Bodmin Jail

Starters

Soup of the day…£ 4.50

Prawn cocktail…£ 5.95

Chestnut mushrooms
in garlic and cream sauce…£ 5.50

Duo of pheasant & partridge breasts
with blueberry compote…£ 5.50

½ kg. Mussels
in white wine, cream & garlic…£ 7.50

Tender BBQ ribs and chicken wings
with our own BBQ Sauce…£ 5.50
or sharing platter…£ 9.95

Garlic bread…£1.95

Cheesy garlic bread…£ 2.50

Main Courses

Pie of the day…£ 9.95

Chicken curry and rice
served with poppadom and mango chutney…£ 9.95

Slow braised lamb shank…£12.95

4 oz homemade burger…£ 7.25
Double up for an extra…£ 1.25

Roast chicken breast
served with a rich red wine sauce…£11.95

BBQ ribs and chicken wings
in our own BBQ sauce…£12.95

Hangman’s cajun chicken
topped with smoked cheese and served with BBQ sauce…£12.95

½ roast duck with orange sauce…£16.95

Each main course is served with a choice of either a side salad or vegetables and a choice of homemade chips, jacket potato or potato of the day.

Steaks

Each steak dish is served with ½ beef tomato & mushrooms

10 oz gammon steak
served with either egg or pineapple…£ 9.95

8 oz prime sirloin steak…£14.95

8oz fillet steak…£19.95

16 oz T-bone steak…£19.95

Extra Sauces

Peppercorn …£ 1.95

Red wine & Stilton …£ 1.95

Red wine & mushroom …£ 1.95

Fresh Fish

Fillet of cod, either battered or baked
with lemon butter…£ 9.95

Fillet of salmon
with a tomato salsa…£10.95

3 large crevettes and 5 scallops
served with either lemon or garlic butter…£15.95

Whole bass, filleted if preferred
served with warm olive oil & fresh lime…£16.95

Pasta

Authentic homemade lasagne…£ 9.95

Meatballs in a tomato sauce…£10.95

Salmon & prawn pasta in a cream sauce…£10.95

Each pasta dish is served with Garlic Bread

Vegetarian Mains

Mediterranean vegetable pasta in olive oil & fresh basil…£ 10.95

Stuffed bell peppers filled
with fried rice…£ 10.95 Gluten free

Spicy tofu in a rich plum sauce…£ 10.95 Gluten free

Salads

Slices of cheddar cheese…£ 8.95

Home roasted honey glazed ham…£ 9.95

Home roasted beef…£ 9.95

Home roasted loin of pork…£ 9.95

Prawns in marie rose sauce…£10.95

Each salad is served with coleslaw & fresh bread

Side Orders

Garlic bread…£ 1.95

Cheesy garlic bread… £ 2.50

Fresh bread…£ 1.50

Portion of chips…1.95

Jacket potato…£ 1.95

Side salad…£ 2.50

Children’s Menu

Grilled sausages…£ 4.50

Homemade chicken goujons…£ 5.25

Jumbo breaded fish fingers…£ 4.50

4oz freshly battered cod…£ 4.95

Baked salmon…£ 5.25

Each child’s meal is served with a choice of either Heinz Baked Beans or Heinz Spaghetti or lettuce, tomato & cucumber and a choice of either homemade chips or potato of the day

Meatballs in a tomato sauce…£ 5.25

This pasta dish is served with garlic bread

Jail Roast with all the trimmings

Appetisers

Please ask our staff for a Starter Menu board

Sunday Lunch

Home Roasted Pork Loin with apple sauce…£ 8.45

Home Roasted Beef….£8.45

Home Roasted Lamb….£9.95

Medley of Home Roasted Pork Loin & Beef….£8.45

Home Made Fruit & Nut Roast….£8.45

Each of these main courses are served with 2 Yorkshire puddings, 3 seasonal vegetables. Roasted & Potato of the day, and a jug of real home made Gravy.

The above Sunday Lunches are served in children’s size portions which are available at £4.95 to children only under 13 years of age.

Childrens menu to suit all tastes

Young Offenders Menu

Grilled Sausages….£4.50

Chicken Goujons in Breadcrumbs….£5.25

Jumbo Breaded Fish Fingers….£4.50

All Young Offenders’ meals are accompanied by a choice of either Heinz Baked Beans, Heinz Spaghetti or Lettuce, Tomato & Cucumber and a choice of Homemade Chips or Potato of the day.

Meatballs in a homemade tomato sauce…£ 5.25

Fresh Pasta tossed in Tomato & Basil sauce….£3.95

topped with Parmesan Cheese

Please see chalkboard specials for vegetarian & salad specials of the day!

From the grill

A La Carte Menu

A choice of

8oz Prime Sirloin Steak….£14.95

‘Catch of the day’ (please see Chalkboard)….from £9.95

Chicken in White Wine & Mushroom Sauce or Gravy….£11.95

Slow Roasted Lamb Shank….£12.95

Homemade Pie of the Day (please see chalkboard)….£9.95

Each of the above main courses is served with fresh seasonal vegetables and a choice of Roasted, Homemade Chips or Potato of the day.

While the Jail is open all year round as one of Cornwall’s top historic attractions, we also cater to local charity groups, birthday parties, weddings, photo shoots and even film crews. Please contact us to discuss your specific requirements.

[View with PicLens]

Lighting Photography Shots by Claire Rosen
Lighting installation by Alex Randall

We have put together a fantastic Christmas Menu for the upcoming festive season so if you have an office party to organise or just a treat for Mom and Dad take a look below and remember to book early as we get very busy over the next few weeks.

If you need to party plan or want to read the menu off line then you can download the menu and booking form  here.

A choice of

Home-Made Soup

Freshly prepared Minestrone Soup

topped with grated Parmesan cheese

Scallops

Three Scallops with crispy Bacon and Cauliflower puree

Black Pudding and Apple

Pan – fried traditional Yorkshire black pudding and fresh apple

in a caramelised sauce

Broccoli Thermadore

Purple sprouting Broccoli in a puff pastry case

Topped with a rich Cheese sauce

Baby Crayfish Tail Cocktail

Baby Crayfish Tails with Marie Rose sauce

A choice of

Locally produced, traditional Home Roasted Turkey

Served with sausage rolled in bacon and stuffing

Home Cooked rolled Pork Loin

Stuffed West Country Pork Loin

with Cranberry and  Apricot Stuffing

Fillet of Cod

Baked Cod with a Herb Crust and roasted Vine tomatoes

10oz prime Sirloin Steak (£3 supplement)

Cooked to order and served with an option of homemade Chips

Trio of Hearts

Braised Chicory, Celery and Artichoke Hearts

with Yeast extract sauce

Bodmin Jail’s very own Nut Roast

Big selection of Fruit & Nuts, slow roasted

Each of the above main courses are served with three seasonal Vegetables and both homemade Roast and New potatoes

A choice of

Homemade Christmas Pudding

Served with either warm Brandy Sauce or Fresh Cream

Homemade Tangerine Cheesecake

Served with fresh Cream

Homemade Chocolate Brownie

Served with fresh Cream

Homemade Black forest Arctic roll

Served with fresh Cream

Cheeseboard & Biscuits (£2 supplement)

Served with plum chutney

Fresh Coffee or Tea

Served with a warm Mince Pie

and After Dinner Mints

Selina Wadge was one of only four women to be hanged for of the murder of their child during the period 1868 – 1899. (I have included Louise Masset in this figure as the crime and trial took place in 1899, although her execution was carried out in January 1900). They were Mary Ann Cotton who was a serial poisoner who murdered as many as ten of her children for the insurance money. Elizabeth Berry poisoned her daughter for the same reason and Louisa Masset who murdered her son because he was an encumbrance to her relationship.

Selina was very much at the bottom end of the Victorian social spectrum. She was a 28 year old unmarried mother of two illegitimate sons and due to her poverty and inability to get work whilst raising two small children, often had to ask for admission to Launceston Workhouse. This was a very stigmatising thing for a woman to have to do at the time.
Her sons were Henry aged two and John aged six. Henry who was always known as Harry was partially crippled and could hardly walk. Both boys seemed well cared for, however.

In the summer of 1878 she had taken leave from the workhouse to visit her mother at Altarnum, a village some 8 miles west of Launceston in Cornwall, accompanied by her sons.
Selina claimed to be in a relationship with a former soldier named James Westwood although it is not thought that he was not the father of the boys. According to James he had met Selina just twice previously, in December 1877 and again in March 1878. He had written her a letter telling her that they could meet in Launceston on Saturday 22nd of June and then another telling her that he would be unable to see her that day because he had to work that day. However on Friday the 21st June 1878 Selina and the children hitched a ride towards Launceston with a local farmer named William Holman. She told Mr. Holman that she was going to meet her boyfriend in the town before returning to the workhouse that evening.
Later on the Saturday morning Selina was recognised near Mowbray Park and by mid-day had reached the workhouse but by now only the older child, John, was with her. She told her sister who was also an inmate, in the presence of the Workhouse Master, Mr. Downing, that Harry had died at Altarnum. On the Saturday night John told the work house nurses that Selina had put Harry into a “pit”. Mr. Downing and his wife who was the matron questioned Selina about this on the Sunday morning and she told them that her boyfriend had taken Harry from her and drowned him in a well on the Friday evening and threatened to kill her and John.
Mr. Downing immediately sent for the police who despatched Superintendent Barrett from Launceston to investigate. Selina repeated the story to him under caution and directly implicated James Westwood in Harry’s disappearance. Barrett launched a search for Harry and found his body in three feet of water at the bottom of a 13 foot deep well shaft in Mowbray Park. The top of the well was covered so it would not have been possible for Harry to have accidentally fallen in. His body showed no signs of violence.
Selina was not in custody at this point but remained in the care of Mrs. Downey at the workhouse to whom she confessed that she alone had committed the murder and that only John had been present. Once Harry’s body had been found Supt. Barrett had sufficient grounds to arrest and charge Selina and remove her to Launceston police station. She told one of the constables that James Westwood had persuaded her to kill Harry on the promise that he would marry her if she did.

She came to trial at Bodmin before Mr. Justice Denman on the 27th of July 1878 and the prosecution outlined the story above, calling the workhouse staff as witnesses to the confession evidence and reading James Westwood’s letters out. James assured the court that he had no ill feeling toward the children.
Evidence of Selina’s previous good character and affection for her children was given by other inmates at the workhouse and by people from her home village.
It took the jury took 45 minutes to reach a guilty verdict to which they added a recommendation to mercy on account of the way she had previously looked after her children and that in their opinion the murder had not been premeditated. Mr. Justice Denman told her that she could not rely upon the jury’s recommendation and sentenced her to death whereupon she was taken back to Bodmin Gaol and placed in the condemned cell.
Here she received a letter from James Westwood asking for her forgiveness which, when it was read to her, she allegedly said “Yes, he needed forgiveness for many things.”
The judge prepared his report for submission to the Home Office and clearly did not concur with the jury as to mercy. This report along with the case papers were examined by the officials who did not recommend a reprieve to the Home Secretary, Sir Richard Assheton Cross. It seems probable that one of the reasons that Selina was not reprieved is that she had tried to blame the murder on John Westwood, a crime for which he would probably have been hanged if convicted. By this period most women who murdered their children, unless by poisoning were reprieved.

In the condemned cell Selina was guarded round the clock by teams of matrons (as female prison officers were known at this time) who would no doubt have done their best to comfort her and prevent any suicide attempts.

The High Sheriff of Devon had decided not to admit representatives of the press to the execution which was set for 8.00 a.m. on Thursday the 15th of August 1878. It had originally been intended for Monday 12th of August but William Marwood was otherwise engaged for the hanging of Thomas Chorleton in Nottingham on that day.
The gallows for her execution was set up outside a first floor door in the open air and attached to the four iron rings set into the wall. (see photo) The location of this was also the receiving area for food deliveries. To the left of the doorway is the civil wing and behind to the right is the naval wing of the prison.

Selina was close to collapse on her last morning. Her terror at the thought of her execution is not hard to understand. It is unlikely that she would have known about Marwood’s newly introduced method of hanging and probably expected that she would strangle at the end of the rope in front of witnesses as most people previously had. Hers would be the first private execution at Bodmin and also the first to employ the measured drop. William Marwood calculated her drop at eight feet.

The prison chaplain remained with her from 7.15 on that morning until the end and she was reported to have sobbed on her last walk from the condemned cell. Selina’s last words were “Lord deliver me from this miserable world”. She held a handkerchief in her hand during the execution although by this time would not have been expected to drop it as the signal that she was ready. Marwood made the usual preparations and operated the lever plummeting her down in front of the entrance to the tunnel where her lifeless body dangled for the next hour. After the formal inquest she was buried within the prison grounds. The Liverpool Post newspaper reported that those who witnessed the hanging, including the chaplain and the under sheriff of Cornwall were deeply affected by it. How they obtained this information is not stated. Their article also stated that she “died without a struggle” so even the press had not realised the change Marwood had brought to the process of hanging by this time.

What is unclear is why Selina harboured the delusion that James Westwood would marry her if she disposed of her children whom she seemed to love and care for. His actions and statements do not seem to indicate that he was deeply in love with her.
Whether she intended to kill John as well or whether, when it came to it, she could not bring herself to we will never know. Selina may have seen Westwood as a “good catch” – an ex soldier with a job who was at least somewhat interested in her.

Her ghost still haunts the prison and tries to reach out to small children and instil feelings of guilt and remorse on pregnant women. Mark Rablin, the paranomalist at Bodmin, reports that children have been known to ask who the lady in the long dress crying was and that pregnant women get very emotional on the 3rd and 4th floor. Selina’s ghost is seen as a full torso manifestation.

William Bartlett was executed on the same gallows some 4 years later on the 13th of November 1882. In 1897 an execution shed was constructed in one of the prison’s yards and this was used for the final two hangings in Cornwall in 1901 and 1909. Normally this shed was used to house the prison van, as at Exeter and Kirkdale prisons.
The prison is now a museum and the gallows in the execution shed have been recently rebuilt by my friend Gary Ewart. This is the only workable example of a Victorian execution shed and gallows in Britain.

To read more like this please head over to capitalpunishmentuk.org

Now in its fourth year and back by popular demand, we are currently taking bookings for our highly popular evening ghost walks. Not for the faint of heart!

Due to the huge success of our Paranormal Nights on the 30th and 31st of October, we are extending our Halloween weekend to take in the night of Sunday the 1st of November. For further details or to book, please call 01208 76292

FORTHCOMING EVENTS: -

Halloween Weekend: Friday 30th & Saturday 31st October 2009 + Sunday 1st november
Our last Paranormal Evening of the Year is on Saturday 28th November 2009

FORMAT: –

Arrival: Please arrive at the jail for around 10:30 p.m. Format: The night will be hosted by Mark Rablin, our experienced and professional pyscic medium & energy therapist who has many years experience of research into paranormal fields.

Various group workshops will be undertaken in elected areas of both the main civil prison, and also the naval prison, and it is expected that you will enjoy the night and gain a better understanding into the paranormal field.

Facilities: Tea and coffee facilities are available throughout the nght and a function room and toilets will be on hand. A fully licensed restaurant is available for food and drink prior to the start of the evening – if is advisable to book prior to your arrival – and you are welcome to bring snacks and/or refreshments yourselves; no alcoholic drinks are permitted during the course of the event.

Please bring warm clothing as temperatures get very cold in the lower areas of the prison and do not forget a torch and/or a camera for pictures.

Close: The night will finish at approximately 7a.m., with a full English breakfast included in the price. Please advise us if there are any vegetarian requirements.

Cost: The cost of this event is £70.00 per person per night. This ammount is used to cover staffing and administration costs, with residual monies being used to fund our Regeneration Project for both the premises and site of Bodmin Jail.

Burgers

Homemade by our own chefs and served with handmade chips.

4oz Beef burger…£ 6.25

4oz Beef burger with cheese…£ 6.95

4oz Beef burger with cheese and bacon…£ 7.25

4oz Beef burger with cheese and pineapple..£ 7.25

Double up to 8oz for an extra…£ 1.25

Jacket Potatoes

Home baked jacket potatoes all served with butter and a salad garnish with a choice of:

Butter…£ 4.25

Melted cheese…£ 4.95

Egg mayonnaise…£ 5.15

Tuna mayonnaise…£ 5.25

Cheese and baked beans…£ 5.25

Prawns in marie rose sauce…£ 5.95

Wraps

Freshly made to order and served with a salad garnish and crisps

Cheese wrap with salsa…£ 4.00

Hot beef with salsa…£ 4.95

Chicken strips in breadcrumbs with salsa…£ 4.95

Hot chicken & bacon with salsa…£ 5.50

Chilled fresh prawns with salsa…£ 5.50

Filled French Sticks

Freshly made to order and served with a salad garnish and crisps to nibble.

Slices of mature cheddar cheese…£ 4.00

Egg mayonnaise…£ 4.00

Slices of blue cheese…£ 4.50

Tuna mayonnaise…£ 4.50

Home roasted honey glazed ham…£ 4.75

Home roasted loin of pork with apple sauce… £ 4.75

Home roasted beef…£ 4.75

Prawns in marie rose sauce…£ 5.50

Children’s Filled French Sticks

Freshly made to order and served with a salad garnish and crisps.

Egg mayonnaise…£ 3.95

Slices of cheddar cheese…£ 3.95

Home roasted honey glazed ham…£ 3.95

Home roasted beef…£ 3.95

Home roasted loin of pork…£ 3.95

Side Orders

Garlic bread…£ 1.95

Cheesy garlic bread…£ 2.50

Homemade chips…£ 1.95

Homemade cheesy chips…£ 2.75

Side salad…£ 2.50

Fresh bread…£ 1.50

Afternoon Tea

Traditional Cream Tea

Two freshly baked scones served with either a traditional pot of tea or a cup of straight black or white coffee…£ 4.25

Thunder & Lightning

Two freshly baked scones topped with golden syrup and clotted cream served with either a traditional pot of tea or a cup of straight black or white coffee…£ 4.25

Tea – Cake

Toasted spiced tea-cake served with either a traditional pot of tea or a cup of straight black or white coffee…£ 2.95

Lots of foodie text to go in here

Bar Menu

Main Menu

Sunday Menu

Our Famous 'CCT'

Here in  Cornwall, the cream tea was traditionally served with a “Cornish split”, a type of slightly sweet whitebread roll, rather than a scone. The warm roll (or scone) should first be buttered, then spread with strawberry jam, and finally topped with a spoonful of Cornish clotted cream

Another variation to a cream tea is called “Thunder and Lightning” which consists of a round of bread, topped with clotted cream and golden syrup, honey or treacle.