HM Prison Wakefield

HMP Wakefield

HM Prison Wakefield dominates the skyline of Wakefield.
Location Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England
Security class Adult Male/Category A
Population 751 (as of November 2007)
Opened 1594
Managed by HM Prison Services
Governor Susan Howard

Her Majesty's Prison Wakefield is a Category A men's prison, located in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. The prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service, and is the largest high-security prison in the United Kingdom (and western Europe). The prison has been nicknamed the "Monster Mansion" due to the large number of high-profile, high-risk sex offenders and murderers held there.[1][2]

History

1944: "A view of an inmate's cell at Wakefield Prison. Clearly visible are the bed, a chair, several small shelves, and slop bucket. The rest of the inmate's belongings, such as a pair of shoes and a comb, have been set out neatly, ready for inspection. Chalked on a small blackboard are the words 'soap please'."
In the engineering works, inmates are trained in a new trade as part of their rehabilitation and preparation for their return to society, 1944

Wakefield Prison was originally built as a house of correction in 1594. Most of the current prison buildings date from Victorian times. The current prison was designated a ‘dispersal' prison in 1966 (the longest of the remaining original group).

The English Dialect Dictionary noted references to Wakefield were often short for referring to the long-standing prison (e.g. "being sent to Wakefield" meant being sent to prison).[3]

"Here We Go 'Round the Mulberry Bush"

The exercise yard at Wakefield has a mulberry tree, around which female inmates used to exercise. This has been linked to the nursery rhyme "Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush" by the erstwhile prison governor, RS Duncan in his book 'Here we go round the mulberry bush': The House of Correction 1595 / HM Prison Wakefield 1995 (published by author 1994). This origin of the song is also propounded on the prison's website. There is no corroborative evidence to support this theory.[4]

First World War

During the First World War, Wakefield Prison was used as a Home Office work camp. The ordinary criminal prisoners were removed, and the new influx were sentenced to two or more years' imprisonment for refusing to obey military orders.[5] After the closure of Dyce prison camp in October 1916, Wakefield Prison was also used to intern conscientious objectors.[6] In September 1918 a group of conscientious objectors took advantage of a slackening in the prison regime that occurred towards the end of the war, by rebelling and refusing to undertake any work.[6] They issued a list of demands for better treatment, known as the Wakefield Manifesto.[6]

IRA prisoners

As a high-security prison, Wakefield was used to house IRA prisoners at various points in the 20th century. In some cases in the 1950s, the IRA attempted to free the prisoners, such as Cathal Goulding in 1956 (the attempt was aborted when the sirens sounded)[7] and James Andrew Mary Murphy in 1959 (who was freed).[8] During a hunger strike by Provisional IRA prisoners, Frank Stagg died in Wakefield Prison on 12 February 1976.[9] The case brought international media attention as the British Government denied Stagg's last request for a military funeral march from Dublin to Ballina, and instead arranged for the police to bury him secretly.[10] On 1 March 1976, Merlyn Rees, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in the Wilson ministry, announced that those people convicted of causing terrorist offences would no longer be entitled to Special Category Status, which was challenged during later hunger strikes.[11]

Recent history

In 2001 it was announced that a new Supermax security unit was to be built at Wakefield Prison. The unit was to house the most dangerous inmates within the British prisons system, and was the first such unit of its kind to be built in the United Kingdom.[12]

In March 2004 an inspection report from Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons criticised staff at Wakefield Prison for being disrespectful to inmates. The report claimed that the prison was "over-controlled", and a third of the prison's inmates claimed to have been victimised.[13]

Present

Wakefield Prison holds approximately 600 of Britain's most dangerous people (mainly sex offenders and prisoners serving life sentences for violent crimes against women and children). Accommodation at the prison comprises single-occupancy cells with integral sanitation. All residential units have kitchens available for offenders to prepare their own meals. An Incentives and Earned Privileges system allows standard and enhanced offenders the opportunity of in-cell TV. All offenders are subject to mandatory drugs testing and there are voluntary testing arrangements, which are compulsory for all offenders employed as e.g. wing cleaners or kitchen workers.

HMP Wakefield offers a range of activities for inmates, including charity work, an accredited course in industrial cleaning, and a Braille shop where offenders convert books to Braille. The Education Department is operated by The Manchester College, and offers learning opportunities ranging from basic skills to Open University courses. Other facilities include a prison shop, gym, and multi-faith chaplaincy.

Former inmates

References

  1. ↑ Thompson, Tony (27 April 2003). "The caged misery of Britain's real 'Hannibal the Cannibal'". The Observer. London. Retrieved 13 July 2011.
  2. ↑ "A long way to go at 'monster mansion'". Wakefield Express. Wakefield. 6 October 2005. Retrieved 14 July 2011.
  3. ↑ English Dialect Dictionary part 6 (1905), Joseph Wright, page 364
  4. ↑ "Rare mulberry trees around our district could be linked to James I". Wakefield Express. 9 September 2016. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
  5. ↑ Webb, Simon (31 January 2016). British Concentration Camps: A Brief History from 1900-1975. Oxford, UK: Casemate Publishers. pp. 58–60. ISBN 9781473846326.
  6. 1 2 3 Kramar, Ann (30 November 2014). Conscientious Objectors of the First World War: A Determined Resistance. Barnsley, UK: Pen and Sword. ISBN 9781473842441.
  7. ↑ The IRA 12th impression, Tim Pat Coogan, pages 346-347, William Collins, Sons & Co., Glasgow, 1987
  8. ↑ The IRA 12th impression, Tim Pat Coogan, pages 410-411, William Collins, Sons & Co., Glasgow, 1987
  9. ↑ The IRA 12th impression, Tim Pat Coogan, page 518, William Collins, Sons & Co., Glasgow, 1987
  10. ↑ The IRA 12th impression, Tim Pat Coogan, page 520, William Collins, Sons & Co., Glasgow, 1987
  11. ↑ http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/events/hstrike/chronology.htm The Hunger Strike of 1981 - A Chronology of Main Events, Dr. Martin Melaugh, University of Ulster: Conflict Archive on the Internet
  12. ↑ "New unit for killer inmates". bbc.co.uk. 23 January 2001. Retrieved 1 February 2009.
  13. ↑ "Staff 'disrespectful' to inmates". bbc.co.uk. 25 March 2004. Retrieved 1 February 2009.
  14. ↑ "Soham killer treated for overdose". bbc.co.uk. 5 September 2006. Retrieved 1 February 2009.
  15. ↑ "Shipman suicide 'not preventable'". bbc.co.uk. 25 August 2005. Retrieved 1 February 2009.
  16. ↑ "Ian Watkins moved to same prison as child killer Ian Huntley". wales online. 24 January 2014. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  17. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20050316163821/http://www.telegraph.co.uk:80/htmlContent.jhtml?html=/archive/1997/02/14/nsams14.html
  18. ↑ "Child killer Robert Black dies in prison". The Herald. Scotland. 12 January 2016. Retrieved 13 January 2016.

Coordinates: 53°40′57″N 1°30′33″W / 53.68250°N 1.50917°W / 53.68250; -1.50917

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