Every day, hundreds, if not thousands, of visitors arrive via train, into central Edinburgh, via Waverly Station. Not knowing the layout of the city, these sightseers would be forgiven for mistaking the building that rises to the east as Edinburgh Castle. What they are actually looking at are the final remnants of Calton Jail and Bridewell Prison. The stone turret is all that is left of the former gruesome 19th century era correctional facility, known locally as the Governor’s House. Whereas the retaining wall that runs beneath the adjacent St. Andrew’s House, once belonged to the Georgian era prison.
Robert Adam was the architect responsible for many buildings that reflected the ideals and concepts of the Age of Enlightenment in Edinburgh’s New Town, this included the Bridewell Prison. However, it was Archibald Elliot who built the notorious Calton Jail (1817 – 1927) over the previous one. He also designed the nearby Regent Bridge.
Both correctional facilities were constructed as an answer to the overcrowding and dismal conditions of the Old Town’s nefarious Tollbooth Gaol. It is feasible to surmise that Calton Hill was chosen as a location as it was already a site for public executions. The newly constructed lockup offered scenic panoramic views of the city’s skyline, including that of the aforementioned mistaken Edinburgh Castle. It was visiting novelist Jules Verne who is quoted as saying the jail as resembled a small-scale version of a medieval town.
It wouldn’t take long for the prison to earn a bad reputation as being the worst of the worst. Former inmate, Willie Gallacher described his confinement as follows; “It was by far the worst prison in Scotland; cold, silent and repellent. Its discipline was extremely harsh, and the diet atrocious.” The population of the institution began to favor more women and children, as they were the ones without means to afford to pay for bail bonds.
It wasn’t just the interior that was unpleasant, as the outside served as a burial ground for executed criminals. As was customary, churches wouldn’t allow for convicted felons to be buried in consecrated grounds. When St. Andrew’s House, headquarters for the Scottish Government, was being constructed in the 1930’s, the graves of 10 inmates were paved over. Thus making room for a parking lot.
Several notable prisoners were held in the confines of this facility. These include the diabolical duo of 19th century serial killers William Burke and William Hare. Jessie King convicted of baby farming was the last women to be hanged in Edinburgh.
The last person to be executed within the confines of the prison walls was the murderer Phillip Murray in 1923. The Governor’s House, so named as it was home to the First Minister of Scotland, is not the only relic of this infamous institution that survives. The Beehive Inn pub in the city’s Grassmarket area houses the Death Cell door.
