Minster Police in times past

You are now standing on the site of the old Peter Prison, York Minster's very own jail and gallows! It may seem odd that a church would have hung people, or had its own prison, but as the Liberty of St Peter had its own laws, it needed its own prison to punish offenders. The Peter prison was used until 1837. Nowadays, York Minster still has its own police force, one of only two cathedrals in the world to do so.