The notorious prisoner known as Coch Bach Y Bala, has escaped from Ruthin Gaol, but local residents need not worry, as the escape is all part of the tenth birthday celebration of the Gruelling Experience attraction.
During the week there have been various sightings of Coch Bach (real name John Jones), attempting to escape from a first floor window of the Old Gaol in Clwyd Street, Ruthin. He succeeded in making good his escape, leaving no trace behind.
All this in the week when Ruthin Gaol is celebrating its 10th anniversary of opening as a museum!
Coch Bach y Bala first escaped in 1879, when he walked out of the building when the staff were otherwise engaged. His next escape in 1913 was more adventurous in that he made a hole in his cell wall and, using bed clothes, lowered himself onto the roof of the gaol kitchen, got onto the gaol wall and was away.
There has been a prison on the Ruthin Gaol site since the seventeenth century. It is one of the most impressive buildings in North Wales and the only purpose-built Pentonville style prison open to the public as a heritage attraction. Since its reopening in May 2002 after a two million pounds restoration project, people can spend time exploring its nooks and crannies and learn about life in the Victorian prison system.
See how the prisoners lived their daily lives: what they ate, how they worked, and the punishments they suffered. Explore the cells including the punishment, ‘dark’ and condemned cell. Find out about the Welsh Houdini and William Hughes the last man to be hanged there…
For further information, visit: www.ruthingaol.co.uk
