HM Prison Bullwood Hall is a former Category C women's

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, corre ...

and

Young Offenders Institution His Majesty's Young Offender Institution (or HMYOI) is a type of prison in Great Britain, intended for offenders aged up to 18, although some prisons cater for younger offenders from ages 15 to 17, who are classed as juvenile offenders. Typically t ...

, located in

Hockley Hockley is a large village and civil parish in Essex in the East of England located between Chelmsford and Southend-on-Sea, or, more specifically, between Rayleigh and Rochford. It came to prominence during the coming of the railway in the 189 ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. The prison was operated by

Her Majesty's Prison Service His Majesty's Prison Service (HMPS) is a part of HM Prison and Probation Service (formerly the National Offender Management Service), which is the part of His Majesty's Government charged with managing most of the prisons within England and Wal ...

History

Bullwood Hall was built in the 1960s originally as a female

borstal A Borstal was a type of youth detention centre in the United Kingdom, several member states of the Commonwealth and the Republic of Ireland. In India, such a detention centre is known as a Borstal school. Borstals were run by HM Prison Service ...

. Over time the prison also began to hold female adult prisoners. In 2002 Bullwood Hall was featured in a series of six 30 minute documentaries titled "The Real Bad Girls". Although the series portrayed the prison in a positive light, a 2005 report condemned Bullwood Hall for still using the practice of

slopping out Slopping out is the manual emptying of human waste when prison cells are unlocked in the morning. Inmates without a flush toilet in the cell have to use other means (formerly a chamber pot, then a bucket, now often a chemical toilet) while locked ...

. A year later the prison was singled out for its high levels of attempted suicides and self-harm amongst inmates. Bullwood Hall continued to serve as a women's prison until 2006, when it was announced that it was to be converted into a Category C male prison, due to a shortage of male prison places. On 10 January 2013 it was announced by the government that Bullwood Hall is one of 7 British prisons to be closed. The prison closed on Thursday 28 March 2013. In November 2015 outline planning proposals were submitted to redevelop the site for residential use, including 60 homes.

Notable former inmates

* Tracie Andrews *

Sharon Carr Sharon Louise Carr (born 1981), also known as "The Devil's Daughter", is a British woman who is Britain's youngest female murderer. In June 1992, aged only 12, she murdered 18-year-old Katie Rackliff after picking her out at random as she walke ...

– Britain's youngest female murderer * Sally Clark * Mary Druhan * Lisa and Michelle Taylor

References

External links

Ministry of Justice on HMP Bullwood HallHMP Bullwood Hall - HM Inspectorate of Prisons Reports
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bullwood Hall (Hm Prison) Prisons in Essex Women's prisons in England 1960s establishments in England 2013 disestablishments in England Defunct prisons in England