Developers face bill over Shrewsbury Dana jail bodies
Prospective developers of Shrewsbury Prison are likely to face a hefty bill to exhume the bodies of executed criminals buried at the site, it has been revealed.
A Ministry of Justice spokesman has said records show a total of 10 bodies remain buried at the Dana site.
Talks are taking place involving Shropshire Council and the Ministry of Justice about allowing the prison to be turned into a hotel once it officially closes by the start of April. The last five inmates left yesterday.
Both Shropshire Council and the Ministry of Justice have said that what to do with the remains was forming part of the discussions on the jail's future.
More than £500,000 was spent on exhuming bodies from Oxford Prison when that site was turned into a luxury hotel in 2005. The project had initially been earmarked to cost about £250,000, but ending up doubling after more remains than expected were found.
A total of 76 bodies were eventually found at the Oxford site.
Councillor Mike Owen, Shropshire Council's cabinet member for business growth and prosperity, said: "We have established a joint team and will be taking the reuse of the site forward, looking at all factors which need to be considered."
Dozens of criminals were executed at Shrewsbury Prison, which dates back more than 200 years.
Local historian David Trumper has records which state between 1800 and 1868 alone, a total of 53 people were executed, an average of one every three months.
"Of that number, 21 have suffered death for murder, 11 for horse or sheep stealing, 12 for burglary, two for arson and seven for other offences," he said. He said it was unclear precisely how many bodies would have been buried at the site.
Public hangings were once a frequent feature of Shrewsbury Prison, drawing large crowds to watch. The last one took place in April 1863, when 30-year-old Edward Cooper was executed for a murder at Baschurch.
In the 20th century, there were eight executions with the last one involving local man George Riley in 1961.
In 1972, the remains of a further 10 unnamed prisoners executed at the jail were exhumed with nine cremated and one body handed over to relatives.
