Jedburgh Castle Jail, Roxburghshire, United Kingdom

Jedburgh Castle was a castle at Jedburgh in Scotland. It was fought over during the Wars of Scottish Independence, and was demolished by the Scots commanded by Sir James Douglas of Balvenie in 1409. The site of the original castle was used to build the reform prison based on John Howard (prison reformer) system, the construction of which started in 1820.

In 1823 a jail was built on the site to designs by Archibald Elliot. It was modified in 1847 by Thomas Brown. This closed in 1868. The building was restored to an 1820s appearance in 1968 by Aitken and Turnbull. It opened to the public as Jedburgh Castle Jail and Museum. The museum features local history displays.

On the Thursday after Shrove Tuesday, the town has played a Ba Game since 1704. The uppies team use the castle to record their victories.

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Miscellaneous historic sites in United Kingdom

User Reviews

Robert Martin (6 months ago)
Loved our visit today to take in the Halloween trail. A good museum to take the kids of all ages . The history of the jail is very interesting and entry is FREE, donations are very welcome. A gift shop with books ,toys and other mementos. Toilets are also available here. Free car parking too. No cafe facilities but plenty in Jedburgh town centre only a five minute walk away.

James (7 months ago)
A £5 donation at the door will get you a tour around this fascinating jail/castle.

D Bell (7 months ago)
Great place to visit, had no idea William Wallace was held here as a boy. Some creepy scenes in the cells too. Well worth a visit

Andy Tingay (8 months ago)
We visited Jedburgh Castle & Jail museum (Free entry). I do recommend you make a donation though.I would say it was worth it. We very much enjoyed it here, and particularly loved the views over the town. The gardens and external part of the castle was a fantastic walk around. The Jail itself was very interesting. It was pretty horrendous back then with children being sent to prison for the smallest infraction. The gentleman on the desk was friendly and informative. I would visit again just to wander around the grounds.

Francesca Lui (8 months ago)
Very interesting place to visit. Very informative. Unfortunately dogs not allowed inside but while waiting with my dog for my daughter to go around I had a lovely conversation with a lady from Wolverhampton who was also waiting with her small dog for her husband and daughter to come out.

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