derby gaol



derby, derbyshire, england

Our trip to the gaol was unplanned. We had a full day scheduled at nearby Chatsworth House but due to large visitor numbers, we left early and spontaneously decided to visit Derby. The gaol was being prepped outisde by the team for their first night of opening in 2021, but Richard Felix very kindly allowed us to record alone inside.

Historian, Richard has been the owner of the gaol for the last 21 years and has featured on many paranormal TV programmes. His interest is still focused the paranormal, especially on the activity taking place here and at the Vernon Street Prison. With such a grizzly history, it’s no surprise that the team who work at the gaol, and those who visit have reported poltergeist activity, somatic sensations, and full figure materialisations.




There were three gaols in Derby, Nun's Green, Friar's Gate and Vernon Street. From 1756 to 1907, 58 people were executed; 56 men and 2 women. It would have been 60, but two brothers, John, and Benjamin Jones, committed suicide before their execution, cheating the executioner of his fee. Most were hanged, for crimes that seem petty now, even for lighting a haystack but serious offenses such as multiple murders and infanticide, carried the penalty of hanging then dissection or hanging and gibbeting.

    • The night before we drove to Derbyshire, Tracey had a visitor in her bedroom, a man whose breath strongly smelt of beer. While we stand near the bar, Tracey calls out to the residents of the gaol and got a very unsettling reply.

      I am in your bedroom tracey

  • This was captured in the room where inmates said their last goodbyes and where visitors were received. The comment sounds more likely to be an overheard remark to someone other than us, most likely the jailer.

    and we won't be leaving jail bond with you

  • This speaker's voice is out of place in every way. His accent is from the south and the language is modern English. There was a monastery close by before the gaol opened but their language would have been markedly different.

    brother the second voice is usually 19th century too

  • A member of the gaol team had told us, there had been discussion about painting the walls white. This was how it would have been when the gaol was initially opened. The gentleman who chips in with his comment, must surely have the deciding vote.

    i want it white

  • Standing beside a gibbet cage, Tracey and I read an account of punishments. This was the last voice we captured at the gaol, we hope he's found peace.

    i been gibbeted