Lancaster Castle

22/10/2026

Pop into the Police Museum at Lancaster Castle for some spooky Halloween crafts! Create scary ghosts and pumpkins, or paint your own Halloween keychain!

Looking for some fun this October half-term? Our Police Museum (based in Lancaster Castle) is hosting spooky craft activities!

🖌️ Create your own scary ghosts or pumpkins or paint your own Halloween keychains
📆 Thursday 29th and Friday 30th October
🕥 10.30am to 12 noon and 1.30pm to 3pm
💰 Free of charge and no booking needed
📍 Lancaster Castle

We look forward to scaring you soon….sorry, we mean seeing you soon!

21/10/2026

The Castle's Human Treadmill...

Lancaster Castle housed two treadwheels – one to drive 23 calico looms and one to draw water from the well. The first one was installed in 1822.

Lancaster’s use of the treadwheels was almost unique as most prisons did not harness the energy in any useful way.

During the summer, male and female prisoners sentenced to hard labour on the treadwheel had to work 10 hours per day at a rate of 96 steps per minute. They were allowed to rest for five minutes in every twenty.

Four prisoners were allocated to every three spaces on the wheel, thereby allowing one to rest for five minutes while the rest of the team continued to turn the wheel.

When prisoners finished their 15-minute stint, they would climb down to sit on a stool, whilst the prisoner who had been resting took his place.

The turnkey (prison officer) in charge of the wheelhouse was in full control and shouted out his orders each time the wheelhouse clock chimed the five-minute interval.

A rule of total silence was strictly enforced and the spaces on the wheel were partitioned to frustrate communication between the prisoners.

19/10/2026

The Old Assize Court

Until 1835 the only Assize for the county, Lancaster Castle saw a vast number of accused people pass through its doors, many of whom would have been on trial for their life.

An interesting relic of this age is the branding iron in the dock. This consists of a metal holdfast designed to immobilise the wrist and fingers, whilst a red-hot branding iron embossed with the letter M was applied to the brawn of the thumb. This identified the convicted person as a ‘malefactor’ or ‘evil-doer.’

The Branding Iron was last used in 1811. It was the practice of the gaoler to raise the convicted person’s hand to show the judge that a fair mark had been made.

It became the rule that before a prisoner was tried he was required to raise his hand so that it could be seen whether he bore the brand mark and was therefore a previous offender.

13/10/2026

The Three Inch Fools invite you to step into the supernatural world of Dickens’ immortal classic.

A biting cold Christmas Eve. The clock strikes midnight and Ebenezer Scrooge is visited by the first ghost.

Forced to confront his past, present and future can this miserly man change his fate?

In a magical new production that blends illusion, music and spine-tingling storytelling, The Three Inch Fools bring this timeless tale of the supernatural vividly to life.

Touring across the country, this enchanting new production delivers a celebration of hope, redemption and
the spirit of Christmas, in this most infamous of ghost stories.

★★★★★ – “Unbelievable show”
★★★★★ – “Best thing we’ve seen in years”
★★★★★ – Hastings Independent Press
★★★★★ – The Bristol Post

Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/a-christmas-carol-at-lancaster-castle-tickets-2001888455259?aff=oddtdtcreator

12/10/2026

The Child Witness...

One of the most shocking moments of the Pendle Witch Trials involved a nine-year-old girl.

Jennet Device gave evidence against members of her own family in Lancaster Castle's Assize Court.
Her testimony carried enormous weight and helped secure convictions that ultimately led to executions.

Today, many historians view the trial as an example of how fear, superstition and rumour influenced justice in the seventeenth century.

09/10/2026

🎶 The day has arrived! Lancaster Castle has joined the Lancaster Music Festival!

Over the next three days, Lancaster Castle will host 30+ performances! If you're visiting Lancaster Castle as part of your festival experience, don't forget to tag us in your photos.

Let the music begin!

09/10/2026

WELL GOOD BREAD is at Lancaster Castle! Grab some delicious focaccia Friday-Sunday weekly!

08/10/2026

The Prisoner Who Never Saw Trial

The most famous Pendle Witch never entered the courtroom.

Elizabeth Southernes, better known as "Old Demdike", was around 80 years old when she was imprisoned in Lancaster Castle in 1612.

She died inside the Castle while awaiting trial, becoming one of the most mysterious figures connected with the Pendle story.

06/10/2026

A Chance Encounter Changed Everything...

On 18 March 1612, a young woman called Alizon Device stopped a travelling peddler named John Law and asked him for a pin.

When he refused, she later claimed that her familiar spirit offered to harm him. Shortly afterwards, Law collapsed and became paralysed.

The incident sparked an investigation that would eventually bring nineteen people to Lancaster Castle, accused of witchcraft.

What began as a chance meeting on a Lancashire road would end at the Castle gallows.

Over the coming weeks we'll explore real stories from the Castle's history, from the Pendle Witch Trials to the prisoners, judges and executions that shaped Lancaster's past.

Follow along if you dare... 👀🏰

06/10/2026

Choir Performance @ Lancaster Castle!

Come up to the Castle to listen to one of the oldest secular male voice choirs in the country, Lancaster and District Male Voice Choir!

2pm, Saturday 17th October 2026
Tickets: £12.50