Old Bailey hauntings: Victorian baby killer, ghostly barrister and spectral cat

Nurse Amelia Dyer was aged 58 when she was hanged at the Newgate Prison on June 10 1896 after confessing to killing babies following an Old Bailey trial.

More than a century later, a phantasmal woman seen lurking outside a jury room is believed by some at the Central Criminal Court to be that of Dyer, dubbed by newspapers in her lifetime as the Ogress of Reading.

It is just one of a series of spooky occurrences reported by staff at the Grade II listed building.

Other reported sightings have included the dark figure of a ghostly barrister passing through the famous Court One, as well as footsteps, rustling noises and whispers in empty corridors.

Workers have even reported seeing the apparition of a cat stalking the building at night.

One member of staff joked he put garlic outside his office door after hearing a voice calling his name in a dark corridor behind Court One while working alone one evening.

He told the PA news agency: “I was scrambling for the lights. Before I switched it on, someone mentioned my name and I carefully retired, turned my back, slowly moved out and ran to the lift.

“I heard something and I’m sure it was my name, it was very clear. I don’t think I was hallucinating. I experienced that in April. I cannot definitely say it did happen, but I heard something.”

PA was granted a rare opportunity to photograph historic artefacts and explore behind the scenes of the world’s most famous courthouse.

The oldest working courtrooms were built on top of part of the City of London’s Roman Wall and what was once Newgate Prison in the Victorian era.

According to popular folklore, a ghostly “black dog” had prowled the Newgate cells seeking vengeance on prisoners.

Charles Dickens wrote about public hangings outside the building and even used it as the setting for a short story featuring a ghostly 13th juror.

In 1836, he wrote an evocative first-hand account of Newgate Prison with its “heavy oaken gate, bound with iron, studded with nails” guarded by a “turnkey”.

Dickens observed that the “huge gates and gratings” were “sufficient to dispel at once the slightest hope of escape that any newcomer may have entertained”.

Although the prison was partly destroyed to convert the building into courts in use today, the original heavy wooden prison door and knocker have survived.

Other clues to the building’s past life include a warder’s safe dated 1903, complete with a set of chunky keys.

The gruesome spectacle of public hangings which Dickens wrote about was brought to an end when capital punishment moved inside Newgate and out of sight.

Dead Man’s Walk is one of the most chilling parts of Newgate Prison that was not destroyed to make way for courts.

The enclosed courtyard features a set of narrowing archways leading to a dead end – and the waiting gallows.

A lesser-known facet of the Old Bailey was a secret tunnel enabling clergy from a nearby church to enter the cells to give prisoners their last rites.

Any defendants considering a break for freedom will be disappointed as it has long since been blocked off.

There is however an old access hatch in a basement to the River Fleet, which runs beneath the building and is often blamed for bad odours in the summer.

The Old Bailey complete with Grand Hall and whispering gallery was built five years after the last person was hanged on the old Newgate site in 1902.

It would take more than 60 years before the last prisoners were executed in the UK, with the death penalty for all crimes not being abolished until 1998.

Designed by Worcestershire-born architect Edward Mountford, the Old Bailey was formally opened by King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra in 1907.

Off the Grand Hall is Court One, where the likes of notorious poisoner Dr Crippen, and Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be hanged in England, were tried.

Statues of Charles I and his successor Charles II, who restored the monarchy in 1660, take a prominent position in the Grand Hall.

The Martyr King’s execution in 1649 is remembered today as barristers still don traditional black mourning gowns.

In a more discreet corner of the Old Bailey is a plaque to commemorate a group of rebellious jurors.

In 1670, they refused to convict Quaker preachers William Mead and William Penn despite being locked up without food for two days.

The case established the “right of juries to give their verdict according to their convictions”, a rallying cry more recently adopted by climate protesters.

Penn was later gifted Pennsylvania in the United States by Charles II where he founded a refuge for Quakers and other religious minorities.

The most famous image of the Old Bailey is FW Pomeroy’s Lady Justice, which was erected on the top of a dome in 1906.

Standing 12ft high and 6ft wide, the statue is made of gilded bronze and is the only known representation of Lady Justice without a blindfold.

It has withstood two bombings, firstly during the Blitz of the Second World War and then again when the Old Bailey was attacked by the IRA.

A shard of glass inside the entrance hall is all that remains of the damage caused when a car bomb exploded in 1973, killing one person and injuring many more.

Despite its somewhat ghoulish history, the Old Bailey has maintained its status as the highest criminal court in England and Wales with 18 working courtrooms, including some in a more modern extension.

Its category A prison cells have hosted countless high-profile defendants, such as Soham killer Ian Huntley, Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe and the Kray twins, Ronnie and Reggie.But whether or not they scrawled any messages on the graffiti-marked cell walls remains a mystery as they are strictly out of bounds to all but inmates – and their guards.

Members of the public can book Saturday tours of the Old Bailey via https://www.eventbrite.com/e/guided-tour-of-the-old-bailey-tickets-954848075297 or for group bookings via cccevents@cityoflondon.gov.uk.