HM Prison Belfast, better known as Crumlin Road Gaol, was built between 1843 and 1845 to replace the County Gaol at Carrickfergus and became one of the most advanced prisons of its time. Designed by Sir Charles Lanyon on the Separate System, it held men, women, and children, and later housed suffragettes and condemned prisoners. During the Troubles it became notorious for overcrowding and political imprisonment, holding figures from across Northern Ireland’s divisions and witnessing escapes and deadly violence. Closed in 1996, it remains Northern Ireland’s only surviving Victorian-era prison and now preserves a vivid record of Belfast’s social and political history.