Plans have been unveiled to turn the historic grade-II listed Bodmin Jail in Cornwall into a 63 bedroom hotel after the plan was unanimously approved by council planners.
The work is to be completed by the London based Twelve Architects who submitted plans this year to convert part of the jail into a hotel and teaching facility.
The conversion is said to be planned to cost £30M and it should be completed in 2019. The plans include a car park for 151 cars.
Bodmin Jail already has fantastic restaurant and a colourful history which attracts people to dine at the restaurant and also perhaps partake in one of their famed ghost walks.
The prison was constructed by Napoleonic prisoners in 1779, during the reign of George III, who hauled 20,000 tons of granite from Bodmin’s Cuckoo Quarry to raise its ominous walls and create the famous tower that can still be seen for miles around today. Its blood-soaked history boasts around 55 executions, all of which have taken place within the prison’s cold, dank walls. Murderers and rapists; children and the innocent have all passed through the gates and left their mark within its walls.
The project will see the refurbishment of the derelict cell blocks on the civil and naval wings and convert them into 63 hotel rooms above part of the museum.
Each ensuite bedroom will be formed from three cells and interiors will feature colours and textures inspired by the aged, weathered stone. A glazed rooflight running the complete length of both wings will create a central atrium for the hotel.
An external lift and core, both clad in charred timber, will improve circulation and servicing.
The project will also include a new 1,200sqm ‘Dark Walk’ attraction which will feature a series of themed rooms containing scenic sets, films and projections to immerse visitors in the history of the area and allow them to share the experience of inmates of Bodmin Jail during the 18th and 19th centuries.
Read our review of the restaurant here, or for more dining inspiration in Cornwall, you can request a free copy of our Cornwall Food & Drink Guide here, or read online below:
