A COLOURFUL history of life behind bars at a once notorious North-East jail has been put together by a group of long-serving prison officers.

But the "warts and all" archive of prison memorabilia can only be viewed by those with access beyond Durham Jail's now rigorous gatehouse security area.

Staff and visitors can see the display on two levels in the prison's administrative area within the new gatehouse complex.

The brainchild of governor Mike Newell, it was compiled by principal officer John Cavanagh and fellow officers Colin Dawson and Brian Elsdon, with many items donated following an appeal to former colleagues.

Mr Newell said the result "exactly reflected" what he asked the officers to produce.

"It is an historical account of the prison, and the people who have made Durham what it is today, good and bad."

The archive was opened officially yesterday by Peter Atherton, Director of High Security Prisons, who unveiled an engraved plaque on the jail's central clock, a landmark at Durham since 1850.

Among the onlookers at the ceremony were veteran former members of staff, including Nicholas "Dusty" Rhodes, now 98 and living in an old people's home in Bedlington, Northumberland.

He worked at the prison from 1929 to 1959, rising to the rank of principal officer, and remembers the austere atmosphere and the many signs round the corridors urging "Silence!".

Mr Rhodes was impressed by the display, which brought back happy memories, despite the prison's transformation since his era.

The exhibition looks at the history of the prison, with records dating from the laying of the foundation stone by Sir Henry Vane Tempest, in July 1809.

It cost £134,684, 15 shillings and 4d, to build, with the money coming from county rates.

Millions have been spent in recent years converting Durham into one of only eight high security prisons in the country.

The archive features a list of the 72 inmates executed at the jail, including the infamous Mary Ann Cotton, one of only two women to be hanged at the prison before the repeal of the death penalty, in 1964.

Mary Ann, born in Low Moorsley, near Hetton-le-Hole, and who later lived in West Auckland, is considered Britain's most prolific serial murderer.

She is believed to have poisoned 21 people, including 11 of her children, two husbands, a lover and her mother, mainly for insurance purposes.

Prior to 1868, executions were carried out in public, and were major spectator events, with the gallows erected at the doorway of the adjoining Crown Court.

Such was the interest, nearby householders in Old Elvet erected verandas, nicknamed "hanging balconies", to offer a better view.

The last person to be executed was 20-year-old soldier Brian Chandler, in December 1958, for the murder of an 83-year-old widow at her Victoria Road flat in Darlington.

More recently well-known inmates housed at Durham, have including the Kray twins, Frankie Fraser, Ian Brady and one of the few escapees, John McVicar.

l Anyone with other items of interest they are willing to donate for the archive should contact Prison Officers Cavanagh, Elsdon or Dawson, at the prison, on 0191-386 2621