Morrin Centre: Quebec City's hidden English library and former prison

The Morrin Centre is the kind of hidden Old Quebec attraction that most tourists walk past without a second glance, and which rewards the ones who step inside tenfold. Behind the modest stone facade on Chaussée des Écossais is one of the most atmospheric buildings in the province: the former common jail of Quebec (1808–1868), transformed into the Morrin College (1868–1902), and now home to the Literary and Historical Society of Quebec — a private English-language library founded in 1824 with 30,000 volumes occupying a spectacular two-storey Victorian reading room directly above the original prison cells.

At a glance
Where	44 Chaussée des Écossais, Upper Town, a short walk from the Château Frontenac
Cost	Around CAD $18 adult / $10 child / $15 senior-student for the guided tour
Time needed	60-minute guided tour, plus 10-20 minutes for the gift shop and any current exhibit
Getting there	Walkable from anywhere in the Old Quebec walls; no parking on site
Best time	Any season — it’s an indoor, rainy-day-proof stop; summer has the most tour departures

For visitors interested in Quebec City’s often-overlooked anglophone history, or simply in beautiful old buildings, the Morrin Centre is one of the best small museums in the city. Guided tours take you from the preserved prison cells downstairs to the Victorian library upstairs in a single 60-minute arc that covers 200 years of Quebec urban history.

A building with three lives

Prison (1808–1868)

The current building was constructed between 1808 and 1812 as Quebec’s Common Jail — a large stone structure designed to hold prisoners awaiting trial, people held for debt, and convicted criminals awaiting transportation or execution. Public executions took place in the adjacent courtyard; the last public hanging in the city occurred here in 1864.

The building was state-of-the-art for its era. It followed the 18th-century reform model pioneered by John Howard: separate cells for prisoners rather than shared wards, dedicated spaces for women, and an attempt at humane conditions — though what “humane” meant in 1810 is relative. The cells survive intact in the basement and are the starting point of tours today. Standing in one of them gives a direct sense of the scale (small) and the thickness of the stone walls (45 cm).

Morrin College (1868–1902)

In 1868, the newly closed jail was acquired by Dr. Joseph Morrin, a prominent Quebec City physician, and converted into a Presbyterian college offering a classical education to English-speaking students. The college operated for 34 years before closing; during those years, major architectural changes were made, including the construction of the grand two-storey library on the upper floors.

Library (1873–present)

The Literary and Historical Society of Quebec — founded 1824 as the first learned society in what is now Canada — moved its collections into the Morrin College building in 1873 and remained after the college closed. The library has been continuously operating ever since, making it one of the oldest continuously operating libraries in North America.

The library — the architectural highlight

The two-storey Victorian library is the reason to visit. Wrought-iron spiral staircases, wooden galleries, and custom-built shelving rise along both long walls of a high-ceilinged reading hall. Daylight streams through tall windows. Approximately 30,000 volumes occupy the shelves — a working reference library with a strong historical focus, including what is thought to be Quebec’s largest English-language collection of pre-1900 books.

The library continues to function as a members’ lending library (individual membership is available to anyone, including visitors). Members can sit in the reading room and use the collection; drop-in visitors see it on the guided tour.

Several rare items on display (rotated):

• Early Canadian-printed books including some of the first English-language works from Quebec.
• The society’s original minutes and archival documents from 1824 onward.
• 19th-century scientific instruments and natural history specimens from the society’s collection.

The guided tour

The standard tour is 60 minutes and runs in English or French (choose when booking). It covers:

1. Entry and orientation: the building’s three lives and its place in Quebec City history.
2. Prison cells: descent to the basement, walk through preserved cells, discussion of prison conditions and the 1864 public hanging.
3. The main hall and staircase: architectural features of the Morrin College era.
4. The library: the upper reading room, with time to walk the galleries and examine rotating displays.
5. Literary and Historical Society context: the role of the society in Canadian historical research and English-language cultural life in Quebec City.

Schedule: multiple tours daily in summer (June–September). Reduced schedule (typically 2 tours daily) October through May, closed Mondays. Check morrin.org for exact times.

Price (2026 estimated): $18 adult, $10 child (6–17), $15 senior/student.

Booking: same-day tickets usually available; book online in July–August during peak season.

Why this matters for understanding Quebec City

Quebec City’s English-speaking community is often invisible in the tourist narrative, which concentrates on French colonial heritage and the province’s modern francophone identity. The Morrin Centre is a rare and articulate monument to that community — to Scottish-origin Quebecers, Irish immigrants, the English-speaking elite of the 19th-century city, and the cultural institutions they built.

In 2026, this community numbers roughly 1.5% of the Quebec City metropolitan population. It supports the Morrin Centre, a handful of Anglican and Presbyterian churches, Quebec High School, and Quebec Chronicle-Telegraph (North America’s oldest continuously published English-language newspaper). Visiting the Morrin Centre opens a window onto this quieter layer of the city’s cultural fabric — valuable context for any traveller staying in Old Quebec for more than a day or two.

For a deeper look at Quebec’s English-speaking communities and the language context as a traveller, see our English in Quebec and speaking French in Quebec guides.

Events and programming

The Morrin Centre runs a year-round calendar of events in the library and adjoining spaces:

• Author talks and lectures: monthly, typically free for members, modest fee for non-members.
• Imagination: Writers’ and Readers’ Festival: annual English-language literary festival in April.
• Christmas carol concerts: December, in the library reading room.
• Book club and reading circles: ongoing.
• Murder mystery dinners: occasional themed events using the prison history.

Many events are open to tourists — check the calendar before your visit for overlaps with your dates.

Combining with other Old Quebec sights

Morrin Centre is in Upper Town a few minutes from most major attractions:

• Walking distance: Château Frontenac, the fortifications, Ursuline Convent (also worth a visit), Holy Trinity Anglican Cathedral.
• A good pairing day: morning Morrin Centre tour + Ursuline Convent (contrasting French-Catholic institution) + afternoon walk on the Plains of Abraham for full 19th-century Quebec atmosphere.

Practical tips

• Rainy-day option: the Morrin Centre is entirely indoor and one of the best rainy-day activities in Old Quebec, particularly when paired with coffee at a nearby café.
• Children: tours are suitable for children 8+; the prison-cell visit can be intense for very young children.
• Photography: permitted in the library and main spaces; no flash.
• Accessibility: the historic building has limited wheelchair accessibility — cells are below grade, library is above. Check ahead if needed.
• Gift shop: small selection of local history books and souvenirs — worth 10 minutes.

Who should make time for it

The Morrin Centre rewards a specific kind of traveller more than others. History buffs and readers get the most out of it — the layered building history and the working Victorian library are genuinely unusual, and nothing comparable exists elsewhere in Old Quebec. Families with younger children, or travellers with only a few hours total in the city, are usually better served prioritising the fortifications or the Plains of Abraham, which work as outdoor, self-paced visits rather than a scheduled 60-minute tour.

Because tours run on a fixed schedule with limited departures outside summer, it’s worth checking the calendar before you plan the rest of your day around it — arriving without a booked slot in shoulder season can mean a 1-2 hour wait.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Morrin Centre worth visiting if I only have one day in Quebec City? If your day is tightly booked with the fortifications, the Château Frontenac area and Petit-Champlain, the Morrin Centre is a “nice to have” rather than essential — it fits best as a rainy-day option or on a second day. With two or more days in the city it’s a strong, low-crowd addition.

Do I need to book the tour in advance? Same-day tickets are usually available outside peak summer weekends, but booking online a day or two ahead is recommended in July and August, when tours can sell out.

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Related pages

• Quebec City neighborhoods
• Quebec City fortifications
• Château Frontenac
• Plains of Abraham
• Quebec City things to do
• English in Quebec guide
• Old Quebec walking guide