Gaoler's Mews - Vancouver's First Jail

A stop on Vancouver Cruise Day Walk, a free self-guided tour.

Slip through the passage into this brick courtyard and the traffic noise drops away. With its old lamps, ivy and cobblestones, Gaoler's Mews is one of Gastown's hidden corners.

The name tells you its history. A gaol is an old spelling of jail, and in the settlement's early days this was where the law kept its prisoners. The colony's first public building on Burrard Inlet stood nearby: a small customs house that later served as courthouse and jail, with just two log cells. Constable Jonathan Miller lived there as the area's only policeman and went on to serve as postmaster for many years.

The Great Vancouver Fire of June 1886 swept through Gastown and destroyed almost everything, including the jail. The buildings around you came later, and the courtyard was restored as part of Gastown's revival in the later 20th century.

Today it holds restaurants and offices, and it's a quiet place to pause before the last stretch.

Getting here: Continue east along Water Street, about 5 minutes, and look for the narrow passage into the courtyard just before Carrall Street.

Did you know?: Vancouver was incorporated as a city in April 1886, and the Great Fire burned most of it to the ground just two months later.

Photo op: Frame the courtyard's archway and lanterns from inside the mews, looking back toward the street.

Nearby: Restaurants and cafes in and around the mews.

More on Wikipedia: Gastown · Great Vancouver Fire

Stops on this tour

1. Canada Place - The Ship with Sails
2. Olympic Cauldron - Vancouver's 2010 Flame
3. Coal Harbour Seawall - Floatplanes and Yachts
4. Lost Lagoon - A Lake That Was Once the Sea
5. Stanley Park Seawall - A Lifetime of Stonework
6. Brockton Point Totem Poles - Carved Stories
7. Nine O'Clock Gun - The Cannon That Tells Time
8. Waterfront Station - Where the Railway Ended
9. Gastown Steam Clock - Whistles on the Hour
10. Gaoler's Mews - Vancouver's First Jail
11. Maple Tree Square - Where Gastown Began
12. Canada Place Promenade - Back on Board