… the core working day in a Victorian prison is unlock at around seven, having already been given your breakfast the day before, which is a small packet of cereal, and go to work or education, but you’re back in your cell by half past ten, eleven, for lunch. Then association for thirty minutes. Then the core working day of the afternoon, which stops at four o’clock, if not earlier. Then supper, then bang up so all the staff can go home.
We want to understand what these prisons are like to live and work in, and how has this changed over time. We are examining the ways that these prison buildings carry traces of the past, while operating in the present day.
The project considers how and why these buildings have survived for so long, and asks how we will know when they have reached the end of their operational lives. We consider the significance of the Victorian prison in shaping public and professional ideas of what prison should be like. Crucially, this project explores the implications of the continued operation of Victorian-era prisons for the contemporary prison service, and aims to inform policy development.