The National Justice Museum in Nottingham launches a new updated version of its Halloween event
Museum launches a new version of its popular Halloween event, ready to haunt with true stories of Victorian Nottingham’s criminal past.
The National Justice Museum, Nottingham, has launched an updated version of its popular Halloween event — Condemned.
While in previous years, the Nottingham Museum has looked at Georgian stories of crime and punishments, this year it explores the true stories of Victorian Nottingham’s criminal past.
Infamous for being a place where a person could be imprisoned, tried, and executed, the National Justice Museum is based in Nottingham’s former County Gaol and has had a court on site for nearly 650 years.
The Criminal Courtroom, which can be seen on a visit to the Museum, dates back to the 1870s, so would be where all of the real people in Victorian Condemned would have received their sentences.
Victorian Condemned is led by one of the museum’s team of expert historical interpreters, in full period costume as they lead visitors through the authentic spaces of the Grade II listed building.
Visitors will get the chance to discover more about the disturbing true crimes that landed people in Gaol throughout the Victorian era, and stand in the dock where those found guilty heard their fates.
Additionally, they will learn about the gruesome crimes that brought them to Shire Hall’s courtroom and visit the dark cells where the condemned spent their final hours before finally being escorted to the courtyard, where the gallows loom and bodies were laid to rest.
Stories of defendants like Joseph Tucker, arrested in 1885 for the brutal murder of his wife; Mary Ann Parr, accused of killing her child in 1863; and William Saville, who’s crime was so gruesome his public execution in 1844 caused even more deaths than the murders he was found guilty of, will be told.
The event — Victorian Condemned runs on selected dates in October and November, with tours at 6pm and 7pm. It is unsuitable for people under the age of 18.
People can book their tickets on the National Justice Museum website or by calling 0115 952 0555.
