On Saturday, I dropped in past Peterhead Prison Museum, (opened in 2016) which I'd heard was interesting. I wanted to pass through Peterhead as dad was stationed there as a young policeman in the early sixties, and my wee brother was born there. It's known locally as the 'blue toon', apparently because of the blue clothing once worn by the town's fishing population. Some say however, it's because of the cold wind that is ever present there.
Anyway, I digress. HMP was a high security convict prison and functioned as such from 1888 until 2013 when it was closed. Prisoners from here were used to build the Peterhead Harbour wall, which was completed in 1956. The prison had a very bad reputation and housed some of the country's most violent offenders including serial killer Peter Tobin and gangster Paul Ferris. It also housed Thomas McCulloch, a triple axe murderer who spent 22 years in solitary confinement there.
On 28 September 1987, there was a major security incident when inmates took over the prison. A prison officer (Jackie Stuart - still alive today) was taken hostage. The SAS were dispatched to bring the riot to an end. On 3 October, the hostage was released and order was restored.
A new prison, HMP Grampian, opened in 2014 in Peterhead, and replaces both HMP Peterhead and HMP Aberdeen (Craiginches).
I took this photo of the prison barber ... despite knowing that both were dummies, I was rather taken aback by the way the prisoner's eyes seemed to be looking right at me through the mirror. Quite disconcerting.
Gracious you could have nightmares about this eyes! Nice tableau & prisons are very interesting. We did a similar tour of Cork prison once which had lots of such scenes as this.
Yes, that stare was unnerving right from the start and I had to look at the barber to realize it wasn't the face of a REAL person! It must have been a fascinating yet unsettling place.
Wow, Issi, what a fascinating read! Initially looking at the photo, I wondered at the disagreeable-looking man in the chair, before realizing both were mannequins! My weird mind wonders what it would capture if a camera was placed in the eye of the prisoner... Would people's wondering expressions make for an interesting movie clip...?
The prisoner does look kind of spooky doesn't he. He has his eye on you for sure.