Women Behind Bars: An Exhibition
On the evening of 4th March 2026, we were delighted to unveil a powerful new exhibition at Newcastle Cathedral, exploring the lives of women imprisoned in the city’s former prison at Carliol Square. Women Behind Bars: Life in Newcastle Prison, 1828–1925 brings together historical research, rare imagery and personal stories to shed light on an often-overlooked part of the city’s history.
Held ahead of International Women’s Day, the event welcomed visitors, researchers and members of the local community to reflect on the stories behind the exhibition and the history of Newcastle’s former prison at Carliol Square.
The exhibition draws on research from Newcastle Prison: A History 1828–1925 and examines the experiences of women and girls who passed through the prison system during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Many of those imprisoned were not hardened criminals but women caught in cycles of poverty, addiction or social hardship. Others were political prisoners, including suffragettes who challenged the social and political restrictions of their time.
Newcastle Prison and its History
Newcastle Prison, located at Carliol Square, opened in 1828 and served as the main prison for the city until its demolition in 1925. The building was designed by architect John Dobson and built in a Gothic Revival style typical of nineteenth-century institutional architecture.
During its nearly one hundred years of operation, thousands of prisoners passed through its gates. Conditions in Victorian prisons were strict and regimented. Prisoners followed rigid routines, experienced hard labour and were subject to harsh discipline. For women, imprisonment could be particularly challenging. Many arrived in prison after being convicted of minor offences such as theft or drunkenness—often symptoms of the poverty that shaped life in industrial cities like Newcastle.
Stories from the Past
The exhibition brings these histories to life through archival images, including early prisoner photographs from the 1870s and digital reconstructions of the prison buildings. These materials help visitors imagine what the prison looked like and what life may have been like inside its walls.
One important theme explored in the exhibition is the role of women in social and political change. Some prisoners were involved in the campaign for women’s suffrage, and their experiences in prison formed part of a broader struggle for equality. These stories remind us that prisons were not only places of punishment, but also spaces where wider social conflicts and injustices played out.
A particular highlight of the evening was a performance by Miggins Fiddle. Among the pieces performed was the ballad “The Sandgate Girl’s Lamentation” detailing the hard life of a keelman’s wife, including this rousing chorus.
“He’s an ugly body, a bubbly body
An ill-faced hideous loon
But I have married a Keelman,
And my good days are done.”
The Keelmen were men who worked aboard keels (small boats) ferrying coal. Songs like this reflect the voices and experiences of working-class communities in Newcastle’s past, many of whom lived in the riverside districts where poverty and hardship were common.
Folk music has long served as a way of preserving local history, and the performance helped visitors imagine the social world in which many of the women featured in the exhibition lived. The evening also featured a specially written poem by poet Harry Gallagher, entitled, “Whatever Happened to the Sandgate Dandlings.” We include a brief excerpt below.
The poor bairns of Sandgate,
learning hewn from the streets
and every hungry back alley
that echoed to their feet.”
Hollow cheeked, hollow eyed,
rickety-legged, their sorry lives
plotted out like an ill-fated map
through every sodden dead end dream.
The Story Chair
A particularly moving element of the exhibition is the Story Chair. Created through collaboration with women who have lived experience of the criminal justice system, the chair provides a space for reflection and storytelling. It represents a bridge between past and present, highlighting how the experiences of women affected by the justice system continue to resonate today. The Story Chair was designed with women in touch with the criminal justice system in collaboration with charity Changing Lives, Northumbria University and Newcastle Cathedral and supported by the North East Probation Service and The British Academy. To hear more about the project watch the brilliant video below.
Remembering Hidden Histories
Running from 5 March to 27 April, the exhibition coincides with International Women’s Day and invites visitors to reflect on the lives of women whose stories are often absent from traditional histories.
By exploring the realities of imprisonment, social inequality and resilience, Women Behind Bars ensures that the voices of these women are not forgotten. Through exhibitions like this, the history of Newcastle’s prison and the people who passed through it continues to be remembered and shared with new audiences. For more information see here.
The team behind this website and the book would like to give a special thanks to Peter Cumiskey and Newcastle Cathedral for bringing this fabulous event and exhibition together. Miggins Fiddle have also been involved with the Fascinating Ballast Hills research project - you can see their book here. Harry Gallagher’s work can be found here.
