Aston Gaol

[Susan Rudge]

Hi my hubby is reading a book Birmingham Hidden History, it mentions and gives a photo of derelict site of Aston Gaol situated on High Street , Bordesley. I‘VE tried googling it but nothing comes up he wants to know whereabouts it was . High street, bordesley comes up on maps but from end of Coventry rd up towards town ending by adderley street where is goes into high street deritend.
can anyone shed any light on it please

 

[Astoness]

there was an old jail at 131/148 high st bordesley which was excavated in 1995 i thought someone had posted a map on the forum some time ago but i cant seem to find it at the min

lyn

 

[mikejee]

That may be it Lyn
This may be of interest:

Chris Upton: The Aston pub that served as a jail

You will no doubt have seen the announcement that Birmingham Prison is soon to be privatised.

www.business-live.co.uk

The 1841 Pigot's & 1845 PO directory list the Bordesley house of correction at 135 Bordesley High St, next to the Lamp pub, senior keeper William Daniel Brownell
The site of 135 is in red on the c1889 map below. This disagrees with the assertion by Chris Upton in the link above, who says it was close to the Rainbow. There has been no renumbering since 1845:

 

[Dennis Williams]

Right....here goes.......a bit of old Digbeth history...the first prison...Brownell's Hole or Aston Goal...or Tarte's Hole (honest miss!).....
......When Leland visited Birmingham in 1538 he approached from the south, and would have been traversing the parish of Aston in the hamlet of Bordesley and until he crossed the Rea, for Aston circled eastward of Birmingham, and even in the 19th Century it had a goal in Bordesley behind the Brown Lion Inn. The goal, consisting of only two cellars, was known as ‘Brownell's Hole’ after W.D.Brownell, the goaler, whose wife Jemima kept the Inn.” A police museum curator later confirmed that the grisly goal was under the White Lion in Bordesley High street....

That is well before the Moor Street one, and the Digbeth Police Station (which was built on the site of a Pub of course) and the Steelhouse Lane lock ups. There was also a prison in Court House Yard, by Jennen's old House in High Street later I think?

The Goal for the parish of Aston in 1770's was called The Dungeon at High St Bordesley The court was 25ft sq and on one side of the court were two rooms 8ft by 6ft each on the other side were stables. and a couple of rooms above in the winter of 1775 their were over 150 people confined there in 1788 it was still situated in High St Bordesley..once inside their were two rooms you went down 10 steps to two damp dungeons

The Gaoler was not paid as he kept an Ale House..

So I've included the two pubs where the back yards were dig up and the Goal was confirmed..The Lamp and the White Lion (was Brown Lion before)......both in Bordesley, up towards Camp Hill....both now gone....