Heritage Museum Registered Charity No. 299548
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 Wymondham Bridewell about 1930 Standing on the site of an earlier prison condemned by John Howard, the penal reformer, as "the vilest prison in England", the two prison wings were built in 1785. Here prisoners were housed in the first English prison to have one prisoner to each cell, an idea that later spread to American prisons. In spite of being well used, housing at one time 71 prisoners, by 1825 the prison was empty and up for sale. However the building did not sell and from 1831 to 1878 it was used as a Norfolk County women's prison. Later the cells in the laundry block were converted for police use and the town's police station occupied the rest of the building from 1878, when the south block was converted to the Court Room for Petty Sessions. The Police Station moved to the new building nearby in 1963. In 1991 the Magistrates' Court closed at the Bridewell and the County Council put the complex on the market. The Wymondham Heritage Society looked at the possibility of purchasing the site for community use. The building was bought in 1994 and the Wymondham Bridewell Preservation Trust was set up to manage the project. The purchase price was £80,000 and conversion costs £300,000. |
The Wymondham Heritage Museum, Registered Charity No. 299548, is located within the Bridewell, with its imposing Georgian facade, and the main gallery occupies what was the courtroom from 1878 to 1991. Displays tell the story of the Bridewell which has served as a prison, police station and courthouse.
