the main eaves. It has a parapet and cornice to its sides; the left north-west side displays a stone-framed window on each of three floors (ground floor of brick), while the right south-east side is obscured by a painted brick curved stair projection. The attached lower two-storey south-west wing, constructed in stone and brick and much altered, has stonework that continues from the pedimented section to some extent. The south-east side shows stone above the string course on the right, with one 16-pane sash in a stone surround; the ground floor has two brick arches, one with modern glazing and the other with a recessed stone arch to a short window. The north-west side has an added single-storey gabled outbuilding and an arched opening at ground floor right. The plain brick south-west gable carries a 16-pane sash window with cambered head on each floor.

The south-east side features a two-storey lean-to, presumably the remains of the south range, as the end walls are of stone and the join to the centre block has a canted step matching that on the opposite side. The front is now painted brick with a centre chimney flanked by a 12-pane sash and a small 9-pane sash. A two-storey stone lean-to on the north-east side has narrow sashes in the south-east return. The ground floor south-east has a lower lean-to with stone ends and a front wall mostly of stone but with brick infill at the right; it contains a modern door and window. The south-west end of the lean-to steps outwards.

The interior contains a cantilevered stone staircase in the north-west corner with iron straight balusters and a thin ramped rail, rising to a cantilevered stone first-floor landing; a late 20th-century stair ascends to the second floor. Doors in wooden architraves occupy the ground and first floors. A moulded cornice runs to the top of the stair hall. Groined vaulting appears in two rooms of the south-west wing.