The Old Gaolhouse

This Wetherspoon pub is the former Governor's House, which was the central building in the old debtor's prison. Built in 1805, it later became one of Britain's first libraries and, later still, an ironmongers and then a furniture store.

The county gaol once stood immediately behind the furniture shop. The use of this site as a prison is thought to date from 1228. In 1805, accommodation at the gaol was improved by the building of a new prison for debtors along the street frontage. The very centre of this new building was the Governor's House - now this pub. After a new prison opened in Romsey Road, in 1849, the old gaol closed and was sold.