York Castle Prison: Dick Turpin and the Condemned

York Castle has served as a prison and execution site for over 700 years. The castle complex included multiple prisons, debtors’ cells, and execution grounds. Most famously, it held the legendary highwayman Dick Turpin before his execution in 1739. The castle’s prisons saw hundreds of executions over the centuries, and the site—now partly converted to the York Castle Museum—remains profoundly haunted by the condemned and the executed.

The History

Medieval Origins

York Castle’s role as a prison dates to the 13th century:

• Part of the Norman fortification system
• Held prisoners of war, criminals, and debtors
• The castle was a center of royal authority in the North

Clifford’s Tower

The keep of York Castle:

• Site of tragic events including the massacre of York’s Jewish community in 1190
• Later used to hold high-status prisoners
• Public executions took place nearby

The Debtor’s Prison

One of York’s most notorious institutions:

• Held those who couldn’t pay debts
• Families imprisoned together
• Many died from disease and starvation
• Now part of the Castle Museum
• Preserved cells show the horrific conditions

Dick Turpin

The castle’s most famous prisoner:

• Legendary highwayman (though much of his legend is fiction)
• Held at York Castle in 1739
• Tried for horse theft and murder
• Executed at Knavesmire (York’s Tyburn) on April 7, 1739
• His body was stolen by grave robbers and recovered
• Buried at St. George’s Church

The County Gaol

The main prison built in the 18th-19th centuries:

• Held hundreds of prisoners
• Execution site for numerous criminals
• Closed in the early 20th century
• Now converted to a museum

The Hauntings

Dick Turpin’s Cell

Where the highwayman spent his final days:

• A confident, swaggering figure in 18th-century dress
• The sound of boots pacing
• Laughter and singing (Turpin was famously cheerful before execution)
• Visitors report feeling his presence
• Some claim to see him tipping his hat

The Condemned Cell

Where prisoners awaited execution:

• Overwhelming dread and despair
• The sound of praying and weeping
• Scratching on walls
• Apparitions of men and women in various historical dress
• Each prisoner’s last night repeats eternally

The Debtor’s Prison Cells

The preserved prison in the museum:

• Families trapped in poverty
• The sound of children crying
• Coughing (disease was rampant)
• Figures in rags appear in cells
• Visitors report feeling desperate hunger
• Museum staff have extensive experiences

The Female Section

Women prisoners and debtors:

• A woman in Georgian dress
• The sound of babies crying
• Women who gave birth in prison
• Some died with their children
• The grief is palpable

The Exercise Yard

Where prisoners were allowed brief time outside:

• Phantom figures walking in circles
• Always alone, enforced isolation
• Victorian prisoners in their distinctive uniforms
• The sound of guards shouting

Execution Memories

Though executions moved to Knavesmire, echoes remain at the castle:

• The sound of crowds gathering
• Prisoners being led out
• Final prayers and confessions
• The journey to the gallows

The Highwayman’s Spirit

Besides Turpin, other highwaymen were held and executed:

• Figures on horseback seen near the castle
• The sound of hooves
• Cavalier-era apparitions
• The romance and reality of the highway trade

Documented Activity

York Castle has yielded significant evidence:

• Museum staff have decades of experiences
• Visitors regularly report phenomena
• Photographs of apparitions
• EVP recordings
• Temperature anomalies
• Objects moving in the prison exhibits

The York Castle Museum

The Debtor’s Prison and other areas now form part of the museum:

• Preserved cells with mannequins
• Visitors sometimes mistake ghosts for displays
• One of Yorkshire’s most haunted museums
• Staff acknowledge the paranormal activity
• Night tours explore the hauntings

Cultural Significance

York Castle Prison represents:

• 700 years of criminal justice
• The debtor’s prison system
• The legend of Dick Turpin
• Yorkshire’s judicial history
• The transition from castle to museum

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York Castle held prisoners for over 700 years and executed hundreds. Dick Turpin, the legendary highwayman, spent his final days in its cells before his execution. The Debtor’s Prison held families in desperate poverty. Now a museum, the castle’s cells still contain their former occupants—not mannequins, but the ghosts of the imprisoned, the executed, and the forgotten.