The structure, which used to be the entrance block for a prison as well as the main courthouse for the area, is a Grade II* listed building.

[1] The original custodial facility for the area was Morpeth Castle which was used for incarcerating criminals from at least the early 16th century.

When this arrangement became inadequate, the local lord of the manor, Charles Howard, 3rd Earl of Carlisle, made a site on Bridge Street available and a new prison opened there on 30 November 1704.

The complex was designed by John Dobson in the Gothic Revival style, built in ashlar stone at a cost of £71,000 and was completed in November 1828.

[1] The design of the entrance block involved a symmetrical main frontage of three bays facing onto Castle Bank.