Location | The Grove, Portland, Dorset |
---|---|
Coordinates | 50°33′01″N2°25′21″W / 50.5502°N 2.4226°W |
Security class | Young Offenders Institution |
Population | 505(as of June 2018) |
Opened | 1848 |
Managed by | HM Prison Services |
Governor | Pete Lewis [1] |
Website | Portland at justice.gov.uk |
HM Prison Portland is a male Adult/Young Offenders Institution in the village of The Grove on the Isle of Portland, in Dorset, England. It is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. The prison was originally opened in 1848 as an adult convict establishment, before becoming a Borstal in 1921, and a YOI in 1988. In 2011 it became an Adult/Young Offenders establishment.
Portland's prison opened in 1848 for the holding of adult convicts. The purpose of a prison at Portland was largely to make use of convict labour in the construction of the breakwaters of Portland Harbour and its various defences. [2] The first convicts, totalling 64, arrived aboard the HM Steamer Driver on 21 November. [3] The Admiralty Quarries were developed for convicts to work in and once established, convict labour was providing 10,000 tons of stone per week for use on the breakwaters. [4] The conditions within both the prison and its quarries throughout the 19th-century would later help calls for penal reform in the UK, as many prisoners died while quarrying stone. [5]
From the moment of the prison's inception, the convicts became a tourist attraction. [6] The village of the Grove had been developed directly due to the prison, and a number of homeowners decided to open cafes from the upstairs of their houses for tourists to watch the convicts at work. [7] In 1869 the government announced that the prison, which was originally intended to be temporary, would become a permanent establishment. Although local residents petitioned against this, [8] it did not deter the government's plans. [9] Between 1870 and 1872, convicts constructed the now-redundant, Grade II* Listed St. Peter's Church just outside the prison. [10] [11]
In 1921 the prison was converted into a Borstal. [12] Between 1931 and 1935, the Borstal Boys transformed a disused convict quarry into a sports stadium at the back of St. Peter's Church. [13] The first sports day took place on 1 August 1936, [14] while the last event spectated by the public was the Foundation Day Sports event of 1975. [15] During World War II, an air raid on 15 August 1940 saw the Borstal's Rodney House block bombed. This left four boys dead and others severely injured, including five being admitted to hospital. [16] In 1983, the Borstal changed to Youth Custody Centre. [17]
In 1988 the prison was re-rolled as a Young Offenders Institution (YOI, Portland), holding up to 519 young males aged 18 to 21. Accommodation at the prison was divided into seven blocks, Benbow, Raleigh, Drake, Nelson, Grenville, Collingwood and Beaufort. [18] In 2009, the prison was the setting for Ian Wright's Football Behind Bars, a Sky1 reality TV series showcasing Wright's work to transform the lives of 24 serious young offenders. It was based on socialising the young men by organising them in a football academy. [19] [20]
In April 2011 the prison became an Adult/Young Offenders establishment. [21] In late 2013, it was announced that it would also be one of a number of resettlement prisons across the UK. [22] This news coincided with the recent decision to turn HM Prison The Verne, another prison on Portland, into an immigration removal centre. In 2010, with the assistance of the prison, a community project was completed to restore the Governor's Community Garden and open it to the public. [23] Around 2011, at the Verne, the Jailhouse Cafe was opened to the public, which was created to reduce re-offending and to offer prisoners work experience. When the Verne was converted to an Immigration Removal Centre in early 2014, the cafe has continued by using prisoners from the YOI. [24]
In March 2000, an inspection report by His Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons severely criticised conditions at Portland YOI, including foul-smelling toilets and filthy showers. There were also complaints of rats in food service areas lodged by inmates. [25] Just over a month later, prison officials were forced to extract 26 prisoners who had for eight hours used furniture to barricade themselves away from their cells. [26]
In November 2004, a report from the Chief Inspector of Prisons highlighted racial tension, and distrust between Muslim inmates and staff at Portland Prison[ citation needed ]. The report also criticised the fact that inmates were still slopping out, because of poor sanitation facilities at the institute. [27]
A further report in June 2007 following an unannounced inspection heavily criticised conditions at Portland YOI. The report stated that some buildings "were unfit for purpose and lacked basic sanitation", with the continued practice of inmates without access to toilet facilities using buckets which they emptied through their windows. [28] The report criticised other elements of the prison, including opportunities provided to prisoners for physical activity and training, but indicated that the situation was better in Portland than it had been in 2004 at the time of the last inspection.
In late 2013, it was announced by local news that a museum would be opened to cover the history of HM Prison Portland. The Grove Prison Museum opened in March 2014, [29] through the work of retired officers John Hutton, Steve Ashford and Chris Hunt. The museum is based in the former deputy governor's residence, across the road from the main prison entrance. The idea for a museum had dated back over 20 years, when it was agreed to store some prison memorabilia items for a possible future museum. These were left untouched for 20 years in storage. [29]
South Dorset MP Richard Drax visited the deputy governor's building to officially open the prison museum and the Lighthouse Learning Centre. [30] [31] A year after the museum's opening, it was announced that over 1000 visitors had been to the museum. [32]
Various features of the prison have been listed. In September 1978, the gatehouse, including the attached VR letter box, became Grade II Listed. [33] In May 1993, both the east and west cell blocks became Grade II Listed. [34] [35] At the same time, the E Hall, a prison cell block with attached punishment block from 1848, became Grade II Listed. [36] The Overseer's Hut with inclines became Grade II Listed in May 1993. [37]
One of the prison and village's most notable features is a high wall running along the village's main road, Grove Road. This boundary wall remains a significant visual element within the village, and was built in the 19th century to enclose the convict quarry workings. The boundary wall has been Grade II Listed since May 1993. [38] The sentry box, along with the gate pier became Grade II Listed in September 1978. [39] The boundary wall, and gate piers, running from St Peter's Vicarage to Alma Terrace, and dating from 1875, was Grade II Listed at the same time as the sentry box. [40] The early 19th century gate piers at the junction with Grove Road, along with the boundary walls to Ivybank and the Vicarage became Grade II Listed at this same time too. [41] In May 1993, the boundary wall west of the prison became Grade II Listed, and this section dates from 1848. [42] The prison's north and east boundary walls have been Grade II Listed since May 1993 as well, dating from 1848 and later. [43]
Alma Terrace, on Grove Road is a terrace of houses, built in 1854, originally as six large houses for prison wardens, was designated Grade II in September 1978. [44] The wash houses and connecting boundary wall to the rear of the terrace has also become Grade II Listed in May 1993. [45] The Governor's House (102 Grove Road), with its front boundary wall, has been Grade II Listed since May 1993. The detached house was formerly the Governor's House to the prison, built around 1850. [46] Additionally the prison itself has various Grade Listed features. The adjoining School House of Grove Infant School, along with the rear boundary wall, became Grade II Listed at the same time. [47]
Grove Lime Kiln lies approximately 320 metres north-west of St Peter's Church. The Grade Listed II structure was designated in January 2009. [48] Still owned by the prison service, the lime kiln remains in a derelict and uncared for state. It was built and once operated by convicts from the prison, and is an important survival and one of the last vestiges of lime production in Portland. [48] At the top of the nearby, private incline road is the abandoned Old Engine Shed that once served the cable-operated inclined railway that ran to Castletown through the Navy Dockyard that is now Portland Port. [49] [50] The shed has been Grade II Listed since January 2001. [51]
Portland Harbour is beside the Isle of Portland, Dorset, on the south coast of England. Construction of the harbour began in 1849; when completed in 1872, its 520-hectare (1,300-acre) surface area made it the largest human-made harbour in the world, and it remains one of the largest in the world today. It is naturally sheltered by Portland to the south, Chesil Beach to the west and mainland Dorset to the north. It consists of four breakwaters: two southern and two northern. These have a total length of 4.57 km (2.84 mi) and enclose approximately 1,000 ha of water.
Portland Bill is a narrow promontory at the southern end of the Isle of Portland, and the southernmost point of Dorset, England. One of Portland's most popular destinations is Portland Bill Lighthouse. Portland's coast has been notorious for the number of shipwrecked vessels over the centuries. The dangerous coastline features shallow reefs and the Shambles sandbank, made more hazardous due to the strong Portland tidal race.
Fortuneswell is a village in Underhill on the Isle of Portland, in Dorset, England. It lies on steeply sloping land on the northern edge of the island, known as Underhill, where Chesil Beach connects the island to the mainland. Adjoining Fortuneswell are Chiswell to the west and Castletown to the north. Fortuneswell occupies the steeper land above sea level, whereas Chiswell and Castletown occupy flat land close to sea level, next to Chesil Beach and Portland Harbour respectively. Fortuneswell has a main shopping street, and along with Easton, is the main hub of the island's activities.
Verne Citadel is a 19th-century citadel on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, England. Located on the highest point of Portland, Verne Hill, it sits in a commanding position overlooking Portland Harbour, which it was built to defend. In 1949, it became HM Prison The Verne.
Easton is a village on the Isle of Portland in Dorset, England. The village is situated at Tophill, within the centre of the island. As with the rest of Portland's villages and settlements, Easton, including the settlements Reforne and Straits, has been designated as a conservation area, as it is a place of special architectural and historic interest. Easton, Wakeham and Reforne were designated pre-1974.
Wakeham is a hamlet near the village of Easton, in Tophill on the Isle of Portland in Dorset, England. It is situated between the Straits part of Easton, and Pennsylvania Castle. As with the rest of Portland's villages and settlements, Wakeham has been designated as a conservation area, as it is a place of special architectural and historic interest. Easton, Wakeham and Reforne were designated pre-1974. The hamlet features a distinctively wide road running through it, once built to allow space for horse-drawn carts transporting stone by road. Many of Wakeham's older buildings of the 17th and 18th century survive.
Weston is a village in Tophill on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, England. It abuts the main village Easton. As with the rest of Portland's villages and settlements, Weston has been designated as a conservation area, as it is a place of special architectural and historic interest. The village was designated in 1994.
Castletown is a small village in Underhill on the Isle of Portland in Dorset. It is located close to Fortuneswell, on the shores of Portland Harbour, and includes a sandy beach, as well as one of Portland's notable highlights; Portland Castle, while the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy is also located nearby.
Southwell is a small coastal village in Tophill on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. As Portland and Dorset's southernmost village, it lies between Portland Bill and the villages of Easton and Weston. Though close to the Bill, the village is sheltered by hills on three sides. It is the only village on Portland not to be designated a conservation area.
Portland Museum is a museum on the Isle of Portland in Dorset, southern England. It is located at the southern end of the hamlet of Wakeham. The museum is housed in two 17th-century thatched cottages, which have both been Grade II Listed since 1951. One of the museum's cottages, Avice's Cottage, is featured in Thomas Hardy's 1897 novel The Well-Beloved, as the home of three generations of "Avices" - the novel's heroines.
The Grove is a small village located at Tophill on the Isle of Portland in Dorset. The village is found close to the larger village Easton, and is most notable for containing the HM Prison Portland, including its museum Grove Prison Museum. As with the rest of Portland's villages and settlements, The Grove has been designated as a conservation area, as it is a place of special architectural and historic interest. The village was designated in 1981.
St. Peter's Church is a former Church of England church in The Grove, on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. Designed by Major-General Sir Edmund Du Cane, the church was built in 1870-72 and is now a Grade II* Listed building. The gate piers and boundary walls to the north and west of the church are also Grade II Listed, along with the church's vicarage. St. Peter's Church is included on Historic England's "Heritage at Risk" register.
Governor's Community Garden is a public garden, located on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, England. It is found within The Grove village, opposite the site of HM Prison Portland.
Folly Pier Waterworks was a 19th-century waterworks on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, England. It was located at East Weares, the east side of Portland, below HM Prison Portland, which it supplied water for. Today, only the foundations and walls of the reservoirs survive. The waterworks was named after Folly Pier, a pier once used for the transporting of Portland stone by sea.
Queen Anne House is an 18th-century detached house located within the village of Fortuneswell, on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, England. The house, together with its boundary wall and gate piers, has been a Grade II* listed building since May 1993.
Grove Lime Kiln is a disused 19th century lime kiln on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, England. It is located close to HM Prison Portland and The Grove village. Owned by the prison service, the lime kiln has been Grade II Listed since 2009.
All Saints Church is a Church of England church in Easton, on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. It was consecrated in 1917 and has been a listed grade II building since September 1978. The church succeeded to the rights, privileges, registers and silver of the St George's Church. It has been described as the finest ecclesiastical building on Portland – though somewhat hidden at its position. The church remains active to date, as part of the Portland Parish – a host of three churches; St. John's Church, All Saints Church and the Avalanche Memorial Church.
St. John's Church is an Anglican Church of England church in Fortuneswell, on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. It was built between 1838–40 and has been a Listed Grade II building since January 1951. The churchyard walls, gate piers, railings, and steps of St. John's Church, dating from 1839–40, became Grade II Listed in September 1978. At this same time, two headstone monuments, about 5 metres north east from the west tower of the church became Grade II Listed.
Easton Methodist Church is a Methodist Church in Easton, on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, which was built in 1906–07. The church, along with its former manse and boundary walls, has been a Grade II* Listed since May 1993. Its church hall was formerly a Wesleyan school, dated 1878 on the porch. The school, with the boundary wall, was designated Grade II in May 1993. The church remains active to date, as part of the Portland Methodist Circuit – which involves two churches; Underhill Methodist Church and Easton Methodist Church.
Inner Pierhead Fort is a 19th-century fort built to defend Portland Harbour at the Isle of Portland, Dorset, England. It is positioned on the end of the inner breakwater, which abuts from the former dockyard of HMNB Portland. The fort was constructed between 1859-1862, and is 100 ft in diameter. The inner breakwater, including the fort, became Grade II Listed in 1978.