• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • collections@thestorydurham.org
DRO logo

Durham Record Office

Durham County Record Office: the official archive service for County Durham and Darlington

  • About us
    • Projects
    • What we do
    • News
    • Friends of Durham County Record Office (FODCRO)
    • Governance
    • Policies
  • Our records
    • Coal mining and Durham collieries
    • Durham Light Infantry Archives
    • Information guides
    • Maps
    • Picture Gallery
  • Ask us
  • Family history
    • Birth, marriage and death records
    • Census records
    • Parish registers
    • Place names index
    • Nonconformist Church Registers
    • Wills
    • A to Z of other family history sources
  • Learning Zone
    • The Story of Jimmy Durham
    • Crook
    • Durham Market Place
    • Arts Award
  • Exhibitions
    • ‘Almost too horrible for words’ – the liberation of Belsen concentration camp, 1945
    • ‘Marvellous Diggers’ – The 1st Battalion DLI in Korea, 1952-53
    • ‘Adventurers and Pirates’ – Hetton Coal Company, 1820
    • Looking back at Consett Steel Works
  • Shop
    • Apply for quick search
    • Apply for research service
    • Order and pay for copies
    • Fees and charges
    • Publications
  • Search Options
    • Search the catalogue
    • Search Church Registers
    • Search Durham Collieries
    • Search Durham’s Hidden Depths
    • Search place names
    • Search interactive maps
You are here: Home / Family history / A to Z of other family history sources / Law and order records / Prison

Prison

Information about Durham, Carlisle and Newcastle prison records in Durham County Record Office.

Registers of prisoners

Male prisoner in Durham Gaol, circa 1900 (P 14/6)
Icon showing image can be enlarged

We hold nominal registers of prisoners in:

  • Durham Prison, from 1908 to 1964 (some gaps)
  • Carlisle Prison, from 1910 to 1922 (some gaps)
  • Newcastle Prison, 1909 to 1925 (some gaps)
  • Durham Borstal (girls) from 1958 to 1962.

There are also some photographs of prisoners.

Registers of prison officers

We hold registers of officers at Durham Prison, from 1897 to 1977 (approximate dates only), and at Newcastle Prison, from 1872 to 1924 (approximate dates only).

Access to records

Access to records relating to prisoners and prison officers is restricted for 85 years under Data Protection legislation. When only part of a volume is covered by Data Protection, access to the entire volume is restricted. Please contact us to apply for access.

Durham Prison records – online catalogue

For other prison records, search the catalogue for house of correction or similar keywords.

Durham County Council logo Accredited Archive Service logo

The Story
Mount Oswald
South Road
Durham
DH1 3TQ
collections@thestorydurham.org

  • Top of Page |
  • Legal Information | 
  • Accessibility Statement | 
  • Contact Us |

Copyright © 2025 · Developed by Durham County Council