Walton Gaol 1974
Walton Gaol 1930
If a gaol was to be built on your street, you would probably care little for the architecture – you would just want to move to another place. Prisons stir up deep emotions and it is unlikely that one would be built in the heart of a residential community. Nevertheless, there is no reason why prison buildings should not have architectural merit. Architect Charles Peirce and John Weightman, the Corporation Surveyor, realised the need to reassure the community and their castellated Norman fortress (of 1855) certainly suggests military strength. Unfortunately, in remodelling the prison c1974, the outer fortified gatehouse was demolished to make way for an ugly brick bastion topped by a curved metal string course. A shame, from an architectural perspective but I am sure most people would not consider the reshaping of the prison with much sentiment other than that of relief for the additional security provided by the new wall.
Interestingly, it is apparently against the law to take a photograph of any HM Prison. I was stopped from taking a shot of the new exterior wall by a prison officer, who politely asked me to put my camera away.
against the law to photograph a gaol? Oh dear, Google must be quaking in their boots!
http://maps.google.co.uk/?ie=UTF8&ll=53.45816,-2.968926&spn=0.008752,0.014935&t=h&z=16
I have many a happy memory of playing in my nan’s house and garden on Hornby Road, right across from the jail. It never occurred to me as a small child in the 70s that it was such a focal point of the landscape. In the mid 90s I did a lot of work on the water mains in Aintree and Walton, and was often a visitor to the jail. Another thing that struck me about the area, was the amount of houses that appear to have originally been built for and owned by families with a decent income. Many have still got their original balconies and terraces with wooden features and can be seen in various states of disrepair. It lends an eerie quality to the area.
Hi Martin
How’s it going? If you get a chance, drop us a email and tell what your up to..
Cheers
Martin Hughes (old Parkman boy)