Overview of Inveraray Jail

Located in the heart of Inveraray (Argyll and Bute), on the shores of Loch Shira, this widely-praised visitor attraction tells the story of Scottish crime and punishment. Three buildings, the Old Prison, New Prison and Courtroom, have been restored to their working conditions, complete with costumed characters. The Old Prison consists of eight small cells and was once the county gaol for Argyll. The New Prison was considered a model of its time, receiving its first prisoners in 1849. A trial has been reconstructed in the Georgian Courtroom (1820). Visitors are invited to talk to the prisoners, meet the Warder and experience life in a cell. In addition, an exhibition outlines the punishments, tortures and modes of execution used between Mediaeval times and 1700.