HM PRISON HOLLOWAY
THE HISTORY:
Opened in 1852, Holloway Prison began life as a mixed-sex prison and only in 1903 did it become women-only, following the closure of Newgate Prison in London which previously had held women. Due to the rarity of female prisons in England and Wales, Holloway was often used to imprison suffragettes who broke the law before WW1, hence not giving it the best name. From when it became female online in 1903 to its closure in 2016, Holloway remained the largest women’s prison in Europe.
However, in 1959 a woman named Joanna Kelley became the governor of the prison and she significantly improved living standards for the inmates. Long-term prisoners (sentences over 2.5 years) were given the best cells and were generally allowed more privileges such as owning their own crockery and more.
HMP Holloway made headlines in the legal world in 1983 when the most superior court in the land, the House of Lords (now the Supreme Court), ruled in favour of the governor of the prison in the case of The Queen v The Governor of HM Prison Holloway. The case involved a woman held at the prison on remand for the charge of motor manslaughter, pending extradition to California where she committed the offence. The extradition agreement between the US and UK only allowed extradition for manslaughter offences, not strictly for offences under the Traffic Act. Ms Jennings (prisoner), whose case was argued by the Crown rather than herself due to it being a case of judicial review, lost her appeal on the basis that motor manslaughter and death by reckless driving were synonymous offences and hence her extradition was allowed. While this case did not directly initiate any inspections of the prison, it did put it on the map at the time and indeed the case is still relevant today and is taught in law schools across the country in traffic crime.
Throughout the 21st century, Holloway continually made improvements to its standards until its closure in 2016. In 2001, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons gave Holloway a damning report stating that it was failing its inmates, generally due to financial pressures. Determined to fix this record, HM Prison Service moved the managers of HMP Holloway to other prisons and brought in new staff from outside. Following this dramatic change of governance of the prison, another report from the Inspectorate of Prisons in 2003 noted improvements in the standard of the prison, though hygiene levels remained sub-par as well as the levels of self-harm within the prison. Upon inspection again in 2010, it was stated that yet more improvements had been made but that prisoners still felt unsafe – though this is a very common issue with all prisons and, due to their nature, is very hard to eliminate.
Shortly before closure, an inmate by the name of Sarah Reed was found dead in her cell which reinforced the closure notice issued by George Osborne in 2015. An inquest concluded in 2017 held that the prison had negligently failed to manage Reed’s medication and that this was a factor in her death.
THE EXPLORE:
Having had this one on the radar for several years, I decided it was finally time to get it ticked off. After meeting up with @UrbandonedTeam @jtza and Alex we began the day by sitting in my parked car on a cul-de-sac down the street from the prison, surrounded by a level of rainfall that would dwarf the Genesis Flood. Once we gained the strength to leave the safety of the car, we were met with a dog van at the front gates and piles of rubble around the side from the demolished buildings and chose to take our chances.
While the partially-demolished state of the prison helped us getting in, it had harmed our experience once inside. As expected, a lot of the interior of the remaining building had been stripped out and ready for demolition, though certain wings did still have the classic beds remaining if you could look past the various wall markings from workers.
In spite of the imperfect interior, the prison emitted a stupefying sensation of awe and reverence. There’s no feeling quite like walking down the corridors of a state institution which, for 164 years, held citizens in servitude to Kings and Queens foregone, paying their debts to society one gruelling day at a time.
Despite significant demolition work, the surviving blocks of the prison continued to radiate a sense of bitterness and anguish.
Many cells were stripped out and ready for demolition.
Peeling wallpaper and mould was a recurring theme throughout the prison.
Less desirable rooms contained double bunks, helping increase the prison capacity to 501.
Some rooms contained up to six beds, with one safe provided per bed for personal possessions.
Rooms with double bunks provided a door of privacy for the toilet.
Some cells opted for two single beds as opposed to a bunk layout, again with one safe per inmate.
The more desirable cells were generally for long term prisoners.
There were traces of classic Victorian cell doors dotted around the prison.
Solitary Confinement rooms were generally nicer than the main cells and all contained mirrors for a 360 degree view of the room for constant monitoring of inmates.
The gym was really quite generously sized and was fitted with retractable basketball hoops.
The swimming pool was equally reasonably sized; it seems the facilities at the women’s prison were relatively modern.
Adorned on the floor of the swimming pool was a dragon and the Tudor Crown, representing that justice comes from the monarch.
Exploring HMP Holloway had been on my bucket list for several years and ticking it off felt like a huge accomplishment. While I may have been too late to experience the full magnitude of the place in its prime, I was more than content with the condition we got it in, as many of the beds remained in their original cells. The way that cuts to the justice system are going, I suspect there will be more abandoned prisons to come and I can only look forward to capturing them before their Holloway-style demise!
THE HISTORY:
Opened in 1852, Holloway Prison began life as a mixed-sex prison and only in 1903 did it become women-only, following the closure of Newgate Prison in London which previously had held women. Due to the rarity of female prisons in England and Wales, Holloway was often used to imprison suffragettes who broke the law before WW1, hence not giving it the best name. From when it became female online in 1903 to its closure in 2016, Holloway remained the largest women’s prison in Europe.
However, in 1959 a woman named Joanna Kelley became the governor of the prison and she significantly improved living standards for the inmates. Long-term prisoners (sentences over 2.5 years) were given the best cells and were generally allowed more privileges such as owning their own crockery and more.
HMP Holloway made headlines in the legal world in 1983 when the most superior court in the land, the House of Lords (now the Supreme Court), ruled in favour of the governor of the prison in the case of The Queen v The Governor of HM Prison Holloway. The case involved a woman held at the prison on remand for the charge of motor manslaughter, pending extradition to California where she committed the offence. The extradition agreement between the US and UK only allowed extradition for manslaughter offences, not strictly for offences under the Traffic Act. Ms Jennings (prisoner), whose case was argued by the Crown rather than herself due to it being a case of judicial review, lost her appeal on the basis that motor manslaughter and death by reckless driving were synonymous offences and hence her extradition was allowed. While this case did not directly initiate any inspections of the prison, it did put it on the map at the time and indeed the case is still relevant today and is taught in law schools across the country in traffic crime.
Throughout the 21st century, Holloway continually made improvements to its standards until its closure in 2016. In 2001, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons gave Holloway a damning report stating that it was failing its inmates, generally due to financial pressures. Determined to fix this record, HM Prison Service moved the managers of HMP Holloway to other prisons and brought in new staff from outside. Following this dramatic change of governance of the prison, another report from the Inspectorate of Prisons in 2003 noted improvements in the standard of the prison, though hygiene levels remained sub-par as well as the levels of self-harm within the prison. Upon inspection again in 2010, it was stated that yet more improvements had been made but that prisoners still felt unsafe – though this is a very common issue with all prisons and, due to their nature, is very hard to eliminate.
Shortly before closure, an inmate by the name of Sarah Reed was found dead in her cell which reinforced the closure notice issued by George Osborne in 2015. An inquest concluded in 2017 held that the prison had negligently failed to manage Reed’s medication and that this was a factor in her death.
THE EXPLORE:
Having had this one on the radar for several years, I decided it was finally time to get it ticked off. After meeting up with @UrbandonedTeam @jtza and Alex we began the day by sitting in my parked car on a cul-de-sac down the street from the prison, surrounded by a level of rainfall that would dwarf the Genesis Flood. Once we gained the strength to leave the safety of the car, we were met with a dog van at the front gates and piles of rubble around the side from the demolished buildings and chose to take our chances.
While the partially-demolished state of the prison helped us getting in, it had harmed our experience once inside. As expected, a lot of the interior of the remaining building had been stripped out and ready for demolition, though certain wings did still have the classic beds remaining if you could look past the various wall markings from workers.
In spite of the imperfect interior, the prison emitted a stupefying sensation of awe and reverence. There’s no feeling quite like walking down the corridors of a state institution which, for 164 years, held citizens in servitude to Kings and Queens foregone, paying their debts to society one gruelling day at a time.
Despite significant demolition work, the surviving blocks of the prison continued to radiate a sense of bitterness and anguish.
Many cells were stripped out and ready for demolition.
Peeling wallpaper and mould was a recurring theme throughout the prison.
Less desirable rooms contained double bunks, helping increase the prison capacity to 501.
Some rooms contained up to six beds, with one safe provided per bed for personal possessions.
Rooms with double bunks provided a door of privacy for the toilet.
Some cells opted for two single beds as opposed to a bunk layout, again with one safe per inmate.
The more desirable cells were generally for long term prisoners.
There were traces of classic Victorian cell doors dotted around the prison.
Solitary Confinement rooms were generally nicer than the main cells and all contained mirrors for a 360 degree view of the room for constant monitoring of inmates.
The gym was really quite generously sized and was fitted with retractable basketball hoops.
The swimming pool was equally reasonably sized; it seems the facilities at the women’s prison were relatively modern.
Adorned on the floor of the swimming pool was a dragon and the Tudor Crown, representing that justice comes from the monarch.
Exploring HMP Holloway had been on my bucket list for several years and ticking it off felt like a huge accomplishment. While I may have been too late to experience the full magnitude of the place in its prime, I was more than content with the condition we got it in, as many of the beds remained in their original cells. The way that cuts to the justice system are going, I suspect there will be more abandoned prisons to come and I can only look forward to capturing them before their Holloway-style demise!
