HM Prison Holloway

HM Prison Holloway stood in the London Borough of Islington as a closed prison for women and young offenders. Opened in 1852, it began as a mixed-sex prison before becoming female-only in 1903. At its peak it was the largest women’s prison in western Europe until it closed in 2016. The site now forms part of a new housing development called Holloway Park. Before closure, the prison had held generations of women from suffragettes to Irish republicans and wartime detainees. The prison’s history includes the imprisonment of leading suffragettes who broke the law in pursuit of votes for women. Emmeline Pankhurst, Emily Davison and Constance Markievicz were among those held there. Joanna Kelley served as governor from 1959 and introduced reforms such as family groups and therapy for long-term prisoners. The Griffins Society grew from her encouragement and provided support for women after release. In 1991 Thomas Ainsworth became the first male officer posted to the female-only prison. Visitors to the former prison would have found single cells alongside dormitory accommodation. Education workshops offered courses in cleaning science, gardening and painting. A family-friendly visitors’ centre run by Pact provided a place for mothers and children to meet. The prison’s grand turreted gateway, built in 1851, was lost during rebuilding in the 1970s. Today the site is being transformed into nearly a thousand new homes on land once enclosed by the prison walls.