The Execution Room

Available for over a year

For centuries, Shrewsbury Prison was a site of public executions, where people would arrive early to secure a good view of the grim spectacle. Souvenirs and posters were even sold to mark the occasion. The prison’s final public hanging took place on April 9th, 1868, just a month before public executions were abolished in England. Between 1902 and 1961, eight people were executed at the Dana. The last was 21-year-old George Riley, hanged in 1961 for a murder he always denied. Former Prison warden and now prison tour guide Malcom, gave Johnty O’Donnell a tour of Shrewsbury Prison’s Execution Room.