The storied history of Sheffield's old jail - and what happened to prisoners when it was gone
After 1865 the prison was used as a schoolroom for St. Silas Church
For 35 years in the 1800s Sheffield's criminals were locked up in the town gaol but what ever happened to the jail? And where did other prisoners go after that?
The Sheffield Town Gaol and Lock-ups or Sheffield Riding Lock Ups as it was sometimes known opened in the Old Town Hall in 1807 on Waingate.
A spokesperson for Prison History said: "The Old Town Hall in Waingate, built 1807-8, also housed a prison and courthouses for when the Petty and Quarter Sessions were held.
"Although called Sheffield Town Gaol in several sources, the prison was used as a lock up for prisoners when the courts were in session. A police lock up was also located in the basement of the Town Hall with underground passages linking the courtrooms, lock ups and neighbouring police offices."
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This jail fell out of use just 35 years later but the city's ne'er do wells had been imprisoned in various locations across the city including those who owed money and found themselves the wrong side of the debtors gaol on Tudor Street, which was renamed Thomas Street.
Back in 1825, the earliest records of the debtors jail, was capable of holding 14 prisoners below ground. Above ground the site was home to Earl Fitzwilliam, Lord of the Manor of Ecclesall. However, in 1843 when the prison was regulated it was noted in a report to house no less than 100 named persons.
After 1865 the prison was used as a schoolroom for St. Silas Church and was demolished sometime in the 1940s or 1950s.