Rebuilding Holloway Prison at Epping

Rebuilding Holloway Prison at Epping

London's Holloway Prison is being moved to Epping it was announced this week. The jail is being closed to women and "taken over" by men.

It is planned to build a prison for 250 women near Hill Hall open prison, Theydon Mount, later this year.

The Home Office said on Wednesday that plans for the jail were still on the design board. No date can be given for when the building will commence. "But it will be soon," the spokesman added.

It is understood the new prison will work separately from Hill Hall, which at present is surrounded by agricultural land.

It is believed it will be one of the biggest women's jails in England.

Pentonville prison inmates have been visiting Epping on day-release from London for some years to work in the fields near Hill Hall.

Concern

The Home Office plans are aimost certain to create concern among local residents.

Three years ago, a public inquiry was held to hear objections to the same scheme, then planed to be built at Thornwood.

The Thornwood plan was to have the prison sited at the Army camp in the village.

The Theydon Mount proposal is a further attempt to take pressure away from existing security-built women's prisons. A West Essex Divisional Executive spokesman this week spotlighted a problem that had been raised previously when it had been suggested a prison should be built in the area.

School

He agreed that there had at one time been concern that the prison officer's children might create overcrowding problems in the new Coopersale school, programmed in 1967-68.

"But," said the spokesman, "the school is being built to accommodate 280 children - taking into account the population expansion expected in Epping over future years.

There should, therefore be no problem of the school being inadequate to accommodate an influx of children from the prison."

Taken from an article that appeared in the West Essex Gazette, January 7th, 1966.

The rest they say is history!