In the late 1820s, Hobart’s gaol structures simply could not keep up with the increasing numbers of convicts arriving in Van Diemen’s Land.

To address this issue, a larger gaol – nicknamed ‘The Tench’ – was constructed in Campbell Street in 1821 and was expanded over the following decade.

St. David’s Church, the only Anglican church in Hobart at the time, was also being impacted by overcrowding. In response, Colonial Architect John Lee Archer drew up plans for a church that was big enough to serve both convicts and free people. He designed it in the shape of a cross so that free settlers could worship without lying eyes on the convicts, who would sit in the east and west wings. Notably, Archer included thirty-six solitary confinement cells for disobedient convicts underneath the church.

The resulting structure, the Penitentiary Chapel (originally known as Trinity Church), opened for worship in 1833. Convicts and free citizens worshipping together did not work well in the end, so the Holy Trinity Church was subsequently built to remedy the situation.

In 1859, the Penitentiary Chapel was converted into two courtrooms. Associated offices, judges’ chambers, and jury rooms were also added. Other changes, including the construction of a stone-lined passages connecting the docks with the entrance to the Tench, were also made.

The condition of the Campbell Street gaol had deteriorated by the 1930s and ‘40s. Several prisoners also managed to escape during this period. Instead of renovating and upgrading the gaol, the government decided to replace it with a maximum-security prison at Risdon, which was built between 1956 and 1963. All prisoners had been transferred out of the Campbell Street gaol by 1961, but the courtrooms in the Penitentiary Chapel continued to be used until the 1980s, when the National Trust assumed ownership of the building.

The interior of the Penitentiary Chapel in 1955.

Tas That Was is a column that includes:

  • anecdotes of life in Tasmania in the past;
  • historical photographs of locations in Tasmania; and/or
  • documentaries about locations in Tasmania.

If you have an anecdote or photograph you’d like to share with us, please send it to [email protected].

Callum J. Jones studied English, History, and Journalism at the University of Tasmania. He has written fiction and non-fiction for Tasmanian Times since 2018, and can be traced by the smell of fresh coffee.

Follow him on Twitter (@Callum_Jones_10) and Facebook (@callum.j.jones.creative).