HM Prison Wellingborough was a Category C men'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, correc ...

, located in

Wellingborough Wellingborough ( ) is a large market and commuter town in the unitary authority area of North Northamptonshire in the ceremonial county of Northamptonshire, England, 65 miles from London and from Northampton on the north side of the River Nen ...

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

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 previously 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 Wale ...

and was retained as reserve site for use in the event of other prisons being at capacity. HM Prison Five Wells was built on the site of the prison following its demolition in 2019.

History

Opened as a

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 ...

in 1963, Wellingborough continued to hold Young Offenders until 1990, when it was converted to a Category C Training Prison for male adults. In December 2003, an inspection report from

Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons His Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons is the head of HM Inspectorate of Prisons and the senior inspector of prisons, young offender institutions and immigration service detention and removal centres in England and Wales. The current chief insp ...

stated that Wellingborough was not meeting the criteria for its role as a training prison. Inspectors found that only half the prisoners were working or in education, with the other half locked up for extended periods of time. The report also noted that the prison had an out of date

race relations Race relations is a sociological concept that emerged in Chicago in connection with the work of sociologist Robert E. Park and the Chicago race riot of 1919. Race relations designates a paradigm or field in sociology and a legal concept in the ...

policy. However, inspectors also highlighted Wellingborough's good overall safety record, as 80% of inmates reported that they felt safe and 75% reported that staff treated them with respect. Wellingborough was also praised for its induction programme and reception procedures. In July 2004, A missionary from Wellingborough Prison was imprisoned for trying to smuggle

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and brow ...

and

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: ''Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternatively ...

into the jail. The missionary had been a Prison Service-authorised

Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...

leader, licensed by

The Sikh Missionary Society UK The Sikh Missionary Society UK is a British charity (registered number 262404) based in Southall in West London. It was founded in 1969 to support and extend the work of three Sikhs, G.S.Sivia, G.S.Sidhu and Kirpal Singh Rai, working in Kent who ...

to visit prisons to see Sikh inmates. He had attempted to smuggle the drugs into the prison by hiding them in an airmail letter and envelope. On 17 July 2012, UK Justice Secretary

Kenneth Clarke Kenneth Harry Clarke, Baron Clarke of Nottingham, (born 2 July 1940), often known as Ken Clarke, is a British politician who served as Home Secretary from 1992 to 1993 and Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1993 to 1997 as well as serving as de ...

announced that HMP Wellingborough would be closed by the end of the year, claiming it would save the tax payer £10m a year. The prison formally closed on 21 December 2012. At the time prisons minister

Jeremy Wright Sir Jeremy Paul Wright , MP (born 24 October 1972) is a British lawyer and politician who served as Attorney General for England and Wales from 2014 to 2018 and as Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport from 2018 to 2019. A ...

indicated that the site could be used as a prison again in the future. However, in December 2013 the Ministry of Justice instructed a commercial property consultant to make initial assessments of the site for redevelopment in to housing. In June 2014 Jeremy Wright stated in a parliamentary written answer to Wellingborough constituency MP

Peter Bone Peter William Bone (born 19 October 1952) is a British Conservative Party politician who served as Deputy Leader of the House of Commons in 2022. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Wellingborough since 2005. He campaigned for Brexit ...

that Wellingborough Prison would be retained in a mothballed state for reserve capacity. It was confirmed in June 2018 that a new category C prison will be built on the current site. The new category C prison is called HMP Five Wells and is due to open in 2022. It will hold 1680 men and will be operated by G4S. The name of the prison reflects the five wells in the area, which feature in Wellingborough's coat of arms.

References

External links

* DJ Audits
''Is It OK If I Fly My Drone Over This Prison?''
14 January 2022.

External links

Ministry of Justice pages on Wellingborough
{{Prisons in the East Midlands Wellingborough

1963 establishments in England 2012 disestablishments in England