Newcastle Cathedral will host a powerful exhibition highlighting the untold stories of 19th- and early 20th-century women prisoners at the nearby Carliol Square prison.
Telling stories of lived experience of Women behind Bars: Newcastle Cathedral’s latest exhibition for International Women’s Day.
The exhibition, to mark International Women’s Day, will see a launch event on Wednesday 4 March at 6:30pm that will feature short talks sharing research into women’s stories from the city’s 19th-century prison, along with updates on the legacy of the Cathedral’s Story Chair, created by Changing Lives in collaboration with women with lived experience.
‘Women Behind Bars’: Life in Newcastle Prison, 1828–1925 draws on ‘Newcastle Prison: A History 1828–1925’ (Tyne Bridge Publishing, 2025) and highlights the often-overlooked narratives of those affected by the criminal justice system.
It features surviving images of prisoners, including early ‘mug shots’ from the 1870s, shared courtesy of North East Museums, and detailed digital reconstructions of the prison buildings by New Visions Heritage and run until Monday 27 April.
The exhibition also includes the ‘Story Chair’, crafted by Nick James Design, it was inspired by visits to Newcastle Cathedral in 2023 for a collaboration with women who have firsthand experience in the justice system in a partnership project that brought together Changing Lives, Northumbria University and the National Trust, with additional support from the North East Probation Service and The British Academy.
Dawn Harrison, Changing Lives’ Service Manager for Criminal Justice, Northumbria, will speak at the launch event and said,
“The Story Chair carries the voices and experiences of women who have been impacted by the justice system, many of whom are rarely heard in spaces like this.
‘Created in collaboration with women with lived experience, it offers a powerful and authentic way for their stories to be seen, heard and valued, while encouraging reflection on how we understand and respond to women affected by the criminal justice system today.”
Refreshments will be available at the launch event from Northumberland charity The Oswin Project, which runs Café 16 in Newcastle Cathedral’s refectory, providing training and employment opportunities for people with criminal records.
