Shepton Mallet Prison Self-Guided Tour: Explore Over 400 Years of History and Heritage

Discover the captivating history of Shepton Mallet Prison on a self-guided tour. Immerse yourself in over 400 years of prison life and experience a world-class tourism adventure.

Duration: 5 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Shepton Mallet Prison - If you’re looking for a day out with a difference, you’re in the right place. Explore the whole prison at your leisure, take photos and CELLfies as you soak up the atmosphere of this amazing 400-year-old prison. An ideal day out for families with young children who would like to investigate at their own pace.
    You will be…
What's Included
  • All fees and taxes included
Additional Information

Shepton Mallet Prison delivers a quintessential tourism encounter that enlightens individuals by providing an educational and engaging trip into its incarcerating confines. Our objective is to uphold, safeguard, and highlight the historical and cultural significance of Shepton Mallet Prison, thereby illuminating the prison lifestyle from the Jacobean…

Location
Shepton Mallet Prison
Frithfield Lane
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.8
(426 Ratings)
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Nicola
May 9, 2025
Prison self tour. Dog friendly. - From the moment we walked in we enjoyed it . The man at the entrance was friendly and informative. We enjoyed taking our time walking around and reading all the history , we were also happy that we could bring our dog. All in all a great experience, I would highly recommend it.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
F9214hrtl
May 5, 2025
Living History Experience Day - We visited the Living History day which featured actors dressed in costume giving accounts from different times/aspects of life in the Prison throughout its time in the town. Well spaced out and excellent acted talks it was well worth the ticket price. We spent three hours there and learnt so much. My only suggestion is to advertise these special Living History days more, I would wholeheartedly recommend.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Rachelwa3158up
Apr 28, 2025
Really interesting - Guy on reception really kind and helpful. Information dotted around that was good to read and explained alot, history of the place is cool, was a really good visit and very interesting. Took a dog with us who was happy. Took my 6 year old and he was happy to look around and kept his interest. Thank you!
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V5147vglivm
Apr 23, 2025
very fun! - so great!!!!!!!!!! had great fun got haunted stairs a bit steep be Carfull gang have so much fun almost fell not very busy
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Hmc2420
Apr 21, 2025
You won’t be disappointed! Great afternoon out. - We visited today 2 adults, 2 teens. We did the self guided tour so we could explore on our own. We LOVED it! So much information, so interesting, very glad we went. Great value for a completely different afternoon out!
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T7814tssallyw
Apr 17, 2025
Learned a lot, walked a lot! - It was amazing! We learned so much. We could have done with some more yellow arrows as we always seemed to be going in the opposite direction! Despite some sad stories about people who ended up in the jail we also had a lot of laughs. An unexpectedly great cream tea at the end!
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J8799dljulieb
May 5, 2025
Anniversary Visit - Was really impressed with the amount of detail that was given in the prison and inmates. The staff were very friendly and helpful.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Emlgr
Apr 27, 2025
Worth a visit but recommend some changes - Came with family whilst holidaying. Interesting place to visit and a lot of history behind it. Although we enjoyed it, some of the rooms could be made more of a museum and set up as it was when in use e.g. the infirmary, kitchens etc. We found that has we visited each wing every room was the same run-down empty shell - this can become boring for those with younger children.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Pluggy99
Apr 20, 2025
Prison visit - Visiting the prison has been on the ‘to do’ list for a while. Not sure quite what I expected, but I found it fascinating.So much history.I was actually surprised how compact everything was. On arrival, a uniformed officer behind the desk greeted us ’Welcome to Prison’ which hinted at a role play scenario. We were shown some key areas on a map ans as we had chosen a self-guided tour set off following the map. My first observation was that it would be helpful to have numbers at physical locations to confirm your location on the map. There were some really interesting stories of inmates, but to aid visualisation I think there is an opportunity to position more props, such as a mannequin of a condemned prisoner against the wall about to be shot by firing squad. Is the treadwheel still there? This surrounded horrific so would certainly provoke some conversation if visitors could see it. Similarly, the execution chamber could add a greater shock value if there was a weight suspended off a rope or a mannequin of Albert Pierrepoint about to pull the lever. That said, I did enjoy the prison and the stories of various characters and the progression of the prisons evolution from the 1600’s to the almost present day. Some of the modern cells reminded me of military accommodation. As a final word, I would say that the prison is well worth a visit and that the cafe/shop is very reasonably priced.
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Passenger549322
Apr 18, 2025
disappointed and not appropriate for children - We recently visited with a group that included five children, and unfortunately, the experience was incredibly disappointing. The self-guided tour was confusing and poorly marked, leaving us unsure of where to go or how to get out of the buildings. There was a serious lack of direction. While the site clearly has historical significance, that potential is completely lost in the execution. The displays were minimal and uninspired, offering little context or storytelling. It felt as though the prison was simply shut down, stripped bare, and reopened to the public with no real effort to create an engaging or educational experience. Overall, this visit left us seriously underwhelmed not worth the price. With a little more thought and investment in signage, exhibits, and overall visitor experience, this could be a more meaningful attraction—however I would go on to say that I don't think this is a family attraction and is not suitable for younger children. They had an Easter egg trail and an Easter bunny giving out eggs but even the 'easter bunny' was creepy.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
From $21
up to 15 guests
1 - Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).