Parkhurst is a neighbourhood northwest of the town of Newport,

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

. It has few amenities, but a large residential population. It is notable for housing H.M.P. Isle of Wight, on three sites, formerly three separate prisons: the well-known

Parkhurst Prison HM Prison Parkhurst is a Prison security categories in the United Kingdom, Category B men's prison situated in Parkhurst, Isle of Wight, Parkhurst on the Isle of Wight, operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. Parkhurst prison is one of the two ...

itself, Camp Hill, and Albany. Parkhurst and Albany were once amongst the few top-security prisons in the United Kingdom but were downgraded in the 1990s. A number of well-known criminals were accommodated in the Parkhurst prisons, including

John Duddy John Francis Duddy (born 19 June 1979) is an Irish actor and former professional boxer who fought from 2003 to 2010. He challenged once for the vacant WBC Silver middleweight title, losing in his final fight to Julio César Chávez Jr.

Graham Young Graham Frederick Young (7 September 1947 – 1 August 1990), best known as the Teacup Poisoner and later the St Albans Poisoner, was an English serial killer who used poison to kill his victims. Obsessed with poisons from an early age, Young be ...

, the Yorkshire Ripper

Peter Sutcliffe Peter William Sutcliffe (2 June 1946 – 13 November 2020) was an English serial killer who was dubbed the Yorkshire Ripper (an allusion to Jack the Ripper) by the press. Sutcliffe was convicted of murdering 13 women and attempting t ...

and the Kray twins. The prisons caused the construction during the mid 20th century of housing estates to accommodate prison workers and their families, and much of the area is characterised by these poor-quality estates, now largely in private ownership but still in need of repair. Parkhurst also adjoins

Parkhurst Forest Parkhurst Forest is a woodland to the north-west of Newport, Isle of Wight, England. The site is partly a site of special scientific interest. It consists of ancient woodland, relict heathland and plantation woodland. The woodland is freehold ...

, a large

Forestry Commission The Forestry Commission is a non-ministerial government department responsible for the management of publicly owned forests and the regulation of both public and private forestry in England. The Forestry Commission was previously also respon ...

owned woodland which includes plantation woodland and a large area of

ancient woodland In the United Kingdom, an ancient woodland is a woodland that has existed continuously since 1600 or before in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (or 1750 in Scotland). Planting of woodland was uncommon before those dates, so a wood present in 16 ...

, and is well used by local people for recreation. Parkhurst is situated on the

A3020 road List of A roads in zone 3 in Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island ...

and is served by frequent buses on

Southern Vectis Southern Vectis is a bus operator on the Isle of Wight. The company was founded in 1921 as "Dodson and Campbell" and became the "Vectis Bus Company" in 1923. The company was purchased by the Southern Railway before being nationalised in 1969. ...

route 1.

Notable people

* Clara Rousby, actress, was born here around 1850.

References

Geography of the Isle of Wight Newport, Isle of Wight {{IsleofWight-geo-stub