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HM Prison Winchester
HM Prison Winchester is a Category B men's prison, located in Winchester, Hampshire, England. The prison is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service.
There has probably been a prison in Winchester, mainly known as Winchester gaol, since the thirteenth century.
A substantial part of the former County Gaol, rebuilt 1788 and 1803 of three storeys in Classical style, the predecessor of the present Winchester Prison and now converted to commercial use, survives in Jewry Street.
Winchester Prison was built between 1846 and 1850 to a Victorian radial design, with five 'spokes' radiating from a central hub carrying a turret prominent on the Winchester skyline. Four of these wings are now used for prisoner accommodation and one for administration. The prison occupies an elevated site in Romsey Road screened by a massive brick wall and bank. The central gatehouse was originally open to the street, but has been enclosed by the wall. The site contains the shell of the Victorian treadwheel house - a rare survivor.
In 1867, the public execution of the notorious murderer Frederick Baker - who abducted and dismembered eight-year-old Fanny Adams - drew a 5,000-strong crowd. This would become the last public hanging held outside the prison. Between 1900 and 1963, 16 male executions took place at the prison. The last was that of Dennis Whitty, convicted of capital murder at Cornwall Assizes, and hanged on 17 December 1963. The prison featured (as Wintoncester Prison) in Thomas Hardy's novel Tess of the D'Urbervilles as the site of Tess's execution although, in fact, no female has been executed at the present prison.
In 1995 serial killer Rosemary West, wife of Fred West, was held in Winchester on remand for the duration of her trial in Winchester Crown Court. Each day she was driven from her specially built unit within the male segregation block half a mile down the road to the court.
In December 2001, a convicted murderer William Todd escaped from Winchester Prison by scaling the wall. The prisoner went on the run after using a home-made handsaw to saw through the bars of his ground floor cell window. He then used a rope and grappling hook to scale the 30-feet wall of the prison. The prisoner was recaptured days later.
In August 2003, a Prison Reform Trust report stated that overcrowding at Winchester Prison was an ongoing problem. 54.7% of prisoners were sharing cells which were designed for one person. There had also been three suicides at the jail in the previous year.
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HM Prison Winchester AI simulator
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HM Prison Winchester
HM Prison Winchester is a Category B men's prison, located in Winchester, Hampshire, England. The prison is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service.
There has probably been a prison in Winchester, mainly known as Winchester gaol, since the thirteenth century.
A substantial part of the former County Gaol, rebuilt 1788 and 1803 of three storeys in Classical style, the predecessor of the present Winchester Prison and now converted to commercial use, survives in Jewry Street.
Winchester Prison was built between 1846 and 1850 to a Victorian radial design, with five 'spokes' radiating from a central hub carrying a turret prominent on the Winchester skyline. Four of these wings are now used for prisoner accommodation and one for administration. The prison occupies an elevated site in Romsey Road screened by a massive brick wall and bank. The central gatehouse was originally open to the street, but has been enclosed by the wall. The site contains the shell of the Victorian treadwheel house - a rare survivor.
In 1867, the public execution of the notorious murderer Frederick Baker - who abducted and dismembered eight-year-old Fanny Adams - drew a 5,000-strong crowd. This would become the last public hanging held outside the prison. Between 1900 and 1963, 16 male executions took place at the prison. The last was that of Dennis Whitty, convicted of capital murder at Cornwall Assizes, and hanged on 17 December 1963. The prison featured (as Wintoncester Prison) in Thomas Hardy's novel Tess of the D'Urbervilles as the site of Tess's execution although, in fact, no female has been executed at the present prison.
In 1995 serial killer Rosemary West, wife of Fred West, was held in Winchester on remand for the duration of her trial in Winchester Crown Court. Each day she was driven from her specially built unit within the male segregation block half a mile down the road to the court.
In December 2001, a convicted murderer William Todd escaped from Winchester Prison by scaling the wall. The prisoner went on the run after using a home-made handsaw to saw through the bars of his ground floor cell window. He then used a rope and grappling hook to scale the 30-feet wall of the prison. The prisoner was recaptured days later.
In August 2003, a Prison Reform Trust report stated that overcrowding at Winchester Prison was an ongoing problem. 54.7% of prisoners were sharing cells which were designed for one person. There had also been three suicides at the jail in the previous year.