HM Prison/Young Offender Institution Portland
HM Prison/Young Offender Institution Portland (HMP/YOI Portland) is a joint adult male category C prison and young offender institution at the Grove. Operated by His Majesty's Prison Service, the prison originally opened in 1848 as an adult convict establishment, when it was known as either Portland Prison or the Portland Convict Establishment. It later became a Borstal Institution in 1921, a Youth Custody Centre in 1983, a Young Offenders Institution in 1988 and lastly a joint Prison/Young Offenders Institution in 2011. It has an operational capacity of 530 prisoners.
History
Establishment and use of adult convict establishment (1848-1921)
Portland Prison originated with the transformation of Portland Roads into a harbour of refuge, with the building of two breakwater arms from 1849, at a time when an increasing naval presence was being seen at Portland. The breakwater scheme had been prompted by fears of a French invasion, the development of Cherbourg Harbour and concerns over the security of the English Channel. In order to provide the necessary labour needed for the construction of the breakwaters, harbour defences and other related government works, a temporary public works prison was announced for Portland in 1846. Most of the convicts incarcerated there would produce stone from the Admiralty Quarries, while others would assist in the construction of the Verne Citadel and other related works.
The prison, originally able to accommodate over 800 convicts, was established on the east side of the island, on former common land purchased by the government. Construction began in January 1848 using the designs of Lieutenant-Colonel Joshua Jebb, the C.B. Surveyor-General of Prisons. Most of the work was undertaken by the builder Mr. Peter Thompson of Limehouse, who hired 1,300 men to erect the prison. However, Thompson later declared bankruptcy in October, after the costs of construction surpassed the government's original grant. As they refused to provide further funding until it gained parliamentary approval, Thompson had no choice but to declare bankruptcy. The government then employed interested labourers from across the country to complete the work.
The new establishment was declared ready for use in November 1848, with the first group of convicts, totalling sixty-four men, arriving aboard the HM steamer Driver on 24 November. Having departed from Gosport, the convicts were landed at Castletown and marched up to the prison. The prison's initial accommodation facilities were made up of two detached cell blocks built of timber and stone, but as construction work was still ongoing, the first convicts were housed in the west cell block. Each block had four large open halls, with four tiers of cells on each side. Cells were small at 7 feet length, 4 feet wide and 7 feet high and separated from one another with corrugated-iron partitions. They had simple furnishings including a hammock, stool, table and shelves.
A number of service buildings were erected at the prison, including an infirmary, offices, kitchen, bakehouse, larder, wash house, laundry, a tailor and shoemaker shop, gas works, water tanks and workshops. In addition, 32 isolation cells were created in a separate building to place convicts "whose conduct is unsatisfactory", while the prison's own Church of England chapel was completed in late 1849. Meanwhile, Grove village developed as a result of the establishment, with many properties being erected along Grove Road to house prison warders and staff, including the governor, deputy governor, chaplain and surgeon. Apart from the main stretch of properties along Grove Road, quarters were established within and around the prison's boundaries, of which some of Alma Cottages (E Quarters) survive today.
All convicts housed at Portland were to "undergo a period of probationary discipline and be employed in the construction of the breakwater prior to their removal to the Australian colonies". After the period of solitary confinement, the convicts were then to undertake hard labour in the quarries. In return for good behaviour, convicts would be given a "Ticket of Leave", which would grant them certain freedoms when they were sent to the Australian colonies, including the ability to seek employment within their designated district. The original prison boundaries had excess space for potential expansion of the prison in the future, should additional labour be required. As work in the quarries progressed, expansion allowed over 1,500 convicts to be incarcerated at Portland by 1853. An east block was erected along with an additional hall to the west of the west cell block. Many of the existing service buildings had to be enlarged and the work was completed in 1857.
The Admiralty Quarries, established in 1849, were extensive, covering land along Grove Road and northwards along East Cliff to Verne Hill. Blocks would be roughly squared, loaded into wagons and transported to the top of the Admiralty Incline Railway, where civilian contractors working on the breakwaters then took responsibility for the wagons, which were weighed and sent down to the harbour. The convicts had a range of tasks in the quarries and quickly acquired valuable skills. Aside from the quarrying, they would dress stone when required, and undertake plant maintenance. A stone yard was established north of the prison along with the Admiralty workshops. Over the course of the breakwater's construction, an estimated six million tons of stone was used, most of which came from the quarries.
The establishment of the prison and the quarries soon attracted visitors from across the country, who would watch the convicts at work. Along Grove Road, a number of residents opened tea rooms and cafes in the upstairs of their houses. Many popular postcards were also printed featuring the convicts. In the 1912 preface to his 1892 novel The Well-Beloved, writer Thomas Hardy noted the convict prison and its attraction to visitors: "...the retreat, at their country's expense, of other geniuses from a distance."
Portland Prison had harsh conditions inside and many unsuccessful escapes were attempted. Assaults on warders were seen on occasion and three murdered between 1862 and 1870, with all three convicts being executed as a result. During the 1860s, the prison started accommodating category-one Irish convicts of the Fenian Brotherhood. One of these convicts, Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa, made numerous attempts to make the public aware of the conditions the prison imposed on him and his fellow Fenians. In 1869, the government announced that the prison would become a permanent establishment, and despite local petitions, the prison remained.
After the completion of the harbour's original two breakwater arms in 1872, the Admiralty Quarries continued use on a smaller scale as part of the convict's daily labour routine. Between 1870-72, convicts constructed St. Peter's Church and the Prison Officers' School, just outside the prison. Portland Harbour was completely enclosed with two further breakwater arms built between 1896-1905, which again saw some use of convict labour in the quarries. The prison's original stone yard was replaced by a new yard north of Grove Road in the 1890s, while the original yard went on to contain the officers' quarters known as F and G Quarters. Later expansion in the 1910s/20s saw further quarters, H to M, added in this area. All quarters were later demolished in the mid-1970s.
With the prison facing declining convict numbers as the end of the 19th century approached, the government considered closing the establishment around 1897-98. Although the plans never came to fruition, the intention was to hand the prison over to the War Office for transformation into military barracks. By the 1900s, the prison was accommodating around 748 prisoners, which included the famous inmate John Babbacombe Lee, a murderer from Devon, who cheated death three times in a defective hangman's noose. He spent more than 20 years in Portland Prison and was released in 1907.
Portland's prison underwent a major rebuilding programme from 1895 to 1911, with new, permanent stone buildings being erected. The original west block was rebuilt between 1896-06 and the east block between 1906-11.
Transformation into and use as a Borstal Institution (1921-83)
In February 1921, the government announced that Portland Prison would be converted into a Borstal Institution. At the time, juvenile crimes were on the increase and Britain's existing four Borstals were at maximum capacity. The Portland establishment's population by this point was only an approximate 250 convicts and these were relocated to Dartmoor and Parkhurst in September. Labour in the quarries came to an end as such work was deemed unsuitable for the 16-21 year old boys.
The first group of boys arrived at Portland by train on 22 August 1921 and the Borstal was officially declared open two days later, thus marking the beginning of the prison's use as His Majesty's Borstal Institution, Portland. However, the introduction of a Borstal to Portland brought its own problems to the local area as regular escape attempts quickly became a frequent occurrence, with some resulting in the breaking and entering of local properties, and burglary. After only two months of being opened, the Borstal saw six escape attempts, one suicide and one attempted suicide. Amid calls for an inquiry into the Borstal's operation, an inspection carried out in November by the Home Secretary Edward Shortt, and the Under-Secretary for the Home Department, Sir John Baird, found the Borstal "satisfactory" and "properly conducted".
The normal routine at the Borstal was an early morning exercise, followed by labour in the workshops, the prison farm or at various institutional jobs. School, gym classes, or recreation time took place during the evening. The institution used a house system to develop team spirit and healthy competition. New arrivals at the Borstal were dressed in brown, but after a period of good conduct, they had the ability to earn the right to wear blue clothing and receive additional privileges. In 1927, the institution had a recorded daily average population of 416.
During the 1920s-30s, much of the prison's conversion work was undertaken by the boys themselves under the command of skilled instructors. The bottom two levels of each cell block saw all cells removed to make way for dining halls, recreation rooms, classrooms and offices. The first house to be completed, named Nelson, was officially opened in August 1927 by Alexander Paterson, the HM Commissioner of Prisons. A contemporary report noted the ongoing effort to "convert Portland into an educational and training establishment" and to "eliminate all associations of its forbidding past". Five houses within the two primary cell blocks would be created: Nelson and Grenville in the east block, and Raleigh, Drake and Benbow in the west block. The former prison infirmary, which was rebuilt in 1872-74, would become Rodney House. One of the houses was opened in August 1929 by Anthony Ashley-Cooper, the 9th Earl of Shaftesbury, while Alexander Maxwell, the chairman of the Prison Commission, opened Raleigh in July 1932.
As sports was also an important part of the boys' regime, outdoor facilities and playing grounds were created for this purpose. New sport facilities were introduced during the early years of the institution: in 1926, swimming baths were opened at the former Folly Pier Waterworks, while an abandoned pit within the former Admiralty Quarries was transformed by Borstal boys into a stadium between 1931-36.
The Borstal saw some bomb damage during World War II as Portland's naval base became a primary target for German air raids. Between 1940-44, the island was the target of 48 attacks, in which 532 bombs were dropped. On 15 August 1940, a raid saw Rodney House receive a direct hit, killing four boys and leaving others severely injured. Another raid on 15 April 1941 saw the destruction of the gymnasium, which was formerly the prison chapel, along with the chaplain's house.
Meanwhile, regular escape attempts continued into the late 20th century. On more than one occasion, Portland Urban District Council felt obliged to urge the institution to review its existing supervisory and disciplinary procedures. A former councillor, Gunner C. Smith, commented in a letter to the council in 1942: "...boys [are] frequently at large to break into our homes, alarm our women folk, and help themselves to food and such civilian property as will aid them to escape from the Island." In addition, some local residents raised resentment over the Home Office's refusal to provide financial compensation for stolen possessions and damaged property. That year, the council requested the Home Office launch an inquiry into the Borstal's management, but this was refused, as was the request for compensation. Further calls for compensation were made by the council from 1945, alongside the "grave concern at the ease and frequency with which inmates are able to abscond".
In 1949, the daily average population at the institution was approximately 300, split across five houses. Later on 24 November 1965, Borstal officer Derek Lambert was murdered by Roger Keith Maxwell, one of the boys at the institution. Lambert was supervising a working party of eight boys outside of the Borstal walls when Maxwell, intending to escape with a fellow inmate, struck the officer's head with an iron bar. Lambert was taken to Weymouth & District Hospital but died the following morning, while the two escapees were caught on 26 November at Three Yards Close. The incident was the first murder of a prison officer in England and Wales since 1923, and Maxwell received a life sentence in 1966.
A period of development was seen at the Borstal during the 1960s and into the 1980s. The original Rodney House was demolished and a newly-built block opened under the same name in 1967. Other major works included a new gatehouse, kitchen and administration block, along with an induction wing, known as Hardy House, which opened in 1974.
Use a Young Offenders Institution (1988-2011)
The UK borstal system was abolished by the Criminal Justice Act 1982, resulting in Portland's establishment becoming a Youth Custody Centre in 1983. The centre was re-rolled as a Young Offenders Institution in 1988, holding up to 519 young males aged 18 to 21. A wide range of vocational training was made available to the young offenders, including courses in construction and mechanics.
In 2009, the prison was the setting for Ian Wright's television series Football Behind Bars. The show was based on Wright's work to transform the lives of twenty four young offenders by organising them in a football academy. The series ran for six episodes and aired weekly from 7 September to 12 October. With the assistance of the prison, a community project was completed in 2010 to restore the Governor's Community Garden opposite the original prison gatehouse and open it to the public.
Use as an Adult/Young Offenders establishment (2011-)
The prison's role changed again in April 2011 when it became a joint Adult Establishment/Young Offenders Institution. During this period, refurbishment and alteration work was carried out at the prison. Both Rodney and Hardy Houses were demolished in 2012 and new house blocks erected in their place. Today the prison has seven house blocks: Benbow, Raleigh, Nelson, Grenville, Drake, Beaufort and the induction unit Collingwood. Both Nelson and Grenville are young offender wings, while Benbow, Raleigh and Drake holds a mixture of adult prisoners and young offenders.
In late 2013, it was announced that the prison would also serve as a resettlement prison, succeeding the then-closed HM Prison Dorchester in the role. Following the transformation of HM Prison The Verne into an Immigration Removal Centre in 2014, the on-site Jailhouse Cafe sourced prisoners from HMP/YOI Portland. The cafe aims to reduce re-offending by providing prisoners with work experience. In 2019, HMP/YOI Portland was recorded as holding 492 prisoners, with almost two-thirds of the population being under the age of 30.
Grade listed features
Various features of the prison and the surrounding area have since become listed buildings and monuments. For a list of prison-related features within Grove, please see the Grade listed features section on that page, which includes boundary walls and important buildings connected to the prison.
Grove Prison Museum
In 2014, the Grove Prison Museum was opened on the ground floor of the former deputy governor's residence, opposite the prison's entrance. It was established by the retired prison officers John Hutton, Steve Ashford and Chris Hunt. Following its opening in March, an official opening ceremony took place with South Dorset MP Richard Drax on 7 March 2014.
References
The following is an A-Z list of references for this page.
1) Ancestry.com - Genealogy - Portland Year Book 1905 - The Convict Prison - Paul Benyon - website page
2) Do You Remember? - Portland's War - Part 2 - Sept. 1940 to Sept. 1941 - An Island Time Publication - Amusement World - page 17 - book
3) Dorset Echo - numerous articles from the online archive - website page
4) Dorset Life - The Dorset Magazine - Danger UXB – Portland’s World War 2 Unexploded Bomb - Roger Mutch - website page
5) English Prisons: An Architectural History - Allan Brodie, Jane Croom and James O. Davies - English Heritage - 2002 - ISBN: 978-1873592533 - book
6) Exploring Portland - East Weares Rifle Range and Portland Waterworks - Geoff Kirby - website page
7) Google Books - various contemporary prison reports - website page
8) Historic England - The National Heritage List for England - various entries for Portland - website page
9) Internet Movie Database (IMDB) - Football Behind Bars (TV Series 2009-) - website page
10) Isle of Portland Official Guide - Portland Urban District Council - Ed. J. Burrow & Co. Ltd, Chelternham and London - circa 1955 - book
11) Ministry of Justice (justice.gov.uk) - HM Prison Service - Portland Young Offender Institution information - website page
12) Portland Picture Archive - Grove Prison and Borstal - Geoff Kirby - website page
13) Portland Prison Illustrated - D. R. G. Legg - Sprint Signs and Graphics, Weymouth - 2000 - book
14) The British Newspaper Archive - various contemporary newspaper articles - website page
History
Establishment and use of adult convict establishment (1848-1921)
Portland Prison originated with the transformation of Portland Roads into a harbour of refuge, with the building of two breakwater arms from 1849, at a time when an increasing naval presence was being seen at Portland. The breakwater scheme had been prompted by fears of a French invasion, the development of Cherbourg Harbour and concerns over the security of the English Channel. In order to provide the necessary labour needed for the construction of the breakwaters, harbour defences and other related government works, a temporary public works prison was announced for Portland in 1846. Most of the convicts incarcerated there would produce stone from the Admiralty Quarries, while others would assist in the construction of the Verne Citadel and other related works.
The prison, originally able to accommodate over 800 convicts, was established on the east side of the island, on former common land purchased by the government. Construction began in January 1848 using the designs of Lieutenant-Colonel Joshua Jebb, the C.B. Surveyor-General of Prisons. Most of the work was undertaken by the builder Mr. Peter Thompson of Limehouse, who hired 1,300 men to erect the prison. However, Thompson later declared bankruptcy in October, after the costs of construction surpassed the government's original grant. As they refused to provide further funding until it gained parliamentary approval, Thompson had no choice but to declare bankruptcy. The government then employed interested labourers from across the country to complete the work.
The new establishment was declared ready for use in November 1848, with the first group of convicts, totalling sixty-four men, arriving aboard the HM steamer Driver on 24 November. Having departed from Gosport, the convicts were landed at Castletown and marched up to the prison. The prison's initial accommodation facilities were made up of two detached cell blocks built of timber and stone, but as construction work was still ongoing, the first convicts were housed in the west cell block. Each block had four large open halls, with four tiers of cells on each side. Cells were small at 7 feet length, 4 feet wide and 7 feet high and separated from one another with corrugated-iron partitions. They had simple furnishings including a hammock, stool, table and shelves.
A number of service buildings were erected at the prison, including an infirmary, offices, kitchen, bakehouse, larder, wash house, laundry, a tailor and shoemaker shop, gas works, water tanks and workshops. In addition, 32 isolation cells were created in a separate building to place convicts "whose conduct is unsatisfactory", while the prison's own Church of England chapel was completed in late 1849. Meanwhile, Grove village developed as a result of the establishment, with many properties being erected along Grove Road to house prison warders and staff, including the governor, deputy governor, chaplain and surgeon. Apart from the main stretch of properties along Grove Road, quarters were established within and around the prison's boundaries, of which some of Alma Cottages (E Quarters) survive today.
All convicts housed at Portland were to "undergo a period of probationary discipline and be employed in the construction of the breakwater prior to their removal to the Australian colonies". After the period of solitary confinement, the convicts were then to undertake hard labour in the quarries. In return for good behaviour, convicts would be given a "Ticket of Leave", which would grant them certain freedoms when they were sent to the Australian colonies, including the ability to seek employment within their designated district. The original prison boundaries had excess space for potential expansion of the prison in the future, should additional labour be required. As work in the quarries progressed, expansion allowed over 1,500 convicts to be incarcerated at Portland by 1853. An east block was erected along with an additional hall to the west of the west cell block. Many of the existing service buildings had to be enlarged and the work was completed in 1857.
The Admiralty Quarries, established in 1849, were extensive, covering land along Grove Road and northwards along East Cliff to Verne Hill. Blocks would be roughly squared, loaded into wagons and transported to the top of the Admiralty Incline Railway, where civilian contractors working on the breakwaters then took responsibility for the wagons, which were weighed and sent down to the harbour. The convicts had a range of tasks in the quarries and quickly acquired valuable skills. Aside from the quarrying, they would dress stone when required, and undertake plant maintenance. A stone yard was established north of the prison along with the Admiralty workshops. Over the course of the breakwater's construction, an estimated six million tons of stone was used, most of which came from the quarries.
The establishment of the prison and the quarries soon attracted visitors from across the country, who would watch the convicts at work. Along Grove Road, a number of residents opened tea rooms and cafes in the upstairs of their houses. Many popular postcards were also printed featuring the convicts. In the 1912 preface to his 1892 novel The Well-Beloved, writer Thomas Hardy noted the convict prison and its attraction to visitors: "...the retreat, at their country's expense, of other geniuses from a distance."
Portland Prison had harsh conditions inside and many unsuccessful escapes were attempted. Assaults on warders were seen on occasion and three murdered between 1862 and 1870, with all three convicts being executed as a result. During the 1860s, the prison started accommodating category-one Irish convicts of the Fenian Brotherhood. One of these convicts, Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa, made numerous attempts to make the public aware of the conditions the prison imposed on him and his fellow Fenians. In 1869, the government announced that the prison would become a permanent establishment, and despite local petitions, the prison remained.
After the completion of the harbour's original two breakwater arms in 1872, the Admiralty Quarries continued use on a smaller scale as part of the convict's daily labour routine. Between 1870-72, convicts constructed St. Peter's Church and the Prison Officers' School, just outside the prison. Portland Harbour was completely enclosed with two further breakwater arms built between 1896-1905, which again saw some use of convict labour in the quarries. The prison's original stone yard was replaced by a new yard north of Grove Road in the 1890s, while the original yard went on to contain the officers' quarters known as F and G Quarters. Later expansion in the 1910s/20s saw further quarters, H to M, added in this area. All quarters were later demolished in the mid-1970s.
With the prison facing declining convict numbers as the end of the 19th century approached, the government considered closing the establishment around 1897-98. Although the plans never came to fruition, the intention was to hand the prison over to the War Office for transformation into military barracks. By the 1900s, the prison was accommodating around 748 prisoners, which included the famous inmate John Babbacombe Lee, a murderer from Devon, who cheated death three times in a defective hangman's noose. He spent more than 20 years in Portland Prison and was released in 1907.
Portland's prison underwent a major rebuilding programme from 1895 to 1911, with new, permanent stone buildings being erected. The original west block was rebuilt between 1896-06 and the east block between 1906-11.
Transformation into and use as a Borstal Institution (1921-83)
In February 1921, the government announced that Portland Prison would be converted into a Borstal Institution. At the time, juvenile crimes were on the increase and Britain's existing four Borstals were at maximum capacity. The Portland establishment's population by this point was only an approximate 250 convicts and these were relocated to Dartmoor and Parkhurst in September. Labour in the quarries came to an end as such work was deemed unsuitable for the 16-21 year old boys.
The first group of boys arrived at Portland by train on 22 August 1921 and the Borstal was officially declared open two days later, thus marking the beginning of the prison's use as His Majesty's Borstal Institution, Portland. However, the introduction of a Borstal to Portland brought its own problems to the local area as regular escape attempts quickly became a frequent occurrence, with some resulting in the breaking and entering of local properties, and burglary. After only two months of being opened, the Borstal saw six escape attempts, one suicide and one attempted suicide. Amid calls for an inquiry into the Borstal's operation, an inspection carried out in November by the Home Secretary Edward Shortt, and the Under-Secretary for the Home Department, Sir John Baird, found the Borstal "satisfactory" and "properly conducted".
The normal routine at the Borstal was an early morning exercise, followed by labour in the workshops, the prison farm or at various institutional jobs. School, gym classes, or recreation time took place during the evening. The institution used a house system to develop team spirit and healthy competition. New arrivals at the Borstal were dressed in brown, but after a period of good conduct, they had the ability to earn the right to wear blue clothing and receive additional privileges. In 1927, the institution had a recorded daily average population of 416.
During the 1920s-30s, much of the prison's conversion work was undertaken by the boys themselves under the command of skilled instructors. The bottom two levels of each cell block saw all cells removed to make way for dining halls, recreation rooms, classrooms and offices. The first house to be completed, named Nelson, was officially opened in August 1927 by Alexander Paterson, the HM Commissioner of Prisons. A contemporary report noted the ongoing effort to "convert Portland into an educational and training establishment" and to "eliminate all associations of its forbidding past". Five houses within the two primary cell blocks would be created: Nelson and Grenville in the east block, and Raleigh, Drake and Benbow in the west block. The former prison infirmary, which was rebuilt in 1872-74, would become Rodney House. One of the houses was opened in August 1929 by Anthony Ashley-Cooper, the 9th Earl of Shaftesbury, while Alexander Maxwell, the chairman of the Prison Commission, opened Raleigh in July 1932.
As sports was also an important part of the boys' regime, outdoor facilities and playing grounds were created for this purpose. New sport facilities were introduced during the early years of the institution: in 1926, swimming baths were opened at the former Folly Pier Waterworks, while an abandoned pit within the former Admiralty Quarries was transformed by Borstal boys into a stadium between 1931-36.
The Borstal saw some bomb damage during World War II as Portland's naval base became a primary target for German air raids. Between 1940-44, the island was the target of 48 attacks, in which 532 bombs were dropped. On 15 August 1940, a raid saw Rodney House receive a direct hit, killing four boys and leaving others severely injured. Another raid on 15 April 1941 saw the destruction of the gymnasium, which was formerly the prison chapel, along with the chaplain's house.
Meanwhile, regular escape attempts continued into the late 20th century. On more than one occasion, Portland Urban District Council felt obliged to urge the institution to review its existing supervisory and disciplinary procedures. A former councillor, Gunner C. Smith, commented in a letter to the council in 1942: "...boys [are] frequently at large to break into our homes, alarm our women folk, and help themselves to food and such civilian property as will aid them to escape from the Island." In addition, some local residents raised resentment over the Home Office's refusal to provide financial compensation for stolen possessions and damaged property. That year, the council requested the Home Office launch an inquiry into the Borstal's management, but this was refused, as was the request for compensation. Further calls for compensation were made by the council from 1945, alongside the "grave concern at the ease and frequency with which inmates are able to abscond".
In 1949, the daily average population at the institution was approximately 300, split across five houses. Later on 24 November 1965, Borstal officer Derek Lambert was murdered by Roger Keith Maxwell, one of the boys at the institution. Lambert was supervising a working party of eight boys outside of the Borstal walls when Maxwell, intending to escape with a fellow inmate, struck the officer's head with an iron bar. Lambert was taken to Weymouth & District Hospital but died the following morning, while the two escapees were caught on 26 November at Three Yards Close. The incident was the first murder of a prison officer in England and Wales since 1923, and Maxwell received a life sentence in 1966.
A period of development was seen at the Borstal during the 1960s and into the 1980s. The original Rodney House was demolished and a newly-built block opened under the same name in 1967. Other major works included a new gatehouse, kitchen and administration block, along with an induction wing, known as Hardy House, which opened in 1974.
Use a Young Offenders Institution (1988-2011)
The UK borstal system was abolished by the Criminal Justice Act 1982, resulting in Portland's establishment becoming a Youth Custody Centre in 1983. The centre was re-rolled as a Young Offenders Institution in 1988, holding up to 519 young males aged 18 to 21. A wide range of vocational training was made available to the young offenders, including courses in construction and mechanics.
In 2009, the prison was the setting for Ian Wright's television series Football Behind Bars. The show was based on Wright's work to transform the lives of twenty four young offenders by organising them in a football academy. The series ran for six episodes and aired weekly from 7 September to 12 October. With the assistance of the prison, a community project was completed in 2010 to restore the Governor's Community Garden opposite the original prison gatehouse and open it to the public.
Use as an Adult/Young Offenders establishment (2011-)
The prison's role changed again in April 2011 when it became a joint Adult Establishment/Young Offenders Institution. During this period, refurbishment and alteration work was carried out at the prison. Both Rodney and Hardy Houses were demolished in 2012 and new house blocks erected in their place. Today the prison has seven house blocks: Benbow, Raleigh, Nelson, Grenville, Drake, Beaufort and the induction unit Collingwood. Both Nelson and Grenville are young offender wings, while Benbow, Raleigh and Drake holds a mixture of adult prisoners and young offenders.
In late 2013, it was announced that the prison would also serve as a resettlement prison, succeeding the then-closed HM Prison Dorchester in the role. Following the transformation of HM Prison The Verne into an Immigration Removal Centre in 2014, the on-site Jailhouse Cafe sourced prisoners from HMP/YOI Portland. The cafe aims to reduce re-offending by providing prisoners with work experience. In 2019, HMP/YOI Portland was recorded as holding 492 prisoners, with almost two-thirds of the population being under the age of 30.
Grade listed features
Various features of the prison and the surrounding area have since become listed buildings and monuments. For a list of prison-related features within Grove, please see the Grade listed features section on that page, which includes boundary walls and important buildings connected to the prison.
- Prison gatehouse, with VR letter box - Grade II listed since September 1978. The original gatehouse of the prison, dated 1848 and featuring the Royal Arms. A surviving Victorian letter box still remains in use on the left inside arch.
- Prison north and east boundary walls - Grade II listed since May 1993. Largely dating from 1848 too, the north and eastern prison boundary walls are made up of three sections, beginning from the north-west corner. The original wall within the south-east area suffered major damage from air raids during World War II and these sections have since been replaced by late 20th century enclosings. Historic England describes the walls as a "significant as part of the overall ensemble of Victorian prison buildings which they enclose".
- Prison west boundary wall - Grade II listed since May 1993. A boundary wall of 1848, running along Grove Road and enclosing the west side of the prison. Described by Historic England as a "very lofty enclosing wall", which is a "significant visual element of this street" alongside other listed walls further north.
- East cell block - Grade II listed since May 1993. Consists of the Grenville and Nelson wings, and described by Historic England as having a "characteristically bold design" and "carried out in very splendid masonry".
- West cell block - Grade II listed since May 1993. Consists of the Raleigh, Drake and Benbow wings. Also described by Historic England as having a "characteristically bold design" and "carried out in very splendid masonry".
- E Hall - Grade II listed since May 1993. A cell block with the attached punishment block dating from the original prison.
- Overseer's Hut with inclines - Grade II listed since May 1993. A small building "set into ground slope to south, and facing north opposite entry through north boundary wall". The hut was provided "for overseeing activities by prisoners entering and leaving by the doorway central to the north wall".
Grove Prison Museum
In 2014, the Grove Prison Museum was opened on the ground floor of the former deputy governor's residence, opposite the prison's entrance. It was established by the retired prison officers John Hutton, Steve Ashford and Chris Hunt. Following its opening in March, an official opening ceremony took place with South Dorset MP Richard Drax on 7 March 2014.
References
The following is an A-Z list of references for this page.
1) Ancestry.com - Genealogy - Portland Year Book 1905 - The Convict Prison - Paul Benyon - website page
2) Do You Remember? - Portland's War - Part 2 - Sept. 1940 to Sept. 1941 - An Island Time Publication - Amusement World - page 17 - book
3) Dorset Echo - numerous articles from the online archive - website page
4) Dorset Life - The Dorset Magazine - Danger UXB – Portland’s World War 2 Unexploded Bomb - Roger Mutch - website page
5) English Prisons: An Architectural History - Allan Brodie, Jane Croom and James O. Davies - English Heritage - 2002 - ISBN: 978-1873592533 - book
6) Exploring Portland - East Weares Rifle Range and Portland Waterworks - Geoff Kirby - website page
7) Google Books - various contemporary prison reports - website page
8) Historic England - The National Heritage List for England - various entries for Portland - website page
9) Internet Movie Database (IMDB) - Football Behind Bars (TV Series 2009-) - website page
10) Isle of Portland Official Guide - Portland Urban District Council - Ed. J. Burrow & Co. Ltd, Chelternham and London - circa 1955 - book
11) Ministry of Justice (justice.gov.uk) - HM Prison Service - Portland Young Offender Institution information - website page
12) Portland Picture Archive - Grove Prison and Borstal - Geoff Kirby - website page
13) Portland Prison Illustrated - D. R. G. Legg - Sprint Signs and Graphics, Weymouth - 2000 - book
14) The British Newspaper Archive - various contemporary newspaper articles - website page
Gallery
These images can be enlarged by clicking on them. Some images have information attached to them, and to view this you can either enlarge the image or hover the mouse over each thumbnail.
Historical photographs
1850 plan of Portland Prison
The layout of Portland Prison in 1850, based on a plan that appeared in Lieutenant-Colonel Jebb's "Report on the discipline and construction of Portland Prison". The plan can be enlarged by clicking on it.
