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Ancestry UK

Norwich Prison / HMP Norwich, Norwich, Norfolk

In 1886-90, new premises for Her Majesty's Prison, Norwich (the former County Gaol at Norwich Castle) were erected on Knox Road, Mousehold Heath, on a site adjoining the Britannia Barracks.

The architect of the scheme was Alten Beamish, the Surveyor of Prisons. His design adopted the 'telegraph pole' layout, then in vogue, with parallel pavilion blocks linked by a covered corridor. This type of layout, also employed at three other new prisons of the period (Bristol, Nottingham and Shrewsbury) was based on that of London's Wormwood Scrubs prison. At Norwich, the main buildings comprised a four-storey male block containing 143 two-man cells, and a 14-cell female block placed parallel to the northern end of the male block. A covered passageway linked the female block to the office/chapel block which projected from the male wing. At the north side of the male wing was a two-storey tread-wheel house with an attached crankhouse. Attached to the male wing was the combined reception and hospital. The kitchen was located between the male and female wings and, in the early 1900s. There were exercise rings in the north-east and north-west corners of the prison. A series of buildings along the north-east side of the prison contained the laundry and workshops.

Over the years, many additions and changes have been made to the buildings. The prison subsequently expanded to incorporate the adjacent Britannia Barracks site and in 1972 some its buildings were converted for use as a Category C prison. More recently, a new wing has been built in the central area of the barracks site. A remand centre and health care centre are located at the south-east of the original prison.

Today, the prison is a a Category B/C prison for adult and juvenile males.

Records

Note: many repositories impose a closure period of up to 100 years for records identifying individuals. Before travelling a long distance, always check that the records you want to consult will be available.

  • Norfolk Record Office, The Archive Centre, Martineau Lane, Norwich NR1 2DQ. Holdings include: Nominal registers of prisoners (1887-1907); Indexes to nominal registers of prisoners (1887-98); Record of prisoners' petitions (1894-1960); Registers of Officers (1882-1906).
  • The National Archives, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 4DU. Has a wide variety of crime and prison records going back to the 1770s, including calendars of prisoners, prison registers and criminal registers.
  • Find My Past has digitized many of the National Archives' prison records, including prisoner-of-war records, plus a variety of local records including Manchester, York and Plymouth. More information.
  • Prison-related records on Ancestry UK include Prison Commission Records, 1770-1951, and local records from London, Swansea, Gloucesterhire and West Yorkshire. More information.
  • The Genealogist also has a number of National Archives' prison records. More information.

Bibliography

  • Prison Oracle - resources those involved in present-day UK prisons.
  • GOV.UK - UK Government's information on sentencing, probation and support for families.

Except where indicated, this page () © Peter Higginbotham. Contents may not be reproduced without permission.