OLD wooden flooring once walked on by 19th-century convicts is being preserved as a relic of the past..

The floor was uncovered during the recent archaeological dig at Northallerton’s prison site – it belongs to old cells used for inmates in the 1800s.

And now Hambleton District Council’s deputy leader Peter Wilkinson and his daughter, Charlotte – who works as a conservationist for the York Archaeological Trust (YAT) – have wrapped the old beams in protective cloth to preserve them for future use.

“This old flooring was an unexpected find with one complete section almost untouched by its time buried underground,” said Cllr Wilkinson.

“We have kept a number of items from the old prison – doors, metal beams, sandstone flooring – to reuse or display within the new development. This flooring adds to our finds and we will see it again in the redeveloped listed buildings.

“The history of this site is a very important part of our plans – a heritage centre will be created in the second phase of the development, bringing together all the history we have uncovered during our research into the prison.

Hambleton District Council organised the dig – the second to be undertaken at the 3.5 acre site – prior to redevelopment work on the site.

Archaeologists from the YAT spent two weeks looking at an area close to the listed buildings and the original prison wall separating the jail from the old courthouse. A previous dig uncovered the foundations of the old treadmill and kitchen chimney.