Hollesley Bay (HM Prison)
Encyclopedia
HM Prison Hollesley Bay, known locally as Hollesley Bay Colony (to which signposts still point) or simply The Colony, is a Category D
men's prison
and Young Offenders Institution, located in the village of Hollesley
, about 8 miles (13 km) from the town of Woodbridge
in Suffolk
, England
. The prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service
.
unemployed. The land was originally purchased by Joseph Fels
, an American soap-manufacturing millionaire and friend of George Lansbury
, the prominent Christian Socialist who was also a leading member of the Poplar Board of Guardians. In 1905 Fels transferred the land to the London Unemployed Fund, who in turn handed it over to the Central Unemployed Body for London. Subsequently it was taken over by London County Council
.
There was a number of similar labour colonies across Britain. Their aim was to train unemployed people for work, with a view to helping them escape pauperism. Hollesley Bay was typical in that it mainly involved exposing its inmates to a period of work either on agricultural tasks or in the kitchens and other relatively unskilled activities. There was a short-lived strike among the inmates in May 1922, partly sparked by dissatisfaction over the inmates' levels of pay. It was said to hold around 280 men in 1923, rising to 366 in the late 1920s, and falling to around 200 in 1934. London County Council decided to dispose of the site in 1938.
In 1938 the Prison Commission
purchased the site for use as a Borstal
. A major expansion took place in 1982 with the opening of Warren Hill Prison
a 285 place secure unit. In 1983 Hollesley Bay became a Youth Custody Centre this replaced the borstal system. This in turn was replaced by Young Offenders Institution
in 1988. In 2002, the old borstal site became mainly for the use of minimum security adult offenders.
Since 2002 the prison has been repeatedly criticised for the apparently large number of escapes, which has led to the nickname Holiday Bay
Hollesley Bay did have the largest prison farm
in the British prison system, along with the oldest established stud for the Suffolk Punch Horse in the world. The Prison farm was sold in 2006, however the Prison retains a small land holding. The stud of Suffolk Punch horses, which were 'shown' at local County and National shows, was sold to the Suffolk Punch Trust, which was set up in 2008 to maintain the breed localy.
s discretion). Accommodation at the prison comprises five Residential Units, all of which have single occupancy rooms.
The prison offers part-time education including evening classes to inmates. Subjects include literacy
, numeracy
, ESOL, music
, Information Technology
, cookery, graphic design
and the Community Sports Leader Award. The gym operates during evenings and weekends offering a range of sporting activities. There are full-time accredited vocational training courses in Building Operations and Painting and Decorating. Adult inmates are also offered work in the prison's kitchen, gardens, Staff Mess, Contract Services, Clothing Exchange Store and the Transport Department.
Prison security categories in the United Kingdom
There are four prisoner security categories in the United Kingdom used to classify every adult prisoner for the purposes of assigning them to a prison. The categories are based upon the severity of the crime and the risk posed should the person escape....
men's prison
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
and Young Offenders Institution, located in the village of Hollesley
Hollesley
Hollesley is a village and civil parish in the Suffolk Coastal district of Suffolk in eastern England. Located on the Bawdsey peninsula five miles south-east of Woodbridge, in 2005 it had a population of 1,400.Hollesley Bay Prison is located nearby....
, about 8 miles (13 km) from the town of Woodbridge
Woodbridge, Suffolk
Woodbridge is a town in Suffolk, East Anglia, England. It is in the East of England, not far from the coast. It lies along the River Deben, with a population of about 7,480. The town is served by Woodbridge railway station on the Ipswich-Lowestoft East Suffolk Line. Woodbridge is twinned with...
in Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service
Her Majesty's Prison Service
Her Majesty's Prison Service is a part of the National Offender Management Service of the Government of the United Kingdom tasked with managing most of the prisons within England and Wales...
.
History
Hollesley Bay began in 1887 as a colonial college training those intending to emigrate. The prison had housed a labour colony for the LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
unemployed. The land was originally purchased by Joseph Fels
Joseph Fels
Joseph Fels was an American soap manufacturer, millionaire, and philanthropist.Born of German immigrants in Halifax County, Virginia, Fels moved with his family to Baltimore in 1866; by 1876 he'd assumed control of a soap manufacturing company based in Philadelphia, and brought two of his brothers...
, an American soap-manufacturing millionaire and friend of George Lansbury
George Lansbury
George Lansbury was a British politician, socialist, Christian pacifist and newspaper editor. He was a Member of Parliament from 1910 to 1912 and from 1922 to 1940, and leader of the Labour Party from 1932 to 1935....
, the prominent Christian Socialist who was also a leading member of the Poplar Board of Guardians. In 1905 Fels transferred the land to the London Unemployed Fund, who in turn handed it over to the Central Unemployed Body for London. Subsequently it was taken over by London County Council
London County Council
London County Council was the principal local government body for the County of London, throughout its 1889–1965 existence, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today known as Inner London and was replaced by the Greater London Council...
.
There was a number of similar labour colonies across Britain. Their aim was to train unemployed people for work, with a view to helping them escape pauperism. Hollesley Bay was typical in that it mainly involved exposing its inmates to a period of work either on agricultural tasks or in the kitchens and other relatively unskilled activities. There was a short-lived strike among the inmates in May 1922, partly sparked by dissatisfaction over the inmates' levels of pay. It was said to hold around 280 men in 1923, rising to 366 in the late 1920s, and falling to around 200 in 1934. London County Council decided to dispose of the site in 1938.
In 1938 the Prison Commission
Prison Commission (England and Wales)
The Prison Commission was a public body of the Government of the United Kingdom established in 1877 and responsible for overseeing the operation of HM Prison Service...
purchased the site for use as a Borstal
Borstal
A borstal was a type of youth prison in the United Kingdom, run by the Prison Service and intended to reform seriously delinquent young people. The word is sometimes used loosely to apply to other kinds of youth institution or reformatory, such as Approved Schools and Detention Centres. The court...
. A major expansion took place in 1982 with the opening of Warren Hill Prison
Warren Hill (HM Prison)
HM Young Offenders Institution Warren Hill is a male juvenile's prison located near the village of Hollesley in Suffolk, England. The prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service, and is situated next to Hollesley Bay Prison.-History:...
a 285 place secure unit. In 1983 Hollesley Bay became a Youth Custody Centre this replaced the borstal system. This in turn was replaced by Young Offenders Institution
Her Majesty's Young Offender Institution
Her Majesty's Young Offenders Institution is a type of British prison intended for offenders aged between 18 and 20, although some prisons cater for younger offenders from ages 15 to 17, who are classed as juvenile offenders...
in 1988. In 2002, the old borstal site became mainly for the use of minimum security adult offenders.
Since 2002 the prison has been repeatedly criticised for the apparently large number of escapes, which has led to the nickname Holiday Bay
Hollesley Bay did have the largest prison farm
Prison farm
A prison farm is a large correctional facility where penal labor convicts are put to economical use in a 'farm' , usually for manual labour, largely in open air, such as in agriculture, logging, quarrying, etc...
in the British prison system, along with the oldest established stud for the Suffolk Punch Horse in the world. The Prison farm was sold in 2006, however the Prison retains a small land holding. The stud of Suffolk Punch horses, which were 'shown' at local County and National shows, was sold to the Suffolk Punch Trust, which was set up in 2008 to maintain the breed localy.
The prison today
Hollesley Bay Prison holds Category D adult male prisoners, Category D Male Young Offenders, and Male Life Sentenced prisoners (at the parole boardParole Board
A parole board is a panel of people who decide whether an offender should be released from prison on parole after serving at least a minimum portion of their sentence as prescribed by the sentencing judge. Parole boards are used in many jurisdictions, including the United Kingdom and the United...
s discretion). Accommodation at the prison comprises five Residential Units, all of which have single occupancy rooms.
The prison offers part-time education including evening classes to inmates. Subjects include literacy
Literacy
Literacy has traditionally been described as the ability to read for knowledge, write coherently and think critically about printed material.Literacy represents the lifelong, intellectual process of gaining meaning from print...
, numeracy
Numeracy
Numeracy is the ability to reason with numbers and other mathematical concepts. A numerically literate person can manage and respond to the mathematical demands of life...
, ESOL, music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
, Information Technology
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
, cookery, graphic design
Graphic design
Graphic design is a creative process – most often involving a client and a designer and usually completed in conjunction with producers of form – undertaken in order to convey a specific message to a targeted audience...
and the Community Sports Leader Award. The gym operates during evenings and weekends offering a range of sporting activities. There are full-time accredited vocational training courses in Building Operations and Painting and Decorating. Adult inmates are also offered work in the prison's kitchen, gardens, Staff Mess, Contract Services, Clothing Exchange Store and the Transport Department.
In popular culture
- Borstal BoyBorstal BoyBorstal Boy is an autobiographical 1958 book by Brendan Behan. The story depicts a young, fervently idealistic Behan who loses his naïveté over the three years of his sentence to a juvenile borstal, softening his radical Republican stance and warming to his fellow British prisoners...
, a 1958 autobiographical novel by Brendan BehanBrendan BehanBrendan Francis Behan was an Irish poet, short story writer, novelist, and playwright who wrote in both Irish and English. He was also an Irish republican and a volunteer in the Irish Republican Army.-Early life:...
, recounts his imprisonment at Hollesley Bay. The novel was subsequently turned into a play (adapted by Frank McMahonFrank McMahon (author)Frank McMahon was an Irish American author and playwright perhaps best known for his play Borstal Boy, an adaptation of the Brendan Behan novel of the same title, which won Frank a prestigious Tony Award....
), and a film (directed by Peter SheridanPeter SheridanPeter Sheridan is an Irish playwright, screenwriter and director. He lives in the north side of Dublin.His plays have a lyrical, vivid style amid tough dialog highlighting the difficulty and the promise of life in Ireland's capital. Awards include the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature...
, starring Shawn HatosyShawn HatosyShawn Wayne Hatosy is an actor with over 40 film and television credits to his name.-Personal life:Hatosy was born in Frederick, Maryland, the son of Carol , a loan officer, and Wayne Hatosy, a graphic designer and event planning director...
and Danny DyerDanny DyerDanny Dyer is an English actor, media personality, and chairman of Greenwich Borough, a non-League football team.-Biography:Daniel John Dyer was born in Custom House, an area of East London, to Antony and Christine Dyer...
).
- In the epilogue of the third volume of his A Prison DiaryA Prison DiaryA Prison Diary is a series of three books of diaries written by Jeffrey Archer during his time in prisons following his convictions for perjury and perverting the course of justice.Each volume is named after the parts of Dante's The Divine Comedy...
, Jeffrey Archer writes about his stay at Hollesley Bay after his transfer from HMP LincolnLincoln (HM Prison)HM Prison Lincoln is a Category B men's prison, located in Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England. The prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service.-History:...