65-613: Millbank Prison or Millbank Penitentiary was a prison in Millbank , Westminster , London , originally constructed as the National Penitentiary , and which for part of its history served as a holding facility for convicted prisoners before they were transported to Australia . It was opened in 1816 and closed in 1890. The site at Millbank was originally purchased in 1799 from the Marquess of Salisbury for £12,000 by
130-418: A brief description of its layout. In Henry James 's realist novel The Princess Casamassima (1886) the prison is the "primal scene" of Hyacinth Robinson's life: the visit to his mother, dying in the infirmary, is described in chapter 3. James visited Millbank on 12 December 1884 to gain material. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in chapter 8 of The Sign of Four (1890) refers to Holmes and Watson crossing
195-408: A cluster of five small courtyards (with a watchtower at the centre) used as airing-yards, and in which prisoners undertook labour. The three outer angles of each pentagon were distinguished by tall circular towers, described in 1862 as " Martello -like": these served in part as watchtowers, but their primary purpose was to contain staircases and water-closets . The third and fourth pentagons (those to
260-468: A distinguished painter, and is Grade II listed . A large circular bollard stands by the river with the inscription: "Near this site stood Millbank Prison which was opened in 1816 and closed in 1890. This buttress stood at the head of the river steps from which, until 1867, prisoners sentenced to transportation embarked on their journey to Australia." Part of the perimeter ditch of the prison survives running between Cureton Street and John Islip Street. It
325-512: A large interceptor sewer. The former Royal Army Medical College , situated at Millbank, is the site where the vaccine for typhoid was first developed, and in the late 19th century, was where the world's first modern prison ( Millbank Prison ) was established. The listed site has since been renovated as a purpose-built arts college for the Chelsea College of Art and Design in 2005. The Tate Britain art gallery (former Tate Gallery )
390-435: A military prison. By 1886 it had ceased to hold inmates, and it closed in 1890. Demolition began in 1892, and continued sporadically until 1903. The plan of the prison comprised a circular chapel at the centre of the site, surrounded by a three-storey hexagon made up of the governor's quarters, administrative offices and laundries, surrounded in turn by six pentagons of cell blocks. The buildings of each pentagon were set around
455-533: A new prison building on the Millbank site attracted 43 entrants: the winning design was that of William Williams, drawing master at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst . Williams' basic plan was adapted by a practising architect, Thomas Hardwick , who began construction in the same year. The marshy site on which the prison stood meant that the builders experienced problems of subsidence from
520-586: A number of areas of the prison including the healthcare department, the prison drugs strategy and programmes for reducing offending behaviour. A new hospital wing, built at a cost of £15 million, was opened at Pentonville Prison in early 2005. Months later inspectors reported that despite the new facilities, primary care for prisoners such as clinical supervision of nurses and drug dispensing practices were inadequate. A year later, 14 prison officers at Pentonville were suspended after allegations of trafficking and "inappropriate relations" with inmates. In August 2007,
585-547: A public garden. Before the 1997 General Election , the Labour Party acquired two floors of the building as its headquarters. The £1 million annual rent, however, forced the party to vacate the tower in 2001 for 16 Old Queen Street, Westminster. In British politics, the term "Millbank Machine" or "Millbank tendency" (a play on " Militant tendency ") has been linked with the activities of spin doctors . The Conservative Party also formerly had its headquarters, CCHQ , based in
650-580: A quarter of the accommodation is privately rented; half is rented from Westminster City Council and the remainder is owner-occupied. The name was derived from the " hide ", an old English land measure (used in the Domesday Survey of 1086). Millbank Tower is a large, modernistic office complex between the River Thames, Millbank Estate and Tate Britain Gallery. It has several restaurants and
715-644: A report from the Pentonville's Independent Monitoring Board stated that the prison was infested with rats and cockroaches and had insufficient levels of staff. The report also criticised the detention conditions for mentally ill inmates, the reception facilities for new prisoners and the library provision at the jail. In October 2009, two prison managers were warned about gross misconduct after an investigation found that 11 inmates had been temporarily transferred to HMP Wandsworth before inspections. The prisoners, two of whom attempted suicide immediately after
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#1732797606410780-433: A site close to present day College Green . Norden's survey , taken during the reign of Elizabeth I in 1573, records the existence of such a mill although much of the area that comprises Millbank today, was referred to by Samuel Pepys and others as Tothill Fields. Described as a place of plague pits and a "low, marshy locality" suitable for shooting snipe in the nearby "bogs and quagmires". After Cromwell's victory at
845-648: A six-story Neoclassical office building for the Offices of the Crown Agents for the Colonies. This structure has since been converted into multi-let office building with a central, glass-roofed atrium. Hide Tower is a 20-storey building (with an additional walk-up penthouse level) of 162 flats with a garden and a community hall. When built in 1962 it was the tallest all residential building in Europe. Approximately
910-493: Is a key location within Sarah Waters ' novel Affinity (1999). The prison, Bentham's philosophy surrounding it, and a fictionalized account of Smirke's role in its construction play a key part in the plot of horror fiction podcast The Magnus Archives (2016–2020) by Jonathan Sims. 51°29′29″N 0°07′44″W / 51.49139°N 0.12889°W / 51.49139; -0.12889 Millbank Millbank
975-625: Is an area of central London in the City of Westminster . Millbank is located by the River Thames , east of Pimlico and south of Westminster . Millbank is known as the location of major government offices, Burberry headquarters, the Millbank Tower and prominent art institutions such as Tate Britain and the Chelsea College of Art and Design . The area derives its name from a watermill owned by Westminster Abbey that once stood at
1040-650: Is directly opposite near the end of Vauxhall Bridge , providing a distinct arts presence in the area. The headquarters of the British chemicals giant ICI was originally located at Imperial Chemical House on Millbank (The Smith Square entrance of which was called Nobel House) before it relocated to Manchester Square , also situated in London. The headquarters for the Northern Ireland Office , MI5 and Thames House are also nearby. On 18 December 1973,
1105-428: Is not far distant from the penitentiary, so that its every stroke is as distinctly heard in each cell as if it were situated in one of the prison yards. At each quarter of an hour, day and night it chimes a bar of the " Old Hundredth " and those solemn tones strike on the ears of the lonely listeners like the voice of some monster spirit singing the funeral dirge of Time. As the prison was progressively demolished its site
1170-445: Is now used as a clothes-drying area for residents of Wilkie House. Archaeological investigations in the late 1990s and early 2000s on the sites of Chelsea College of Art and Design and Tate Britain recorded significant remains of the foundations of the external pentagon walls of the prison, of parts of the inner hexagon, of two of the courtyard watchtowers, of drainage culverts , and of Smirke's concrete raft. The granite gate piers at
1235-526: Is raised but little above the river, and was at one time considered unhealthy. It was first named "The Penitentiary", or "Penitentiary House for London and Middlesex", and was called "The Millbank Prison" pursuant to 6 & 7 of Victoria, c. 26. It is the largest prison in London. Every male and female convict sentenced to transportation in Great Britain is sent to Millbank previous to the sentence being executed. Here they remain about three months under
1300-735: Is well connected by buses. Pentonville (HM Prison) HM Prison Pentonville (informally "The Ville") is an English Category B men's prison, operated by His Majesty's Prison Service . Pentonville Prison is not in Pentonville , but is located further north, on the Caledonian Road in the Barnsbury area of the London Borough of Islington , north London . In 2015 the justice secretary , Michael Gove , described Pentonville as "the most dramatic example of failure" within
1365-400: Is working neither for Pentonville nor the taxpayer". The report noted improvements, including uniformed staff using body-worn cameras and anti-drone technology. There was concern about the frequency of assaults on staff, which at that time averaged about 10 a month. The first modern prison in London, Millbank , opened in 1816. It had separate cells for 860 prisoners and proved satisfactory to
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#17327976064101430-579: The BBC ). No.4 is the location commonly used by broadcasters for producing coverage of the Westminster area, including the BBC , Sky News and ITV. Neighbouring College Green is used as a setting for interviewing politicians outdoors. Foreign countries' broadcasters also have bureaus in the Millbank studio compound. Australian broadcasters ABC, Seven and Nine all have bureaus in the building. Channel Ten (of Australia) used to have an office as well, but it
1495-571: The Battle of Worcester in September 1651, some 4,000 defeated Royalists were imprisoned at Tothill Fields prior to being sold as slaves to merchants trading with Africa and the West Indies. Facilities at the prison camp on the marshy ground were so poor that 1,200 prisoners were recorded as having died in the primitive conditions. Prior to the development of Millbank Prison in 1816, the area
1560-557: The Cleft chin murder , was executed 8 March 1945. Between 1902 and 1961 a total of 120 men were executed at Pentonville including Dr. Crippen and John Christie . All the executed were buried in unmarked graves , in the prison cemetery located at 51°32′44.05″N 0°06′54.62″W / 51.5455694°N 0.1151722°W / 51.5455694; -0.1151722 . The final execution took place on 6 July 1961 when Edwin Bush , aged 21,
1625-632: The Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) exploded a bomb on Thorney Street at 8:50am. The bomb resulted in over 50 people injured, including two seriously (see 1973 Westminster bombing ). Millbank Studios reside in the area as an independent broadcast company, owned by ITV . The studio is situated opposite the Houses of Parliament . The BBC Parliament broadcasting channel is also situated nearby (intended to broadcast parliamentary and general political coverage on behalf of
1690-497: The 2016 prison escape, Camilla Poulton of Pentonville Prison Independent Monitoring Board (IMB), said: As we reported in the summer to the Secretary of State for Justice, HMP Pentonville will remain a soft target for contraband and other security breaches as long as its dilapidated windows are in place, notwithstanding the efforts of management and staff. From 2018/2019 new windows were placed and, outside window cages, netting
1755-536: The POA said, "The reality of the situation is the focus should be on Government and their budget cuts that have created this situation. The basics of security aren't getting done simply because there is not enough staff to deal with the daily tasks." The prison's independent inspection watchdog described Pentonville as a "soft target" through the "dilapidated" state of the Victorian building. Emily Thornberry MP called
1820-593: The Thames from the house of Mordecai Smith and landing by the Millbank Penitentiary. In chapter 8 of Conan Doyle's The Lost World (1912), Professor Challenger says that he dislikes walking along the Thames as it is always sad to see one's final destination. Challenger means that he expects to be buried at Westminster Abbey , but his rival Professor Summerlee responds sardonically that he understands that Millbank Prison has been demolished. The prison
1885-506: The authorities who started building prisons to deal with the rapid increase in numbers occasioned by the ending of capital punishment for many crimes and a steady reduction in transportation . Two Acts of Parliament allowed for the building of Pentonville prison, designed by Captain Joshua Jebb , Royal Engineers , for the detention of convicts sentenced to imprisonment or awaiting transportation. Construction started on 10 April 1840 and
1950-479: The close inspection of the three inspectors of the prison, at the end of which time the inspectors report to the Home Secretary, and recommend the place of transportation. The number of persons in Great Britain and Ireland condemned to transportation every year amounts to about 4000. So far as the accommodation of the prison permits, the separate system is adopted. Each cell had a single window (looking into
2015-610: The decision was eventually taken to build a new "model prison" at Pentonville , which opened in 1842 and took over Millbank's role as the National Penitentiary. By the Millbank Prison Act 1843 ( 6 & 7 Vict. c. 26), Millbank's status was downgraded, and it became a holding depot for convicts prior to transportation . Every person sentenced to transportation was sent to Millbank first, where they were held for three months before their final destination
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2080-572: The engineer John Rennie the Elder were called in, and they recommended demolition of three of the towers and the underpinning of the entire building with concrete foundations, in form of a raft : the first known use of this material for foundations in Britain since the Roman Empire . However, this added considerably to the construction costs, which eventually totalled £500,000, more than twice
2145-478: The entrance of Purbeck House, High Street, Swanage in Dorset, and a granite bollard next to the gate, are thought by Historic England to be possibly from Millbank Prison. Charles Dickens describes the prison in chapter 52 ("Obstinacy") of his novel, Bleak House (1852–53). One of the characters is put into custody there, and other characters go to visit him. Esther Summerson, one of the book's narrators, gives
2210-517: The job there." In 2017, it was reported that the IMB described Pentonville as squalid and inhumane. Blocked toilets and leaking sewage were found, broken facilities meant prisoners going without clean clothes, showers and hot food. Prisoners were regularly confined two to a cell 12 foot by 8 foot. The report stated, "The prison struggles to ensure the basics of decency largely due to the outsourced provider responsible for maintenance: Carillion . The contract
2275-471: The largest tenant management organisation in Westminster. The estate's management board is elected annually from the resident population. Half of the estate's flats are private leaseholds, the other half are rented from Westminster City Council. The estate's buildings are maintained by a regular works program. In 1914–1916, architects John W. Simpson and Maxwell Ayrton designed and built 4 Millbank,
2340-529: The line of the Royal Navy were dismantled at this location, their ornate figureheads often displayed on the gates and perimeter of the yard walls. Millbank's general appearance today dates from the 1930s, when the area was extensively rebuilt to repair damage caused by the 1928 Thames flood disaster, following the collapse of a 25-metre-long section of the Thames Embankment . Millbank shares
2405-663: The model for British prisons; a further 54 were built to similar designs over six years and hundreds throughout the British Empire . For instance, Pentonville was used as a model for the eventual construction of Corradino prison in Rahal Gdid, Malta by W. Lamb Arrowsmith in 1842. Prisoners under sentence of death were not housed at Pentonville Prison until the closure of Newgate in 1902 when Pentonville took over executions in north London. Condemned cells were added and an execution room built to house Newgate's gallows . At
2470-471: The name of the main road ( A3212 ) along the north bank of the River Thames , extending northwards from Vauxhall Bridge to Abingdon Street, just south from Parliament Square . There are parliamentary offices situated across this road, notably No.7, built as the headquarters of British American Tobacco . The road was created as part of the Thames Embankment in the mid 19th century and lies above
2535-602: The north-west, furthest from the entrance) were used to house female prisoners, and the remaining four for male prisoners. In the Handbook of London in 1850 the prison was described as follows: A mass of brickwork equal to a fortress, on the left bank of the Thames , close to Vauxhall Bridge ; erected on ground bought in 1799 of the Marquis of Salisbury, and established pursuant to 52 Geo. III., c. 44, passed Aug 20th, 1812. It
2600-479: The original estimate and equivalent to £500 per cell. The first prisoners, all women, were admitted on 26 June 1816. The first men arrived in January 1817. The prison held 103 men and 109 women by the end of 1817, and 452 men and 326 women by late 1822. Sentences of five to ten years in the National Penitentiary were offered as an alternative to transportation to those thought most likely to reform. In addition to
2665-515: The outset, and explains the succession of architects. It was to consist of a hexagonal central courtyard with an elongated pentagonal courtyard on each outer wall of the central courtyard; the three outer corners of the pentagonal courtyards each had a tower one storey higher than the three floors of the rest of the building. When the boundary wall reached a height of about six feet high it began to tilt and crack. After 18 months, with £26,000 spent on it, Hardwick resigned in 1813, and John Harvey took over
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2730-479: The pentagon courtyard), and was equipped with a washing tub, a wooden stool, a hammock and bedding, and books including a Bible, a prayer-book, a hymn-book, an arithmetic-book, a work entitled Home and Common Things , and publications of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge . Irish republican prisoner Michael Davitt , who was held briefly at Millbank in 1870, described the experience: Westminster Clock
2795-613: The philosopher Jeremy Bentham , acting on behalf of the Crown , for the erection of his proposed panopticon prison as Britain's new National Penitentiary. After various changes in circumstance, the Panopticon plan was abandoned in 1812. Proposals for the National Penitentiary continued, however, and were given a legislative basis in the Penitentiary House, etc. Act 1812 ( 52 Geo. 3 . c. 44). An architectural competition for
2860-401: The pipes were used for communication. The cost of keeping a prisoner at Pentonville was about 15 shillings a week in the 1840s. Prisoners were forbidden to speak to each other and when out on exercise would tramp in silent rows, wearing brown cloth masks. In chapel, which they had to attend every day, they sat in cubicles, or "coffins" as the prisoners referred to them, their heads visible to
2925-503: The previous inspection. The report highlighted that many inmates were left without basic provisions, including pillows and utensils, that there were "mounds of rubbish" on the floors and cockroach infestations. Frances Cook, chief executive for the Howard League for Penal Reform , commented "when a prison is asked to hold 350 more prisoners than it is designed for, we should not be surprised when it fails". A prisoner, Jamal Mahmoud
2990-466: The prisons estate. Pentonville is a local prison, holding Category B/C adult males remanded by local magistrates' courts and the Crown Court , and those serving short sentences or beginning longer sentences. The prison is divided into these main wings: G wing has an education department, a library and workshops. There are problems with drugs and weapons being thrown into the prison. Following
3055-463: The problems of construction, the marshy site fostered disease, to which the prisoners had little immunity owing to their extremely poor diet. In 1818 the authorities engaged Dr. Alexander Copland Hutchison of Westminster Dispensary as Medical Supervisor, to oversee the health of the inmates. In 1822–23 an epidemic swept through the prison, which seems to have comprised a mixture of dysentery , scurvy , depression and other disorders. The decision
3120-479: The role. Harvey was dismissed in turn in 1815, and replaced by Robert Smirke , who brought the project to completion in 1821. Further legislation was passed in the form of the Millbank Penitentiary Act 1816 ( 56 Geo. 3 . c. 63). In February 1816 the first prisoners were admitted during the construction process, but the building creaked and several windows spontaneously shattered. Smirke and
3185-638: The same time, Pentonville took over from Newgate the function of being the training location for future executioners. Irish revolutionary Roger Casement was hanged there on 3 August 1916 and his remains interred at the site until 1965. Udham Singh , the Indian revolutionary, who shot and killed Sir Michael O'Dwyer (Governor of the Punjab during the Amritsar Massacre ), was also held in custody and hanged at Pentonville (1940); Karl Hultén, involved in
3250-469: The time. Wings were shut down for three or four half days a week, activities and association time were limited. At the end of July 2018 the prison held 1,215 men. The IMB singled out for praise a social enterprise set up to reduce recidivism by training prisoners in cooking and entrepreneurship, Liberty Kitchen . The Prison Officers Association said that the escape of Baker and Whitlock followed years of underinvestment and staff cuts. Steve Gillan of
3315-447: The tower. Millbank Millennium Pier is a modern River Thames pier structure. A regular service by a Damien Hirst -designed riverboat connects Tate Britain with Tate Modern . The nearest London Underground stations are Westminster , Pimlico and Victoria . London Victoria station is also a National Rail mainline terminus with an adjacent national coach station . Waterloo and Charing Cross stations are also nearby. Millbank
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#17327976064103380-490: The transfer, were transferred two days before an inspection in order to manipulate prison population figures. In February 2014, a report by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons Nick Hardwick said there are "huge challenges" at Pentonville and that it will not have a "viable future" without a major refurbishment and extra staff. A further report released in June 2015 indicated that Pentonville had "deteriorated even further" since
3445-507: The warder but hidden from each other. The chaplains were very influential, making individual cell visitations, urging the convicts to reform, and supervising the work of the schoolmasters. Mental disturbances were common. An official report admitted that "for every sixty thousand persons imprisoned in Pentonville there were 220 cases of insanity, 210 cases of delusion, and forty suicides". However, conditions were better and healthier than at Newgate and similar older prisons, and each prisoner
3510-409: Was made to do work such as picking oakum (tarred rope) and weaving. The work lasted from six in the morning until seven at night. The food ration was a breakfast of 10 ounces of bread and three-quarters of a pint of cocoa ; dinner was half a pint of soup (or four ounces of meat), five ounces of bread, and one pound of potatoes; supper a pint of gruel and five ounces of bread. Pentonville became
3575-472: Was completed in 1842. The cost was £ 84,186 12 s 2 d . It had a central hall with four radiating wings, all visible to staff at the centre. This design, intended to keep prisoners isolated – the " separate system " first used at Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia – was not, as is often thought, a panopticon . Officers had no view into individual cells from their central position. Pentonville
3640-449: Was decided. By 1850, around 4,000 people were condemned annually to transportation from the UK. Prisoners awaiting transportation were kept in solitary confinement and restricted to silence for the first half of their sentence. Large-scale transportation ended in 1853 (although the practice continued on a reduced scale until 1867); and Millbank then became an ordinary local prison, and from 1870
3705-462: Was designed by Jeremy Bentham [factually incorrect], to whom the fee-simple of the ground was conveyed, and is said to have cost the enormous sum of half a million sterling. The external walls form an irregular octagon, and enclose upwards of sixteen acres of land. Its ground-plan resembles a wheel, the governor's house occupying a circle in the centre, from which radiate six piles of building, terminating externally in towers. The ground on which it stands
3770-437: Was designed to hold 520 prisoners under the separate system, each having his own cell, 13 feet (4 m) long, 7 feet (2 m) wide and 9 feet (3 m) high with little windows on the outside walls and opening on to narrow landings in the galleries. They were "admirably ventilated", a visitor wrote, and had a water closet, though these were replaced by communal, foul-smelling recesses because they were constantly blocked and
3835-554: Was eventually taken to evacuate the buildings for several months: the female prisoners were released, and the male prisoners temporarily transferred to the prison hulks at Woolwich , where their health improved. The design of Millbank also turned out to be unsatisfactory. The network of corridors was so labyrinthine that even the warders got lost; and the ventilation system allowed sound to carry, so that prisoners could communicate between cells. The annual running costs turned out to be an unsupportable £16,000. In view of these problems,
3900-517: Was hanged. In May 2003, an inspection report from the Chief Inspector of Prisons blamed overcrowding for poor standards at HMP Pentonville. The inspection found that basic requirements for inmates such as telephones, showers and clean clothes were not being provided regularly enough. The report also noted a lack of access to education for inmates and inadequate specialised procedures for vulnerable prisoners. The inspection report also praised
3965-476: Was put up, after the escape from G wing, around the whole prison to stop drones and parcels being received. Mike Rolfe, chair of the Prison Officers’ Association , said: We've been warning for a long time that there's a severe shortage of staff, staff are under pressure. Pentonville's one of those jails that's suffered really terribly from staff shortages and, you know, people not wanting to join
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#17327976064104030-786: Was redeveloped. The principal new buildings erected were the National Gallery of British Art (now Tate Britain ), which opened in 1897; the Royal Army Medical College , the buildings of which were adapted in 2005 to become the Chelsea College of Art & Design ; and – using the original bricks of the prison – the Millbank Estate , a housing estate built by the London County Council (LCC) between 1897 and 1902. The estate comprises 17 buildings, each named after
4095-710: Was scrapped due to financial difficulties. Japan's broadcaster NHK has an office in the compound as well. RTÉ News and Current Affairs also have their London bureau at the same location. Millbank Estate is a large but highly regarded Grade II-listed red-brick housing estate that gives the area behind Tate Britain a distinct character. The estate was built between 1897 and 1902, the bricks being recycled from Millbank Prison , which had closed in 1890. The 17 buildings, comprising one of London's earliest social housing schemes, are named after distinguished painters such as Turner, Gainsborough, Millais, etc. The estate has 562 flats, all managed on behalf of Westminster City Council by MEMO,
4160-416: Was sparsely covered with residential houses, but did feature a distillery by the river owned by a Mr. Hodge and numerous small almshouses , bridewells and pest houses for the poor, criminally inclined and sick. Baltic Wharf, a site just to the north of Vauxhall Bridge , was for much of the 19th century the location of a Henry Castle & Son, a ship breaking and timber merchant. Numerous wooden ships of
4225-499: Was stabbed to death on 18 October 2016 and there were six other stabbings in the following weeks up to 8 November. In 2018 monitors found Pentonville was dilapidated, overcrowded and porous to drugs, mobile phones and weapons. Windows noted as insecure in 2016 are still insecure, vermin is rife and many prisoners go for weeks without exercise in fresh air. Gang-related incidents during prayer meetings have increased. Staff are energetic and committed but there were too few staff most of
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