The Experience
Visit Stirling Old Town Jail and experience a fantastic live prison tour, when you will meet the characters who bring this incredible building back to life.
CURRENT Opening Times...
27th May - 31st October, 10am - 5pm.
Last entrance - 1 HOUR BEFORE CLOSING
Cold and Cramped
riddled with damp and disease
The squalor of The Tolbooth Jail didn't offer much comfort for Stirling's unfortunate prisoners in the 1840s, when it was condemned as the 'worst jail in Britain'.
So the prospect of a new jail offered a glimmer of hope - the chance of relief from the cramped and overcrowded conditions.
But what was in store for the poor inmates as they trudged across to their new accommodation, on a cold November day, in 1847?
What would life now be like?
Now you can discover exactly what those prisoners faced – and how justice was dispensed in Victorian days, in the Old Town Jail, Stirling’s famous Victorian prison experience.
In Jail
Meet Jock Rankine
Hangman and executioner, just like his father before him. An encounter with Jock was rarely a happy experience, as you're about to discover.
Listen to the Reformers
Such as William Brebner, who believed that prisoners should be kept in strict isolation. But by the 1850s, with over 100 prisoners in a jail built for 57, the crank had been installed, prisoners were being flogged and shackled, and a harsh regime was in place...
Check out the cells
Just over 7 feet wide, and 13 feet long. Home to convicts such as Margaret Mitchell, three months pregnant when she was sentenced in 1850 for the theft of a watch, and destined to have her baby in jail.
How have things changed today?
A glass escalator will take you to the top floor of the jail, where the changes which had been introduced into Scottish prisons can be traced in a special exhibition. Better... or worse? Perhaps the prison matron will tell you about some of the changes she has seen in her time...
From the Rooftop
...take in a wonderful view
Don’t miss the Rooftop Viewpoint, where you can take in a wonderful view, with the old city of Stirling beneath you, and looking out towards The Trossachs, The National Wallace Monument, the Forth Valley and The Ochil Hills. Make sure you have your camera ready!
Just For Children
The Old Town Jail is a fascinating attraction for everyone - especially children!
Complete the Jail Trail - and enter the Old Town Jail Prize Draw.
Visit the activity table - then join in the Beastie Hunt and win a prize to take away.
The Old Town Jail Gift Shop
Unlucky for some??
It used to be Cell No. 13 - but now it's the Old Town Jail Gift Shop, where you can pick up a special souvenir of your visit.
The Changing Room
Suits You!
When new inmates arrived in prison, their clothes would be removed, they would be washed and weighed, and then they would be issued with a uniform to wear until their release.
The clothes in the Changing Room give children visiting the jail today a chance to experience what it would be like to have to wear Victorian style costume.