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Leeds Prison, always known locally as "Armley Jail", was opened in 1847 and is probably one of the best examples of an archetypal Victorian prison in the North of England. Built on the lines of the Pentonville model, the original design had four wings radiating in a semicircle from a central hall. These four original wings, together with much of the interior, retain their typical Victorian architectural austerity, although all the cells now have internal sanitation. The last two wings to be modernised being re-opened in 1997. During the 1980s Leeds Prison was extended by the buiding of two additional wings and a purpose built Health Care Unit, these new additions, which are connected to the original buildings, also include a fine gymnasium area, kitchens and workshops. H.M.P. Leeds is one of the largest prisons in the country. It is, at present, a category B Local Prison for males and houses all categories of Prisoners from category A to category D and remand prisoners, although category A prisoners are usually transferred to other establishments soon after conviction.
"Armley" was for many years notorious as a "hanging jail" and during these years ninety three prisoners were executed, some, in the early years, publically. The infamous villain Charles "Charlie" Peace was probably the most notorious prisoner to lose his life at Leeds, in February 1879.
Of all British Prisons H.M.P. Dartmoor is probably the one that is most familiar by name to members of the general public. The stories about it are legion, some of them may even be true! Certainly the position of this "Prison in the Moor" has helped to establish its unenviable reputation over the years, Situated on the 1400 foot contour at Princetown, almost exactly in the centre of the Dartmoor National Park, the prison certainly "enjoys" some of the most inclement weather in the Southern half of England, and this may well be one reason for its reputation. H.M.P. Dartmoor was first built to house French P.O.W.s during the Napoleonic Conflict of the early 19th Century. The foundation stone was laid in March 1806 and the first prisoners were brought from Plymouth in 1809. By 1812 the total number of French and American prisoners had reached 9,000, guarded by 1,200 men of the Militia. There were seven accommodation blocks, each having three storeys. The blocks were unheated and the windows barred but not glazed! each floor housed up to 500 men, that is, 1,500 to each block. Unsurprisingly disease, including Typhus, was rife. Dartmoor ceased to be a war prison in 1816 and was left unused and unloved for many years. However, in the late 1840s, with the decline of transportation as a punishment, the Government requisitioned the old buildings for use as a criminal prison. By the end of 1850 the prison was capable of holding 1,300 "convicts", as prisoners were then known, and has been in continuous use ever since.
Through the years since 1850 there have been various notable occurances in the history of the prison. These include:- the blizzard of 1853, which cut off, not only the prison, but also the village of Princetown. Several deaths occured when soldiers and members of staff attempted to force a way through to, or from this isolated community. This was not the only time that the weather conditions have claimed lives on the Moor. There were mutinies in 1854 and 1932, and, of course, several escape attempts over the years, most of these have proved unsuccessful!
Today conditions at H.M.P. Dartmoor vary little from other category B closed prisons, Dartmoor, despite its reputation, is not a high security prison and prisoners there have the same opportunitiesas those in other prisons of a similar category.
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Reading's original County Gaol was in Castle Street and dated from sometime in the 1570s. John Howard visited it in 1779 and by the 1780s the old gaol was considered to be no longer adequate and the new prison, designed along the lines recommended by Howard, was occupied in 1793. A treadmill was built in 1822 to produce flour for local use and other new buildings were added in the 1830s.
This building, however, soon became overcrowded and it was decided to build an entirely new prison on the same site. Work began in 1842; and then the builders went bankrupt! Work soon recommenced (with a different building contractor) and on 1st July 1844 the new prison was handed over to the county, total cost almost £40,000.
The new prison was built with regard to the Pentonville Model. Each cell had gas lighting (through a glazed panel) and - remarkable for those times - a wash hand basin and W.C.. The prison had four wings, A to D arranged in a cruciform pattern. The regime in this "modern" prison was in common with that used in the rest of the country:- "The Separate System", in other words, the exercise period was the only time a prisoner left his or her cell. Many of the prisoners at this time were incarcerated for "training" before transportation to Australia.
Of all the prisoners to have passed through the gates of Reading Prison, the most celebrated is, without doubt, Oscar Wilde who was convicted of "gross indecency" on Saturday 25th May 1895 at the Old Bailey and was sent to Pentonville Prison the following week. In July of the same year he was transferred to Reading. It was not the happiest time of his life, indeed some have said that for Wilde it was the" beginning of the end".
In Reading Wilde was known as C3.3 (his location). Oscar Wilde served 14 months in prison and it was during his time in Reading that he wrote "De Profundis", although his famous poem, "The Ballard of Reading Gaol", was written in France after his release. For this work Wilde used the nom-de-plume "C3.3".
During the First World War H.M.P. Reading became an internment centre for foreign aliens and the civilian prisoners were removed. Following the Easter Rising in Dublin in 1916 a number of Sinn Fein activists were sent to Reading including William Cosgrave, a future President of the Irish Free State.
After 1919 and the departure of the internees H.M.P. Reading stood empty and was not used again until the Second World War, when the Canadian Army used the premises as a military detention centre. However, in 1946 the building reverted to its original use, becoming an "overflow" prison for short sentence prisoners and thereafter, in 1951, it became a Borstal Institution which closed in 1969. A major rebuilding programme was then instituted which resulted in the prison almost as it is today.
H.M.Y.O.I. Reading is, at the time of writing, a Y.O.I. remand centre for males under the age of 21, and the regime there is common to other similar establishments around the country.
Askham Grange was built in 1886 as a country house for Sir Andrew Fairbairn. Sir Andrew was, at various times, a Leeds factory owner,an M.P., a soldier and a well known philanthropist. The family, by now Wailes-Fairbairn, allowed the house to become a convalescent home during the years of the First World War, after which it reverted to the family's home once more.
Askham Grange remained in the family until 1939 when Neville W.F. Wailes-Fairbairn, the then owner, was killed in a riding accident. His widow then handed the Grange to the Government on a fifteen year lease on the outbreak of the Second World War. The house became a prison in 1947 and has continued to fill this role ever since.
H.M. Prison Askham Grange was opened in January 1947 as a women's open prison, indeed Askham Grange was the first such prison in the country, although the previous year an open Borstal Institution for girls, but not women, was opened at East Sutton Park in Kent. The first Governor of H.M.P. Askham Grange was Miss Mary Size, who remained in post until September 1952. Since 1947 there have, of course, been many changes, but H.M.P. and Y.O.I. Askham Grange continues to provide a supportive and caring environment for a relatively small number of prisoners who are either nearing the end of a long sentence, or who are judged suitable to be accommodated in an "open" situation. Many of the prisoners at Askham Grange are employed off the premises in a variety of jobs, the accent being always on rehabilitation and preparation for a life "outside".
The house is still easily recognisable as a former residence of some note, but the regime, although more relaxed than that of a closed establishment, is still that of a prison, with uniformed officers, keys, a gate/reception area and so on. Most prisoners at Askham Grange respond well to the regime, knowing that the alternative could be a return to closed conditions in another establishment.