Abstract
Prior scholarship tracing the origins and architecture of prisons has tended to focus on how and why prisons are built—what they are intended to achieve and their construction as an expression of the punitive philosophies of their age. It does not consider how prisons persist as time passes, perhaps beyond their anticipated operational life span, and into “obsolescence.” Focusing on the archetypal Victorian prison, and considering the alteration and inhabitation of such prisons through time, this article critically reinterprets notions of obsolescence in the built environment and explores an enduring cultural attachment to a particular and arguably archaic material manifestation of punishment.
Highlights
Over a quarter of the custodial population of England and Wales (22,000)1 currently reside in 32 prisons with Victorian-era (1837-1901) accommodation, and since most of these are ‘local’ prisons (holding those awaiting trial or sentencing), few of the remaining 60,000 incarcerated persons will not have spent time in one
Over a quarter of the custodial population of England and Wales (22,000)1 currently reside in 32 prisons with Victorian-era (1837-1901) accommodation, and since most of these are ‘local’ prisons, few of the remaining 60,000 incarcerated persons will not have spent time in one
Public perceptions fueled by the popular media indicate that ‘Dickensian’ prison conditions are regarded as ‘fitting’ punishment for those who break the law. Taking these debates as a starting point, we propose a research agenda, identify gaps in the existing literature, and suggest new ways to think about the implications of the Victorian prison for debates about obsolescence, policy making, and the centrality of a particular image of the prison in contemporary public life, culture, politics and prison design
Summary
Over a quarter of the custodial population of England and Wales (22,000)1 currently reside in 32 prisons with Victorian-era (1837-1901) accommodation, and since most of these are ‘local’ prisons (holding those awaiting trial or sentencing), few of the remaining 60,000 incarcerated persons will not have spent time in one. Second: we provide an initial survey of how the material fabric of the Victorian prison has been changed, adapted, and repurposed over the past 120 years, foregrounding the processes of alteration and inhabitation which have enabled their persistence.
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