Parkhurst Prison Heritage Museum

	Parkhurst Heritage History In the later part of the 1700's, there was a growing concern for the safety of juvenile prisoners, some of whom were only six years old, many of which were incarcerated in the old, rotten and disease ridden sailing ships commonly referred to as hulks. The Site of Parkhurst was chosen as the existing buildings there were ideal to be converted into a juvenile prison, and also the location was near to a deep water anchorage, perfect for the transportation ships to collect their charges for the voyage to Australia.
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	Parkhusrt Prison in the early 1800's	The prison opened its doors on the 26th December 1838, taking in 102 boys. The first governor was Capt. Woolcombe, and he ran the establishment very much on military lines. As this was the first such institution of its kind, there were no hard and fast rules in the treatment of the young men in his care.

	From those early days the prison has changed its role considerably, at one time, it was even a woman's prison. It was during this time era that the establishment experienced its first recorded riot. This was quelled with a little ingenuity, using a fire hose and a few blankets! At the turn of the last century, a building adjacent to the main building, was converted into a lunatic asylum which housed some very unfortunate convicts, who were not well enough to be in the main prison. Reading through the records of these inmates, one cannot help but feel sorry for them in their predicament.

	Over fifty years ago, a visiting football team was invited into the establishment to play against a hand picked team of inmates, the score has been lost in time, but there is one visiting player, who still lives on the Island and remembers the game very well and he even has the scars on his leg to prove he was there! Parkhurst was known as one of England's toughest jails, a stigma
		An illustration of the cells of the 1800's
	that has taken a very long time to shake off. It has housed some of the most dangerous, and infamous prisoners within the penal system. The great train robbers, the Krays, and others such as the Yorkshire Ripper have all passed through the doors. One fact that we are proud of, is that this establishment has over the last 160 years, played host to three Royal Visitors, Queen Victoria twice in the early days of her reign, and more recently, Princess Anne, The Princess Royal, who was asked to present to the prison, a national award.

	Dresses of the officers and prisoners	In January 1995, the prison went through its darkest hour, with the escape and eventual re-capture of three prisoners, two 'Cat-As' and a 'Lifer'. A political decision was taken to downgrade Parkhurst from a category 'A' establishment, to a category 'B' training establishment. This resulted in a vast amount of staff losses. It is only fair to say that the professionalism of the remaining staff, turned the fortunes of the estate into the reasonably safe environment that it is today.

Website design by Island Partners Ltd (C) 2001	The very fact that one of the Islands most commonly seen, but littlest known establishments has survived through all sorts of turmoil and the reign of six monarchs, is a story in itself. A fascinating story that the heritage group are only too happy to tell.