Editing HM Prison Holloway

{{Short description|1852–2016 prison in London, England}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2022}}
{{Infobox prison
| prison_name    = HMP Holloway
| image          = [[File:Holloway Prison.png|frameless]]
| caption        = Holloway Prison {{circa|1896}}
| location       = [[Holloway, London]], England
| coordinates    = {{Coord|51|33|15|N|00|07|30|W|type:landmark_scale:2000_region:GB|display=inline,title}}
| status         = 
| classification = [[Prisoner security categories in the United Kingdom|Adult female/Young offenders]]
| capacity       = 
| population     = ''501''
| populationdate = January 2008<ref name="capacity" />
| opened         = 1852
| closed         = 2016 
| former_name    =
| managed_by     = [[Her Majesty's Prison Service|HM Prison Services]]
| governor       =
| website        = {{HM prison|holloway|Holloway}}
}}

'''HM Prison Holloway''' was a [[British prison security categories|closed category]] [[prison]] for adult women and [[young offenders]] in [[Holloway, London]], England, operated by [[His Majesty's Prison Service]]. It was the largest women's prison in western Europe,<ref name="auto">{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-34924459 |title=Spending Review: Holloway prison closure announced |publisher=BBC News |date=25 November 2015 |access-date=3 April 2016 |archive-date=21 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160421155149/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-34924459 |url-status=live}}</ref> until its closure in 2016.

== History ==
{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title           = {{visible anchor|Holloway Prison Act 1852}}
| type                  = Act
| parliament            = Parliament of the United Kingdom
| long_title            = An Act for authorizing the Occupation of the House of Correction recently erected by and for the City of London at Holloway in the County of Middlesex.
| year                  = 1852
| citation              = [[15 & 16 Vict.]] c. 70
| introduced_commons    = 
| introduced_lords      = 
| territorial_extent    = 
| royal_assent          = 30 June 1852
| commencement          = 
| expiry_date           = 
| repeal_date           = 
| amends                = 
| replaces              = 
| amendments            = 
| repealing_legislation = 
| related_legislation   = 
| status                = 
| legislation_history   = 
| theyworkforyou        = 
| millbankhansard       = 
| original_text         = 
| revised_text          = 
| use_new_UK-LEG        = 
| UK-LEG_title          = 
| collapsed             = yes
}}
[[File:Margaret Scott, Jane Short, May McFarlane, Olive Hockin.jpg|thumb|right|220px|British police began using covert photography as a means to document suffragettes in Holloway Prison under falsified names, for later identification]]

Holloway prison was opened in 1852 as a mixed-sex prison,<ref name="Holloway Prison closure announced">{{Cite news |date=25 November 2015 |title=Holloway Prison closure announced |language=en-GB |publisher=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-34924459 |access-date=26 June 2020 |archive-date=5 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200305235220/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-34924459 |url-status=live}}</ref> but due to growing demand for space for female prisoners, particularly due to the closure of [[Newgate Prison|Newgate]], it became female-only in 1903.

Before the [[First World War]], Holloway was used to imprison those [[suffragettes]] who broke the law. These included [[Emmeline Pankhurst]], [[Emily Davison]], [[Constance Markievicz]] (also imprisoned for her part in the Irish Rebellion), [[Charlotte Despard]], [[Mary Richardson]], [[Dora Montefiore]], [[Hanna Sheehy-Skeffington]], and [[Ethel Smyth]].

In 1959, [[Joanna Kelley]] became Governor of Holloway.<ref name="ii" /> Kelley ensured that long-term prisoners received the best accommodation and they were allowed to have their own crockery, pictures and curtains. The prison created "family" groups of prisoners, group therapy and psychiatrists to support some prisoners where required.<ref name=jtimes/>

In 1965, there was a change in responsibilities and the [[National Probation Service|Probation Service]] was tasked with looking after prisoners once they had served their sentence. Kelley was not keen on the idea.<ref name=lost>{{Cite book |last=Rumgay |first=Judith |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=85XocVIlgFkC&q=joanna+kelley&pg=PA16 |title=Ladies of Lost Causes: Rehabilitation, Women Offenders and the Voluntary Sector |date=2007 |page=11 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-84392-298-8 |language=en |access-date=11 December 2020 |archive-date=2 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220102205658/https://books.google.com/books?id=85XocVIlgFkC&q=joanna+kelley&pg=PA16 |url-status=live}}</ref> With Kelley's encouragement,<ref name=lost/> the Holloway Discharged Prisoners' Aide Society reformed into the ''Griffins Society'', the name coming from the statues of two griffins that had been either side of the entrance gates to Holloway. The Griffins Society provided more services than its previous iteration, including accommodations for discharged prisoners, a meeting ground for imprisoned mothers and their children, a psychotherapy group, and a coffee bar. By 1994, the Society offered five hostels for discharged women, holding up to 65 women, and enabling a great deal of independence to former prisoners seeking to re-establish life after release. <ref>{{Cite book |last=Heidensohn |first=Frances |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vhUAXmAmHxQC&q=joanna+kelley+holloway&pg=PA282 |title=Gender and Justice |date=11 January 2013 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-01414-9 |language=en |access-date=11 December 2020 |archive-date=2 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220102205706/https://books.google.com/books?id=vhUAXmAmHxQC&q=joanna+kelley+holloway&pg=PA282 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Until 1991, the Prison was staffed by Home Office appointed, female Prison Officers. Male hospital officers from [[H.M.P. Pentonville|Pentonville]] were on weekly secondments until 1976. Their mission was to provide support for the agency nurses who worked in Holloway. The first 'Male, basic grade' Prison Officer to be posted to HMP Holloway in its (Female inmates only) history, was Prison Officer (Trg) Thomas Ainsworth, who joined the establishment direct from HMP College [[Wakefield, Yorkshire|Wakefield]] in May 1991.

After the death from suicide in January 2016 of inmate [[Sarah Reed (prisoner)|Sarah Reed]], a [[Paranoid schizophrenia|paranoid schizophrenic]] being held on remand, the subsequent inquest in July 2017 identified failings in the care system. Shortly after Reed died, a report concluded she was unfit to plead at a trial.<ref>{{cite news |last=Taylor |first=Diane |url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/jul/20/care-failings-contributed-to-death-of-woman-sarah-reed-in-prison-inquest-finds |title=Care failings contributed to death of woman in prison, inquest finds |work=The Guardian |date=20 July 2017 |access-date=13 September 2017 |archive-date=15 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170915081523/https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/jul/20/care-failings-contributed-to-death-of-woman-sarah-reed-in-prison-inquest-finds |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Rebuilding ===
Holloway's Governor Joanna Kelley was promoted to assistant director of prisons (women) in 1966.<ref name="ii" /> In 1967, they began to rebuild Holloway Prison. The previous design had been a "star" design where a single warder could oversee many potentially troublesome prisoners and then act promptly to summon assistance. Kelley felt this was wrong as at the time most women prisoners were not violent. It was her ideas that inspired the redesigned prison based on her experience as governor. The rebuilding was completed in 1977.<ref name=jtimes>{{Cite news |title=Joanna Kelley |language=en |url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/joanna-kelley-lsg6znlt0fl |website=[[The Times]] |access-date=25 June 2020 |issn=0140-0460 |archive-date=28 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200628120742/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/joanna-kelley-lsg6znlt0fl |url-status=live}}</ref> During that time she had become an [[Order of the British Empire|OBE]] in 1973.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Joanna Kelley |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|location=London |language=en-GB |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1427705/Joanna-Kelley.html |date=16 April 2003 |access-date=25 June 2020 |issn=0307-1235 |archive-date=28 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200628052931/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1427705/Joanna-Kelley.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The new design allowed for "family" groups of sixteen prisoners. Her ideas were in the design of the buildings but her ideas were never enacted.<ref name="ii">{{Cite web |date=6 May 2003 |title=Joanna Kelley |url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/joanna-kelley-36506.html |access-date=25 June 2020 |website=The Independent |language=en |archive-date=30 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200630002952/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/joanna-kelley-36506.html |url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:HM Prison Holloway, Camden - geograph.org.uk - 3371012.jpg|thumb|Prison exterior in 2013]]

The redevelopment resulted in the loss of the "grand turreted" gateway to the prison, which had been built in 1851; architectural critic [[Gavin Stamp]] later regretted the loss and said that the climate of opinion at the time was such that the [[The Victorian Society|Victorian Society]] felt unable to object.<ref>{{cite news |title=Victorian genius brought low by bombs and bulldozers |last=Binney |first=Marcus |author-link=Marcus Binney |work=[[The Times]] |date=8 January 2011 |page=93}}</ref>[[File:Holloway Visitors' Centre.JPG|thumb|Holloway [[visitor centre]]]]

=== Use ===
Holloway Prison held female adults and young offenders [[remand (detention)|remanded]] or sentenced by the local courts. Accommodation at the prison was mostly single cells; however, there was also some dormitory accommodation.

Holloway Prison offered both full-time and part-time education to inmates, with courses including skills training workshops, British Industrial Cleaning Science (BICS), gardening, and painting.

There was a family-friendly visitors' centre, run by the [[Prison Advice and Care Trust]] (pact), an independent charity.

=== Closure ===
The then-[[Chancellor of the Exchequer]], [[George Osborne]], announced in his Autumn Statement on 25 November 2015 that the prison would be closed and demolished and the land sold for housing.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/holloway-prison-to-close-and-sold-off-for-housing-a3123396.html |title=Holloway Prison to close and be sold off for housing |work=Evening Standard|location=London |date=26 November 2015 |language=en-GB |access-date=3 April 2016 |archive-date=13 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160413101754/http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/holloway-prison-to-close-and-sold-off-for-housing-a3123396.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="auto"/> It closed in July 2016, with the remaining prisoners being moved to [[HM Prison Downview|HMP Downview]] and [[HM Prison Bronzefield|HMP Bronzefield]], both in Surrey.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-36198743 |title=First prisoners moved to Downview as Holloway closes |publisher=BBC News |language=en-GB |date=3 May 2016 |access-date=21 June 2018 |archive-date=24 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181024145000/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-36198743 |url-status=live}}</ref>

As of September 2017, the prison buildings still stand, with draft proposals for the site including housing, a public open green space, playground, women's centre and a small amount of commercial space.<ref>{{cite press release |title=Have your say on plans for the future of the Holloway Prison site |publisher=Islington Borough Council |date=August 2017}}</ref>

== Notable inmates ==

===Suffragettes===
For decades, British campaigners had argued for [[votes for women]]. It was only when a number of [[suffragist]]s, despairing of change through peaceful means, decided to turn to militant protest that the "[[suffragette]]" was born. These women broke the law in pursuit of their aims, and many were imprisoned at Holloway for their criminal activity. They were not treated as political prisoners, the authorities arguing they were imprisoned for their vandalism, not their opinions. In protest, some went on hunger strike and were force fed<ref name="Holloway Prison closure announced"/> so Holloway has a large symbolic role in the history of women's rights in the UK for those in sympathy with the movement. Suffragettes imprisoned there include [[Emmeline Pankhurst]], [[Emily Davison]], [[Violet Mary Doudney]], [[Katie Edith Gliddon]], [[Isabella Potbury]], [[Evaline Hilda Burkitt]], [[Georgina Fanny Cheffins]], [[Constance Bryer]], [[Florence Tunks]], [[Janie Terrero]], [[Doreen Allen]], [[Bertha Ryland]], [[Katharine Gatty]], [[Charlotte Despard]], [[Janet Boyd]], [[Genie Sheppard]], [[Mary Ann Aldham]], [[Mary Richardson]], [[Muriel Scott|Muriel]] and [[Arabella Scott]], [[Alice Maud Shipley]], [[Katherine Douglas Smith]], [[Dora Montefiore]], [[Christabel Pankhurst]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bl.uk/learning/timeline/item126366.html |title=Christabel Pankhurst |website=bl.uk |access-date=30 May 2015 |archive-date=16 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150516045813/http://www.bl.uk/learning/timeline/item126366.html |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Hanna Sheehy-Skeffington]], [[Emily Townshend|Emily Townsend]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Caroline Townshend |url=https://womanandhersphere.com/tag/caroline-townshend/ |access-date=8 January 2022 |website=Woman and her Sphere |language=en}}</ref> [[Leonora Tyson]], [[Miriam Pratt]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Miriam Pratt |url=https://spartacus-educational.com/Miriam_Pratt.htm |access-date=2023-05-24 |website=Spartacus Educational |language=en}}</ref> [[Ethel Smyth]] and the American [[Alice Paul]]. Detainees later received the [[Holloway brooch]]. In 1912 the anthem of the suffragettes – "[[The March of the Women]]", composed by Ethel Smyth with lyrics by [[Cicely Hamilton]] – was performed there.<ref name='Collis'>{{cite book |last=Collis |first=Louise |title=Impetuous Heart. The story of Ethel Smyth |year=1984 |isbn=0-7183-0543-4}}</ref>

===Irish Republicans===
Holloway held women closely associated with the Irish [[Easter Rebellion]] of 1916 and the women's paramilitary organisation [[Cumann na mBan]]: [[Maud Gonne]], [[Kathleen Clarke]], [[Hanna Sheehy-Skeffington]] and [[Constance Markievicz]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Macardle |first=Dorothy |author-link= |date=1965 |title=The Irish Republic |url= |location=New York |publisher=Farrar, Straus and Giroux |page=258 |isbn=}}</ref>

===Fascists===
During World War II, Holloway was used to detain individuals under [[Defence Regulation 18B]], which allowed the [[internment]] of persons suspected of posing a threat to [[national security]]. Among those held was [[Diana Mosley|Diana Mitford]], who was later joined by her husband, [[Oswald Mosley|Sir Oswald Mosley]], following a personal intervention by the prime minister, [[Winston Churchill]]. The couple was permitted to live together in a cottage within the prison grounds until their release in 1943.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Fraser |first=Emma |date=June 11, 2022 |title=The True Story Behind the Final Season of Peaky Blinders: Who Was the Real Diana Mitford? |url=https://www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/arts-and-culture/a40234019/diana-mitford-true-story-peaky-blinders/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240815191149/https://www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/arts-and-culture/a40234019/diana |archive-date=August 15, 2024 |work=[[Town & Country (magazine)|Town & Country]]}}</ref>

[[Norah Elam]]—previously known as Dacre Fox during her suffragette activism in World War I—was also detained under Regulation 18B in 1940. She had been imprisoned multiple times in 1914 and later became associated with the social circle surrounding the Mosleys during their early internment. After her release, Elam became the only former member of the [[British Union of Fascists]] known to have been granted a visit with Mosley during his detention.<ref name='McPherson & McPherson'>{{cite book |last=McPherson |first=Angela |author2=McPherson, Susan |title=Mosley's Old Suffragette – A Biography of Norah Elam |year=2011 |url=http://www.oldsuffragette.co.uk |isbn=978-1-4466-9967-6| url-status =dead| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20120113154415/http://www.oldsuffragette.co.uk/| archive-date =13 January 2012}}</ref>

[[Fridel Meyer]], a German national who was not affiliated with fascist politics, was likewise interned at Holloway in 1939 under Regulation 18B due to her nationality. She was released after six months following the intervention of barrister [[Norman Birkett, 1st Baron Birkett|Norman Birkett]].<ref name="Eichenmulle 2021">{{cite web |last1=Eichenmuller |first1=Pascale |title=A Little German Girl’ — Fridel Meyer’s attempt to circumnavigate the UK |url=https://www.performanceseakayak.co.uk/Archive/fridel-meyer-uk-circumnavigation/ |website=performanceseakayak.co.uk |publisher=Performance Sea Kayak |access-date=22 December 2022 |date=5 February 2021}}</ref><ref name="Byde 2002">{{cite journal |last1=Byde |first1=Alan |title=Fridel Meyer |journal=The Sea Canoeist Newsletter |date=April-May 2002 |issue=98 |page=18 |url=http://paulcaffyn.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/98aprmay02.pdf |access-date=1 January 2023}}</ref>

===Executions===
[[File:Execution of Sach and Walters 1903.jpg|thumb|150px|right|The double execution of Sach and Walters at Holloway Prison]]Between 1903 and 1955, five [[Capital punishment|judicial executions]] by hanging were carried out at Holloway Prison:
* [[Amelia Sach and Annie Walters]] (3 February 1903)
* [[Edith Thompson and Frederick Bywaters|Edith Thompson]] (9 January 1923)
* [[Styllou Christofi]] (13 December 1954)
* [[Ruth Ellis]] (13 July 1955; last woman to be executed in the United Kingdom)

Following standard practice of the time, the bodies of those executed were buried in [[Unmarked grave|unmarked graves]] within the prison grounds. During a major redevelopment of the prison in 1971, the remains were exhumed. The remains of four of the women—Sach, Walters, Thompson, and Christofi—were reinterred in a shared grave at [[Brookwood Cemetery]] in [[Surrey]]. Ellis was reburied in the churchyard of [[St Mary's Church, Old Amersham|St Mary’s Church]] in [[Amersham]]. In 2018, Edith Thompson’s remains were moved again and reburied in her parents’ grave at the [[City of London Cemetery and Crematorium|City of London Cemetery]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kennedy |first=Maev |date=2015-11-25 |title=Holloway prison closure will be mourned by few |url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/nov/25/holloway-prison-closure-fearsome-reputation |access-date=2025-04-18 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

===Other inmates===
Noteworthy inmates that were held at the original 1852-era prison include [[Oscar Wilde]],<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.timeout.com/london/blog/six-things-you-never-knew-about-holloway-103015 |title=Six things you never knew about Holloway|website=Time Out|first=Flora|last= Tonking|date=31 October 2015|access-date=19 October 2019 |archive-date=19 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191019164742/https://www.timeout.com/london/blog/six-things-you-never-knew-about-holloway-103015 |url-status=live}}</ref> [[William Thomas Stead]], [[Isabella Glyn]], [[F. Digby Hardy]], [[Kitty Byron]], Lady Ida Sitwell, wife of [[George Sitwell|Sir George Sitwell]], and [[Kate Meyrick]] the 'Night Club Queen'.  Robber [[Zoe Progl]] became the first woman to escape over the wall of the prison in 1960.<ref>{{cite news |title=Police Capture 'ZIppy' Zoe Progl |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/447695180/ |access-date=13 December 2021 |work=Latrobe Bulletin (page 1) |agency=Newspapers.com |date=3 September 1960 |language=en |archive-date=13 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211213224009/https://www.newspapers.com/image/447695180/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

More recently it housed, in 1966, [[Moors murders|Moors murder]]ess [[Myra Hindley]]; in 1967, Kim Newell, a Welsh woman who was involved in the Red Mini Murder; also in the late 1960s, [[National Socialist Movement (UK, 1962)|National Socialist supporter]] [[Françoise Dior]], charged with arson against synagogues; in 1977, American Joyce McKinney of the "[[Manacled Mormon case]]"; between 1991 and 1993, [[Michelle and Lisa Taylor]], the sisters convicted of the [[murder of Alison Shaughnessy]] before being controversially released on appeal a year later;<ref>{{cite news|first=Melanie |last=McFadyean|author-link=Melanie McFadyean |title=Exclusive: 'What justice? There is none' – Lisa Taylor, one of the two sisters wrongly imprisoned for the murder of Alison Shaughnessy, talks to Melanie McFadyean |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/exclusive-what-justice-there-is-none-lisa-taylor-one-of-the-two-sisters-wrongly-imprisoned-for-the-murder-of-alison-shaughnessy-talks-to-melanie-mcfadyean-1462711.html |access-date=4 August 2022 |work=The Independent |date=21 August 1993}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=ALISON WAS STABBED, BUT I LOST MY LIFE TOO; Woman cleared of Irish murder tells of her pain. |url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/ALISON+WAS+STABBED%2C+BUT+I+LOST+MY+LIFE+TOO%3B+Woman+cleared+of+Irish...-a082452614 |access-date=4 August 2022 |work=The Free Library |date=3 February 2002}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=O'Mahoney |first1=Bernard |last2=McGovern |first2=Mick |title=The Dream Solution: The Murder of Alison Shaughnessy – and the Fight to Name her killers |date=2001 |publisher=Random House |isbn=9781780574486}}</ref> Sheila Bowler, the music teacher wrongly imprisoned for the murder of her elderly aunt, was detained there before being transferred to [[Bullwood Hall]];<ref>{{cite web |author=Grania Langdon-Down |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/if-i-had-been-sent-back-to-prison-i-would-have-died-1143113.html |title='If I had been sent back to prison, I would have died' – Life & Style |work=The Independent |date=6 February 1998 |access-date=26 December 2012 |archive-date=27 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150727085010/http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/if-i-had-been-sent-back-to-prison-i-would-have-died-1143113.html |url-status=live}}</ref> and in 2002, Maxine Carr, who gave a false alibi for [[Soham murders|Soham murderer]] Ian Huntley. In 2000, [[Dena Thompson]] was also known to have been imprisoned at Holloway for attempted murder, before she was convicted of murdering another victim.<ref>{{cite news |title=Bondage case wife is jailed |url=https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/6791870.bondage-case-wife-is-jailed/ |access-date=26 November 2021 |work=The Argus |date=18 August 2000 |archive-date=26 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211126204351/https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/6791870.bondage-case-wife-is-jailed/ |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Sharon Carr]], Britain's youngest female murderer who killed aged only 12, also spent time at Holloway.<ref name="casemine">{{cite web |title=Carr, R (on the application of) v Secretary of State for Justice [2020] |url=https://www.casemine.com/judgement/uk/5e6f684d2c94e038e9f35f1e# |website=casemine | publisher=England and Wales High Court (Administrative Court) |access-date=21 May 2022 |format=Legal application for Judicial Review |date=11 March 2020}}</ref>

Other inmates included [[Linda Calvey]], [[Chantal McCorkle]], and [[Emma Humphreys]].<ref>For Humphreys, see {{cite news |last1=Mills |first1=Heather |title=Sickening sight of rat-infested jail |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/sickening-sight-of-rat-infested-jail-1526597.html |work=The Independent |date=20 December 1995 |access-date=28 January 2018 |archive-date=4 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171204222910/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/sickening-sight-of-rat-infested-jail-1526597.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2014 disgraced judge and barrister [[Constance Briscoe]] began a 16-month sentence at the prison.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/judge-jails-arrogant-liar-briscoe-for-16-months-92337rn5vwx |title=Judge jails 'arrogant' liar Briscoe for 16 months |last1=Sanderson |first1=David |access-date=3 April 2020 |archive-date=2 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220102205706/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/judge-jails-arrogant-liar-briscoe-for-16-months-92337rn5vwx |url-status=live}}</ref>

== Inspections, inquiries and reports ==
In October 1999, it was announced that healthcare campaigner and [[advice column|agony aunt]] [[Claire Rayner]] had been called in to advise on an improved healthcare provision at Holloway Prison. Rayner's appointment was announced after the introduction of emergency measures at the prison's healthcare unit after various failures.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/466126.stm |title=Prison calls in Claire Rayner |date=5 October 1999 |publisher=[[BBC]] |access-date=18 March 2010 |archive-date=20 August 2003 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030820204814/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/466126.stm |url-status=live}}</ref>

In September 2001, an inspection report from [[His Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons]] claimed that Holloway Prison was failing many of its inmates, mainly due to financial pressures. However, the report stated that the prison had improved in a number of areas, and praised staff working at the jail.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/1567462.stm |title=Inmates 'neglected' in women's prison |date=28 September 2001 |publisher=[[BBC]] |access-date=18 March 2010 |archive-date=17 April 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040417041819/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/1567462.stm |url-status=live}}</ref>

In March 2002, Managers at Holloway were transferred to other prisons following an inquiry by the Prison Service. The inquiry followed a number of allegations from prison staff concerning sexual harassment, bullying and intimidation from managers. The inquiry supported some of these claims.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/1875489.stm |title=Managers moved from women's prison |date=15 March 2002 |publisher=[[BBC]] |access-date=18 March 2010 |archive-date=20 May 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040520093641/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/1875489.stm |url-status=live}}</ref>

An inspection report from in June 2003, stated that conditions had improved at Holloway Prison. However the report criticised levels of hygiene at the jail, as well as the lack of trained staff, and poor safety for inmates.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4391495.stm |title=Women's jail 'still has problems' |date=30 March 2005 |publisher=[[BBC]] |access-date=18 March 2010 |archive-date=10 January 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060110010523/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4391495.stm |url-status=live}}</ref> A further inspection report in September 2008 again criticised safety levels for inmates of Holloway, claiming that bullying and theft were rife at the prison. The report also noted high levels of self-harm and poor mental health among the inmates.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7617712.stm |title=Bullying 'rife' in women's prison |date=15 September 2008 |publisher=[[BBC]] |access-date=18 March 2010 |archive-date=2 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220102205728/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/7617712.stm |url-status=live}}</ref>

A further inspection in 2010 again noted improvements but found that most prisoners said they felt unsafe and that there remained 35 incidents a week of self-harm.<ref>{{cite news |title=Prison life: what Chris Huhne and Vicky Pryce face now |url=http://www.theweek.co.uk/uk-news/pryce-huhne/51916/prison-life-what-chris-huhne-and-vicky-pryce-face-now |newspaper=The Week |date=11 March 2013 |access-date=11 March 2013 |archive-date=14 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130314040407/http://www.theweek.co.uk/uk-news/pryce-huhne/51916/prison-life-what-chris-huhne-and-vicky-pryce-face-now |url-status=live}}</ref> The prison's operational capacity is 501.<ref name="capacity">{{cite web |url=http://www.justice.gov.uk/contacts/prison-finder/holloway |title=Holloway Prison information |date=5 March 2012 |orig-year=operational capacity as of 23 January 2008 |publisher=HM Prison Service/HM Government Ministry Justice |access-date=12 March 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130304230524/http://www.justice.gov.uk/contacts/prison-finder/holloway |archive-date=4 March 2013}}</ref>

===Sarah Reed case===
On 11 January 2016, [[Sarah Reed (prisoner)|Sarah Reed]], an inmate at Holloway, was found dead in her cell. Her family were told by prison staff that she had strangled herself while lying on her bed.<ref>{{cite news |last=Dearden |first=Lizzie |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/sarah-reed-woman-who-had-been-victim-police-brutality-found-dead-prison-cell-a6850881.html |title=Sarah Reed: Woman who had been victim of police brutality found dead in prison cell |work=The Independent |date=3 February 2016 |access-date=23 January 2021 |archive-date=2 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220102205717/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/sarah-reed-woman-who-had-been-victim-of-police-brutality-found-dead-in-prison-cell-a6850881.html |url-status=live}}</ref> For ''[[The Observer]]'', [[Yvonne Roberts]] wrote "Sarah's final days were harrowing. She was hallucinating, chanting, without the medication she had relied on for years, sleepless, complaining a demon punched her awake at night. She was on a basic regime, punishment for what was classed as bad behaviour. In spite of her mental and physical fragility, she was isolated, the cell hatch closed, without hot water, heating or a properly cleaned cell. 'For safety and security' a four-strong 'lockdown' team of prison officers delivered basic care."<ref>{{cite news |last=Roberts |first=Yvonne |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jul/29/i-sleep-at-peace-at-night-because-i-know-i-fought-for-my-daughter-to-the-very-last |title=I sleep at peace at night because I know I fought for my daughter to the very last |work=[[The Observer]] |date=30 July 2017 |access-date=1 December 2020 |archive-date=11 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111091827/https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jul/29/i-sleep-at-peace-at-night-because-i-know-i-fought-for-my-daughter-to-the-very-last |url-status=live}}</ref> Observations of Reed had been cut to only one an hour though she was obviously severely psychotic, had threatened suicide and had [[self harm]]ed.<ref>{{cite news |last=Taylor |first=Diane |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jul/04/sarah-reed-mentally-ill-woman-died-in-cell-after-monitoring-was-reduced-inquest-hears |title=Mentally ill woman died in cell after monitoring was reduced, inquest hears |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=4 July 2017 |access-date=1 December 2020 |archive-date=9 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109031726/https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jul/04/sarah-reed-mentally-ill-woman-died-in-cell-after-monitoring-was-reduced-inquest-hears |url-status=live}}</ref> A prison officer told Reed's mother, "We deal with restraint and maintaining the law. We're not designed to deal with health issues."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Gentleman |first1=Amelia |last2=Gayle |first2=Damien |url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/feb/17/sarah-reeds-mother-deaths-in-custody-holloway-prison-mental-health |title=Sarah Reed's mother: 'My daughter was failed by many and I was ignored' |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=17 February 2016 |access-date=1 December 2020 |archive-date=22 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201122095504/https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/feb/17/sarah-reeds-mother-deaths-in-custody-holloway-prison-mental-health |url-status=live}}</ref>

The jury at her inquest decided that Reed took her own life when the balance of her mind was disturbed, but were unclear whether she had intended to kill herself. They said failure to manage her medication and the failure to complete the fitness to plead assessment in a reasonable time were factors in her death. The jury were also concerned about how Reed was monitored and claimed Reed received inadequate treatment in prison for her distress.<ref name="Gdn20170720">{{cite news |last=Taylor |first=Diane |url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/jul/20/care-failings-contributed-to-death-of-woman-sarah-reed-in-prison-inquest-finds |title=Care failings contributed to death of woman in prison, inquest finds |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=20 July 2017 |access-date=1 December 2020 |archive-date=20 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201120114112/https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/jul/20/care-failings-contributed-to-death-of-woman-sarah-reed-in-prison-inquest-finds |url-status=live}}</ref>

Deborah Coles of [[Inquest (charity)|Inquest]] said: "Sarah Reed was a woman in torment, imprisoned for the sake of two medical assessments to confirm what was resoundingly clear, that she needed specialist care not prison. Her death was a result of multi-agency failures to protect a woman in crisis. Instead of providing her with adequate support, the prison treated her ill mental health as a discipline, control and containment issue."<ref name="Gdn20170720" />

==In popular culture==
{{More citations needed section|date=September 2016}}

=== Film ===
* The 1953 movie, "[[Turn the Key Softly]]" featured Holloway Prison.
*One of the characters in the 1997 Canadian sci-fi/horror movie ''[[Cube (1997 film)|Cube]]'' is named after Holloway Prison.

=== Literature ===
* In [[Elizabeth George]]'s 1994 novel ''[[Playing for the Ashes]]'', a character is expected to be sent to Holloway if convicted.<ref>{{cite book |last1=George |first1=Elizabeth |title=Playing for the Ashes |date=1994 |publisher=Bantam Books |location=New York |isbn=978-0-553-38549-6 |page=674 |edition=trade paperback}}</ref>
* In [[Dorothy L. Sayers]]'s novel ''[[Strong Poison]]'', [[Harriet Vane]] is held in HM Holloway Prison during the trial.
* In Robert Galbraith's 2014 novel "[[The Silkworm]]", Leonora Quine is sent to Holloway to await trial

=== Music ===
* [[Belle and Sebastian]]'s "The Boy with the Arab Strap" draws inspiration from a drive past the prison for the first verse.
* The band [[Bush (British band)|Bush]] wrote a song about the prison called "Personal Holloway," on their album ''[[Razorblade Suitcase]]''.
* [[The Kinks]]' "Holloway Jail" appears on ''[[Muswell Hillbillies]]''.<ref>{{Citation |title=The Kinks – Holloway Jail |url=https://genius.com/The-kinks-holloway-jail-lyrics |language=en |access-date=26 June 2020 |archive-date=3 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200303151235/https://genius.com/The-kinks-holloway-jail-lyrics |url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Marillion]]'s song "Holloway Girl" is on their album ''[[Seasons End]]''.
* [[Million Dead]] have "Holloway Prison Blues" on their album ''[[Harmony No Harmony]]''.
* In [[Potter Payper]]'s 2013 album ''Training day'', it is mentioned his mother attended Holloway prison in the song 'Purple Rain'- "they said my mummy went on holiday, I found out my mummy was in Holloway"

=== Television ===
* In the [[Thames Television]] series ''[[Rumpole Of The Bailey]]'' episode "Rumpole and the Alternative Society," the girl whom Rumpole was defending (until she admitted her guilt to him) was sentenced to three years imprisonment which she served at HM Holloway Prison.
* In the TV series ''[[Upstairs, Downstairs (1971 TV series)|Upstairs, Downstairs]]'', the second-season episode "A Special Mischief" has Elizabeth Bellamy joining a band of suffragettes who go out one night vandalising wealthy homes. Rose, the parlourmaid, follows them; they are apprehended by the police. Rose is mistakenly thought to be a suffragette and is put in a ladies' prison, and Holloway is very much implied. Elizabeth is spared going to jail as her bail is paid for by Julius Karekin, one of the rich men being targeted. Elizabeth and Karekin bail Rose out of prison.<ref>[http://www.updown.org.uk/epguide/s2.htm#spm Updown.org.uk – Upstairs, Downstairs: ''A Special Mischief''] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006072309/http://www.updown.org.uk/epguide/s2.htm#spm |date=6 October 2014 }} Retrieved 30 September 2014</ref>

[[Caitlin Davies]] has written ''Bad Girls'' (published by John Murray), a history of Holloway Prison. The prison closed in July 2016; the site is being redeveloped for housing and a Women's Building as a transformative justice project. Davies was the only journalist granted access to the prison and its archives.{{citation needed|date=May 2019}} Women in prison" Man  Alive BBC Series (1972 Documentary)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.justice.gov.uk/global/contacts/noms/prison-finder/holloway/ Ministry of Justice page on Holloway]
* 'Bad Girls': a History of Holloway Prison [http://www.caitlindavies.co.uk/holloway-prison/]
* 'Rare Birds – Voices of Holloway Prison' [http://www.nataliescott.co.uk/]

{{Prisons in London}}
{{Women's prisons in England}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Prisons in London|Holloway]]
[[Category:1852 establishments in England]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in the London Borough of Islington]]
[[Category:Women's prisons in England|Holloway]]
[[Category:Young offender institutions in England|Holloway]]
[[Category:Women in London]]