The Trevor Osborne Group in partnership with Armagh City & District Council and The Princes Regeneration Trust signed a partnership agreement back in February 4th 2009, to develop Armagh Gaol in Northern Ireland into a luxury boutique hotel.
Now, it is reported that the former prison will receive a £23 million transformation into a hotel, spa and apartments, with a heritage centre.
Closed in 1986 and owned by the district council for the past 10 years, the listed property was put on the market in 2008 with the view to the site being sympathetically restored and the heritage of the building protected for future generations.
The site is in a prime City location with views across to the city’s famous Mall, to the Courthouse on the opposite side and surrounded by Georgian houses.
The restoration and regeneration of Armagh Gaol gives the Trevor Osborne Property group an opportunity of working in another historic city, restoring an historically important building and giving the Gaol a new lease of life while providing Armagh with a fantastic new facility.
Built in 1780 by two of Ireland’s most important architects Francis Cooley and William Murray, the building was originally designed as three prisons, one for women, one for debtors and one for felons. Executions were common with the last one being held in 1904. The Gaol finally closed in 1986 and subsequently lay empty for the last 22 years.
The Trevor Osborne Group was also responsible for the regeneration of Oxford Castle and the former Oxford Gaol into a multi-use urban environment mixing residential, retail, hospitality and a unique Heritage Centre (below).