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Description

It was along this alleyway that Coch Bach y Bala, a notorious prisoner of Ruthin Gaol, was said to have escaped in 1913. Coch Bach y Bala (the little redhead of Bala), whose real name was John Jones, was a recurrent poacher and thief who spent his life in and out of various prisons. He escaped from Ruthin Gaol twice, the first time on 30th November 1879 when he got out of his cell and walked out of the main entrance of the gaol while the wardens were having supper. He was recaptured the following January. He made his second escape on 30th September 1913 at the age of sixty. He tunnelled through his cell wall, climbed over the roof and over the prison wall before escaping through the alleyway. The corner of Ruthin Gaol can just be seen behind the wall at the end of the alleyway in the photograph. Six days after his escape, during an attempt to recapture him on the Nantclwyd Estate, he was shot in the leg and died from his injuries.

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