Manchester Goal Hyde Road

THE BOROUGH GOAL – The most extensive preparations are being made for the erection of the Manchester borough goal near the Hyde Road. Already some millions of bricks are upon the ground; and we understand that the plans and working drawings are in a state of great forwardness, and that in all probability in the course of a very short time, the Manchester council will be in a situation to advertise for tenders for the erection of the borough goal. [Manchester Guardian 9 July 1845 page 4]

The Borough Gaol, which is now being built under the direction of Mr George Shorland, the town surveyor, by Mr D Bellhouse, contractor, is intended for 468 prisoners, and stands on an area of 10 acres. The plan arrangement and fittings are precisely similar to those of Pentonville. (Builder vol 5 page 483)

The style of the exterior is Italian, extensively rusticated, and when seen from a distance the general effect of the building is good. It is less satisfactory however, on a nearer approach; the upper storey is much too massive and heavy for the lower, which it seems to crush, and there is a disagreeable want of connection between the main central building and the wings. The vermiculated stones in the columns of the great gateway are, in some cases, mere caricatures, and should be altered at once. The forms which the vermiculated panels in the stones present are floral. The Tudor strawberry leaf appears to have been the type followed in one or two instances, and the result is a great disfigurement. An architect is wrong who trusts matters of this sort to the workmen (as has evidently been the case here), unless he knows well the hands he has to deal with. These and other salient points for objections, however, ought not to blind us to much that is meritorious. The work appears all sound and excellent; the materials used are brick and stone; and the scale of the construction may be judged of when we say that some of the stones in the main cornice weight six tons each. The corridors inside open all the way up to the roof, with galleries communicating with the cells in the upper storeys on each side, are vaulted with brick with open spaces at intervals for light. These vaultings tend to make the place dark, and, as there is an iron roof (slated) above all, might well have been dispensed with. ..... The area enclosed is of an irregular form, and is surrounded by a lofty and substantial wall of Summit stone. At three of the principal angles are octagonal towers, intended as residences for some of the officers at the gaol – these have a striking effect. The main entrance is through an arched gateway, which has its front towards the city. The entrance building and gateway is in the bold Italian style, and columns varied by massive square blocks if stone finished in rustic. On either side of the main entrance are the proposed residences for the governor and chaplain of the gaol. The gaol will be entered through a spacious courtyard, from which the visitor will obtain a view of the main elevation of this vast edifice, with the extended wings east and west forming a background to the view. The principal part of the structure contains the chapel in the upper part, and in the lower part a main lobby, with the magistrates’ visiting rooms and other principal offices of the gaol on each side. At the termination of this lobby is the entrance doorway to the central hall of inspection, from which in four directions radiate the corridors containing the separate cells for the prisoners. The central hall of inspection is a lofty octagonal interior, lighted by a dome. Around the hall are carried galleries, which communicate with the two ranges of galleries extending on each side of the corridors. The female department is in the corridor to the east, and is separated from the central hall of inspection. There are three storeys of cells in the wings; the four corridors contain all 486 cells - 108 for female and 378 for male prisoners.[ Builder 9 December 1848 page 589 – from a Manchester paper]