Shepton Mallet Prison

Explore the whole prison at your leisure, take photos and cell-fies as you soak up the atmosphere of this amazing 400-year-old prison!

You'll be given a visitor guide and map when you enter. As you explore the nooks and crannies of the prison, don’t forget to use the sound boxes to learn the facts and history as you go. The information boards and interpretation spaces add fascinating background details to your visit, and the staff are always available to point you in the right direction and answer any questions you may have.

Let's hope it's the only time you find yourself in a prison - gulp.

Shepton Mallet Prison, also known as Cornhill, has a long and storied history. In fact, it goes even further back than the English Civil War!

During this guided tour of the roughly 400 year old prison, you'll join a guide with encyclopaedic knowledge of the jail and its past. Along the way you'll see cells and even visit the building that housed the treadwheel – a machine powered by men and used as a form of punishment in the Victorian era.

During the Second World War, Shepton Mallet Prison was converted to a military prison and during that time an execution block was constructed. Make sure you ask your guide about that!

As part of a criminal gang, you have been convicted and sentenced to 15 years for stealing a million pounds from a bank. After the robbery, greed has got the better of you, and you've hidden the money from the rest of your gang and the authorities.

Now you’re stuck in a prison cell with no way out!

The inmates know what you have done, and they all want the money for themselves. Your only chance is to escape while the prisoners are on lockdown. With only one hour left until the lockdown ends, you must be fast and work out how to escape your cell. Will you make it out in time?

Sentenced to 15 years in prison, as one of the country’s most notorious bank thief’s, you are clever, quick-witted and a notorious escape specialist. You have gained a reputation amongst prison officers for repeated escape attempts from your prison cell.

Now the Governor has had enough. The transfer papers have been signed and you’re heading to the darkness; you’re heading to The Hole.

The Hole is a specially designed prison cell with steel reinforced walls, electronic doors, and pitch black, The Hole is deemed inescapable. Once inside you will be cuffed, chained and hooded. Escape is no longer an option... unless you can find a way out?