The most haunted place in Somerset?

HMP Shepton Mallet Prison (Cornhill)

Multiple phenomena and sightings here, as seen on Paranormal Lockdown & Most Haunted..

Photo © Somerset Paranormal

Shepton Mallet Prison, often known as Cornhill or The Mallet, housed its first inmates in 1625 It was the place of execution for Somerset from 1889, having taken over from Taunton and civilian executions took place there up to 1926. After the abolition of public executions in 1868 and the closure of both Ilchester and Taunton gaols, Shepton Mallet Prison became the County Gaol and was then responsible for overseeing executions. Between 1889-1926, seven men convicted for murder were executed within the prison. Their remains were buried in the grounds of the prison; they remain there to this day. The prison population started to decline in the early 1900s; the last women left in 1918 and by 1930 the population was around 50 male prisoners. Due to the size of the population and the deterioration of the site, the decision was taken to close the prison in 1930. At the start of WWII, the prison reopened to become a British Military prison, known as the Glasshouse. This changed in 1942 after the US entered the conflict and took over the prison. At one time between 1942-45, over 700 US servicemen were incarcerated here. 16 US servicemen were also hanged and a further 2 executed by firing squad during these years. Throughout the war, the old women’s wing became a Top-Secret repository for the National Archives as three hundred tonnes of records and archive materials moved from the Public Record Office in London for safe keeping; this included such priceless items as the Magna Carta and Domesday Book. After the Americans left at the end of the war, the prison reverted to a British Military Prison. It was during this time that the prison held the infamous London Gangsters, Ronnie and Reggie Kray. Spirits include The White Lady, a woman wrongly convicted of murdering her fiancé, and sentenced to death. C Wing is reputed to be haunted, reports of a man in uniform, who is thought to be the spirit of a member of the American Army’s firing squad, who was killed out in the yard after a bullet ricocheted off the wall during an execution and killed him. Also the grim tale of Captain Philip William Ryal, who in 1914 was able to climb onto the roof of the prison via an unattended ladder in the exercise yard. His final words before he jumped ‘get back, get back, get back’ were heard echoing around the yard by dozens of inmates in the years to follow. The prison also featured on ghost hunting programme Paranormal Lockdown . Source- Shepton Mallet Prison com & Bristol Live https://www.sheptonmalletprison.com/plan-your-day/history/

Photo Collage © P Wallace - Somerset Paranormal