Newcastle female prisoner exhibition explores untold stories

The lives of female prisoners in the 19th Century and those experiencing the criminal justice system today are not dissimilar, a charity worker has said. An exhibition at Newcastle Cathedral is documenting the untold stories from female prisoners at the former Newcastle Prison, which stood in the city's Carliol Square between 1828-1925. Coinciding with International Women's Day, it also incorporates a 2023 creation by women who also had first-hand experience in the justice system. Charity Changing Lives' service manager for criminal justice Dawn Harrison said the women she worked with through the project "still carry the guilt and shame that the women from history will have carried around". Author and researcher Dr Clare Sandford-Couch is part of a group of academics researching the history of women in the prison and co-wrote the book Newcastle Prison: A History, 1828-1925. She said in her research she had found the history of the prison had been written about the male prisoners and they wanted to recover the women's stories and make them better known. "Some of the women come across as incredible characters," she said. "There's a fabulous character called Bridget Creggans who appea