Prison in Lewes in East Sussex, England
His Majesty's Prison Lewes
is a local category B prison located in
Lewes
in
East Sussex
,
England
. The term local means that the prison holds people on
remand
to the local courts, as well as sentenced prisoners. The prison is operated by
His Majesty's Prison Service
.
History
[
edit
]
Facility
[
edit
]
Built in 1791 Lewes Gaol was situated at the corner of North Street and Lancaster Street in
Lewes
. Despite being enlarged in 1818 to hold 70 cells along with a treadmill, the goal had become too small and was replaced by the present day
Victorian
prison in 1853. The gaol was sold to the Admiralty in 1853 to help house PoWs from the
Crimean War
and demolished in 1963.
[1]
Prominent early prisoners
[
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]
An early prisoner at Lewes was
George Witton
, a Lieutenant in the
Bushveldt Carbineers
in the
Boer War
in South Africa. He was imprisoned after being implicated in the shooting
murder
of Boer prisoners. While imprisoned in the UK from 1902, Witton wrote the book "Scapegoats of the Empire". After some time
Winston Churchill
, himself a former prisoner of the Boers during the war, put a number of parliamentary questions to the Colonial Secretary about Witton's ongoing incarceration. The campaign for his release was successful and he was pardoned by
King Edward VII
and freed on 10 August 1904. Witton then returned to Australia where he was welcomed as a hero by then Prime Minister of Australia,
Alfred Deakin
. The 1980 film "
Breaker Morant
" depicts the story of the court-martial and conviction of
Morant
,
Handcock
, and Witton.
During the 1916
Easter Rising
in
Ireland
, several of its prominent figures were held at the prison, including
Eamon de Valera
(1882–1975);
Thomas Ashe
(1885–1917);
Frank Lawless
(1871–1922); and
Harry Boland
(1887–1922).
On 10 April 1852, Sarah Ann French was the last woman to be hanged at the prison, for murdering her husband William French. The murder is known in
East Sussex
as the
Onion Pie Murder
.
[2]
Incidents and conditions
[
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]
In October 2003, an inquiry was launched after 25 to 30 prisoners were involved in a riot that led to property damage and the injury of an officer.
[3]
In February 2008, an inspection report from
Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons
stated that one wing needed to be refurbished urgently after inspectors found that inmates had to eat their meals on toilets. The report also stated that anti-bullying and suicide prevention procedures at the prison were weak. However, inspectors found that vulnerable prisoners felt safe and that the prison was decent overall.
[4]
Two months later a new accommodation block for 174 inmates was opened at the prison, with a commitment from prison management to refurbish older wings at Lewes within the following 12 months.
[5]
On 17 September 2014, a prison officer was hospitalised with facial injuries following an attack involving three inmates who had been told they were going to be searched. This attack was one of 264 separate assaults on staff recorded since 2000.
[6]
On 29 October 2016 a riot lasting six hours caused damage to cells and offices, with prison officers forced to retreat to safety. Mike Rolfe of the
Prison Officers Association
blamed severe staff shortage and poor management. Rolfe said, "There were only four staff on that wing and all four retreated to safety after threats of violence and the prisoners went on the rampage." Two years previously, a serving officer said Lewes Prison "resembled a warzone" due to a severe staff shortage and drug smuggling.
[7]
[8]
This was one of four riots in English prisons within two months, with riots also occurring at
Birmingham
,
Bedford
[9]
and
Swaleside
Prisons.
An inspection of Lewes Prison in 2016 found it held 640 prisoners and was overcrowded.
HM Chief Inspector of Prisons
reported over a quarter of prisoners at Lewes said they felt depressed or suicidal. Not all staff had anti-ligature knives and some, "could not assure us that they would act appropriately in the event of a serious self-harm incident."
[10]
On 28 March 2024, three inmates and three staff were taken to hospital after a suspected poisoning, with a further 10 people being treated at the scene. They quickly fell ill after eating a curry after a
Maundy
service. Ambulances and a
CBRN
incident support unit were sent to the prison at around midday and
Eastbourne District General Hospital
declared a
major incident
. The kitchen, staffed by both civilians and inmates, was locked down for some time before later being reopened after it was 'deemed safe'. The Prison Service said the initial assessment was that it was a 'food-poisoning incident'.
[11]
The prison facilities today
[
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]
HMP Lewes is a category B local prison in the town of
Lewes, East Sussex
. Opened in 1853, the prison has the capacity to hold 742 male inmates. Lewes Prison has held offenders ranging from 570 through to 590 through the courts of Sussex. There was an increase of recall to prison of offenders from police stations across Sussex because of the
COVID-19 pandemic
. (?)
Accommodation at the prison consists mainly of shared cells, with some single accommodation. A wing provides drug and alcohol support for 134 prisoners; B Wing is the Care & Separation Unit or CSU holding 16; C wing has 150 places for sentenced and unconvicted prisoners; F wing is a vulnerable prisoner unit and has 173 places for both unconvicted and convicted sex offenders and others requiring protection; G wing is the First Nights Centre for newly imprisoned / transferred inmates and has units for 23 while K wing is the Integrated Drug Treatment System (IDTS) unit for 22 prisoners. A new house block, Sussex, which accommodates L and M wings respectively was opened at the prison in April 2012. L wing and M wing have 80 and 94 places for sentenced prisoners respectively.
A £1 million healthcare suite opened in the prison in June 2004, with facilities to treat physically ill prisoners and a 19-bed unit for assessing mental health.
[12]
The Health Care Centre currently has space for 9 prisoners.
The prison offers a range of full and part-time education including
information technology
,
literacy
,
numeracy
, and life/social skills, and has weekly library access for all. Additional employment is offered in the prison workshops. The prison has a Listener Scheme for those at risk of
suicide
and
self-harm
.
Notable inmates
[
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]
References
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]
- ^
"Walls of Old Naval Prison, Lewes - 1043758 | Historic England"
.
- ^
"NOSTALGIA: Where many infamous criminals met their end"
.
www.eastbourneherald.co.uk
.
- ^
"Inquiry after prison riot"
.
BBC News
. 8 October 2003
. Retrieved
7 August
2012
.
- ^
"UK | England | Sussex | Jail 'needs urgent refurbishment'
"
. BBC News. 5 February 2008
. Retrieved
7 August
2012
.
- ^
"UK | England | Sussex | Jail gets more space in new block"
. BBC News. 12 April 2008
. Retrieved
7 August
2012
.
- ^
Leo, Ben (19 September 2014).
"Prison officer set upon by three inmates in Lewes Prison is hospitalised"
.
The Argus
. Retrieved
28 March
2024
.
- ^
Forster, Katie (29 October 2016).
"Specialist officers called to control six-hour riot at notorious prison once described as 'worse than Syria'
"
.
The Independent
. Retrieved
28 March
2024
.
- ^
"Lewes Prison 'rampage' forces staff 'retreat'
"
.
BBC News
. 29 October 2016
. Retrieved
28 March
2024
.
- ^
Grierson, Jamie (17 December 2016).
"HMP Birmingham prison rioters will face 'full force of law', says Truss"
.
The Guardian
.
ISSN
0261-3077
. Retrieved
28 March
2024
.
- ^
Investigation launched after two prisoners die within 48 hours at HMP Lewes
The Independent
- ^
Sandford, Daniel; Symonds, Tom; Gupta, Tanya (28 March 2024).
"Lewes Prison: At least 15 ill after suspected poisoning at jail"
.
BBC News
. Retrieved
28 March
2024
.
- ^
"UK | England | Southern Counties | New £1m health suite for prison"
. BBC News. 10 June 2004
. Retrieved
7 August
2012
.
- ^
Hardy, Jack (24 March 2017).
"All the aliases used by the Westminster attacker"
.
The Independent
. Retrieved
24 March
2017
.
- ^
Capital Gay, 23 July 1982
External links
[
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]
Media related to
HMP Lewes
at Wikimedia Commons
50°52′21″N
0°00′21″W
/
50.8725°N 0.0059°W
/
50.8725; -0.0059