Mazaleón Jail

The lower jail is located on the first floor of the town hall (casa consistorial) of Mazaleón. The building stands on the plaza Mayor, towards which its main facade faces. On the ground floor there is a magnificent double "lonja" (porticoed hall), structured in two transverse bays separated by a row of round arches.

This is a genuine cell preserved in its original state: a narrow room isolated from the outside. It retains a rectangular brick pilaster with an opening in its lower section that was used as a latrine or waste pit. Access is through a small lintel doorway with the original bolt set into the wall. Next to the door there is a small window in the form of an arrow slit. The ceiling is flat, made of timbers or logs, and the original earth floor is preserved.

The interior walls are of rubble masonry with plastered areas and retain incised graffiti (numerals, compass-drawn circles, etc.) as well as others drawn in charcoal. The original stocks are preserved intact: by means of two wooden boards joined by metal elements, prisoners were held by the ankles; another board served as a seat, with two openings through which they had to relieve themselves; and a third board served to rest the arms.

The upper jail is located on the second floor of the town hall. Access is via a staircase built against a large rocky outcrop beside which the old town hall was constructed. It is a spacious room of about 16 m², with significant alterations to its floor structures. Entry is through a small lintel opening, the result of the transformation of a larger opening with a round arch, whose large dovelas are preserved. Next to the door there are two simple rectangular windows in the form of arrow slits.

The ceiling is flat, crossed by timber beams. On the left wall there is a large panel of about 7 m in length by 1.60 m in height, with hundreds of graffiti from different periods, most of them from the 18th century: an exceptional ensemble, unique on the jail trail, which offers valuable insight into the world and the spontaneous expressions of prisoners.

The Casa Consistorial or town hall (casa consistorial) of Mazaleón is a majestic building constructed in the 16th century, symbolising the rise of municipal power in the face of the old medieval order. Its design follows the model of Renaissance town halls in the comarca and originally housed a "lonja" for the market and leisure, a jail, a council chamber and other municipal functions. The original entrance to this building is the one that currently leads to the old jails.

In the 18th century, specifically in 1742, a significant extension was carried out that included the addition of an extra arch in the lonja, the covering of the street and the construction of a new building to the right, along with a new main facade. Inside, an oratory was installed with an image of Santo Cristo, which unfortunately has not survived to the present day.

In the late 1920s of the 20th century, an important renovation was carried out that gave rise to a council chamber and administrative offices with a marked Modernist style. Subsequently, in the 1980s, an interior renovation was undertaken and the facade was restored, having been decorated in the 19th century with an allegorical mural referring to the Constitución de Cádiz de 1812.

The tile bearing the name "casas consistoriales" in the plural refers to the coming together in this place of three publicly owned municipal buildings: the town hall, the house of the brotherhood (cofradía) of San Miguel and Santa Lucía, which dates from the 17th century, and the house of the Alguacil, which was demolished at the end of the 20th century. These historic buildings are of significant importance in the life of the municipality and its local administration, reflecting the evolution of Mazaleón over the centuries.