I'm already learning that home educating means the learning never stops; thus a trip during the Christmas holidays to Nottingham to visit family led to some impromptu education. First the Haiti exhibition at the new Nottingham Contemporary...
Then the fascinating Galleries of Justice Museum!
The museum is based around the old Shire Hall which was rebuilt in 1770 to serve as the civil and criminal courts and goal. The goal part was closed during the Victorian reformation of the appalling prison system, but the court continued to be used until 1985 and in fact Stuart's uncle who is a solicitor even worked there!
On the tour (given by a "ghost" of a prisoner) we were given numbers to discover what happened to real prisoners.
We got to see the conditions in the prison, beds and laundry room....
It was really interesting, but also gruesome. Just astonishing how many small crimes led to execution.... although in some ways that was better than imprisonment as the conditions had been so awful. The luckiest convicts (although they didn't realise it at the time) were those sent to Australia, many of whom went on to lead long, happy and productive lives. We hope to visit the Clink Museum in London soon to compare prisons....
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