Bodmin Gaol Museums

Welcome to Bodmin Jail

We are an all weather, family attraction, that includes a licensed bar and restaurant, covered courtyard, with a Civil and Naval Prison housing a museum within its walls split over three levels. It was the last County Jail in Cornwall, eventually closing in 1927. The Jail now sits at the start of the famous Camel Trail and is the perfect alternative day out.

The original jail was built for King George III in 1779. The Jail you see today was built by the prisoners who brought the 20,000 tons of granite from Bodmin`s ?Cuckoo Quarry?. During the First World War the Jail held state papers and the Doomsday book.

Visit the cold dank cells, look up at the thin light filtering through a small barred window and imagine being sentenced to even a week in such desolation, a very lonely life with the knowledge each day would bring more of the same cold, hunger and hard labour, on the treadmill as a civil prisoner or ?cannon ball? catch for naval prisoners; designed to keep you fit for battle on your release.

The Jail you see today was built by the prisoners who brought 20,000 tons of granite from Bodmin's Cuckoo Quarry.

Our vision is to take it ?Back to the Future? where it will become the thriving, vibrant mirror image of the past, a legacy of Cornish history for all to enjoy, a truly memorable day out! Helping Bodmin town, once the capital of Cornwall, to become the historic capital agai