HM Prison Crumlin Road, Victorian prison in North Belfast, Northern Ireland.
HM Prison Crumlin Road is a Victorian prison in North Belfast built from black basalt stone and arranged across ten acres with separate cells for individual inmates. An underground tunnel connects the facility directly to the courthouse, creating a passage between the two buildings.
Built in 1846 by architect Sir Charles Lanyon, the prison operated for over a century as a detention facility for the Belfast area. During the Northern Ireland conflict, it became a focal point where the tensions of the era were contained behind its walls.
The building holds deep meaning for people in Belfast as a place where the divisions of the recent conflict became physical reality. Walking through it today helps visitors understand how the city's communities experienced decades of separation and tension.
The large grounds are best explored on foot, as different areas are spread across the site and take time to walk between them. Plan for a half or full day depending on how thoroughly you want to explore the buildings and learn about what happened there.
The building preserves an original execution chamber from 1901 where private executions took place, marking the end of public hangings in this facility. This space reveals a turning point in how punishment was carried out and kept from public view.
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