The Lock-up is opening its doors for the next public open day.

During your one and a half hour timeslot you can browse freely around the facility, look in the cells and find out more about some of the Victorian prisoners who stayed here. Some of the items and old uniforms from our police museum will be on display and there are lots of police themed goodies in our shop. In addition, there is a quiz & treasure trail for children, fingerprinting and uniform to try on. We also have some brand new books for sale which are not available in shops - including Condition Red: Policing Birmingham during WW2 and Birmingham: The Sinister Side.

The Steelhouse Lane Lock-up was in use from 1891 to 2016 and many of the original Victorian features are still present, alongside more modern custody facilities. The Grade II listed building shows how a mini prison operated in a busy city centre for well over a century.

We have a small shop to support our fundraising efforts which includes some books on the history of crime and punishment and policing in the West Midlands, fridge magnets, keyrings, prints of police paintings by local artists, mugs and our popular police ducks.

All money from the ticket sales and items sold in the shop will be contributing to the plans to open a permanent police museum at the lock- up (with the exception of A Fair Cop which is raising money for local women's charities). We are actively looking for sponsors and companies or individuals who can support our fundraising to ensure this amazing building is retained for this purpose.

If you have any pictures or memorabilia we would love to see them, and we would really like to hear from individuals who worked at the Lock-up or their families.

Please bring your printed tickets or ensure you can display your tickets on your phone or tablet.

Health and safety:

Under 16s must be accompanied by an adult.

Please note due to the nature and age of the facility there is currently no access for mobility impaired guests due to the large amounts of steps and lack of a disability access lift.

You are advised to wear suitable and comfortable footwear (e.g. no stiletto heels) as there are three floors to view and some of the landings have small holes which could trap heels. For this reason short skirts are not advised due to the grilled floors and winding staircases. Parents should hold the hands of small children on the stairwell.

Please note that photographs and video will be taken during these events which could be used as publicity material for the museum in the future and may therefore be published on social media.

For security reasons a bag search will be required prior to entry.

If you can't make this event, please subscribe to WMPeelers.com to be notified of future dates

For any queries please e-mail Museum@west-midlands.pnn.police.uk