Ghost Hunt at the Very Haunted Derby Gaol

Are you brave enough to join Ghost Hunter Tours on a full blown ghost hunt at one of the countries reported most haunted locations? We will take you on an investigation of this very dark and scary location and we will attempt to make contact with the spirits that reside within its walls!

The History of Derby Gaol

If you look into the history of Derby Gaol or jail there is little wonder why this location has claimed the title for the most haunted building in Derby! The Gaol that exists here today was constructed from many of the original materials used from the original Derby Gaol that was constructed after an act of parliament in the early 1500’s to house local criminals it housed petty criminals to brutal murderers. The original jail was eventually decommissioned and the new Derby Jail built in 1756 after the old site was sanctioned as unclean and of poor living conditions. Built to house up to 23 inmates, it soon became a place of overcrowding and poor sanitation, Gaol fever ran rife throughout and death was a common occurrence inside the gaol walls. It wasn’t until 1787 that it was deemed unacceptable and a law was enforced that all Gaol cells should be lime-washed and cleaned once a year even if it didn't need it!

The site of the current gaol was strategically placed in the “execution quarter” of Derby. It was perfectly normal for prisoners to meet their fate at the Gallows. In 1752, close to the time that Derby Gaol was opened, the law had introduced it’s most gruesome form of punishment and it was not unusual for Murderers to have been sentenced to death by being “hung, drawn and quartered”, an execution whereby the general public could not only witness the hanging, but witness the dissection of the corpse. These were brutal times and Derby Gaol would have been a very harrowing place to be!

• 5.5-hour ghost hunt