Shepton Mallet Prison

Shepton Mallet Prison - Dog Friendly Attraction in Shepton Mallet, Somerset

Shepton Mallet Prison is known as the world’s oldest and most haunted prison. A heritage- led, world-class tourism experience that has been inspiring, immersing, educating and engaging visitors through a journey behind bars since 2017.

Shepton Mallet Prison housed its first inmates in 1625 and was decommissioned in 2013. Since transforming into a unique tourist attraction, their mission is to preserve, protect and promote the history and heritage of this remarkable 400-year-old building, shining a light on prison life from the Jacobean era to the modern day.

Shrewsbury Prison offers a wide variety of tours, activities and events to suit all interests:

Our popular Guided Tours bring the prison vividly to life. Led by officers with encyclopaedic knowledge of the building and its former inmates, these tours offer real stories and a no-holds-barred look at prison life. 

During a Self-Guided Tour, explore at your own leisure with plenty of information points throughout the attraction and enjoy multiple 'CELLfie' opportunities to capture your very own ‘mugshots’.

But that’s just the beginning! Behind the towering walls, visitors can experience:

Ghost Tour

Escape Rooms - The Cell & The Hole

Evening Behind Bars

Night Behind Bars

Ghost Hunting Behind Bars

There is even an onsite café, offering a range of snacks and hot & cold drinks.

Grab the leads and harnesses! Shepton Mallet Prison welcomes all well-behaved dogs and of course, guide dogs. You’ll be able to find bowls of fresh water dotted around for your dogs to lap up and enjoy. Friendly dogs are welcome inside the prison during daytime visits only, when they’re accompanied with their humans on a Guided Tour or Self-Guided Tour.

Shepton Mallet Prison is open Monday - Sunday from 10:00am - 17:00pm and is located in central Shepton Mallet just 20 minutes from Wells.