HM Prison Pentonville

HM Prison Pentonville stands on the Caledonian Road in Barnsbury, north London. It is a local Category B men’s prison holding remand prisoners and those serving short sentences. The prison has several wings, including one for vulnerable prisoners and another for neurodiverse inmates. There is an education department, a library and workshops inside. A detoxification unit and a drug-free wing also operate on site. Officers supervise the wings from a central hall that overlooks all four radiating galleries. The prison was designed by Captain Joshua Jebb and opened in 1842. It became the model for fifty-four British prisons and many more across the empire. Pentonville introduced the separate system, keeping prisoners isolated in individual cells. Each cell measured four metres long, two metres wide and three metres high, with a small window and a water closet. Work lasted from six in the morning until seven at night, and food rations included bread, cocoa, soup, meat and potatoes. Visitors find a working prison with wings for different categories of inmates. The central hall remains the control point for the four main wings. The education department and library provide activities for prisoners. The prison cemetery holds the unmarked graves of executed inmates, including Roger Casement and Udham Singh. Reports over the years have criticised overcrowding, vermin and staff shortages. Despite these challenges, the prison continues to operate as a local remand centre.