By 1814, the existing Cardiff Gaol was deemed insufficient for coping with both the scale of demand and quality of building to cope with the quickly expanding industrial town, and so proposals were made to build a new county jail for Glamorgan.[1] Construction commenced in 1827, and the new stone building located south of Crockherbtown opened at the end of 1832, capable of housing 80 prisoners, including 20 debtors.[2]
The three Victorian wings of Cardiff Prison underwent a major refurbishment programme in 1996, and the prison’s capacity was extended by the commissioning of three new wings (C, D and E), with the number of places for life-sentenced prisoners increased also.
In 1997 Cardiff Prison was criticised for chaining sick inmates to their hospital beds after a probe into the death of one of Cardiff's prisoners.[3] Three years later one of Cardiff's Assistant Governors was found dead after an investigation into child pornography. The manager had been arrested at the prison days earlier by detectives investigating the alleged misuse of a personal computer.[4]
Cardiff Prison was criticised in 2001 for its cell-share policy in the wake of an inmate's death. Prison officials were advised to carry out full checks on prisoners on their arrival, to prevent violent or even fatal incidents from occurring.[5] A year later the prison was criticised again for its poor record in dealing with drug abuse and providing decent recreation facilities for inmates.[6]
Execution siteEdit
A total of 20 judicial executions took place at Cardiff prison.[citation needed] The condemned prisoners were hanged for the crime of murder. Their names, ages and dates of execution are:
Howard Joseph Grossley, 37 yrs, 5 September 1945 (an AWOL Canadian soldier)[8]
Evan Hadyn Evans, 22 yrs, 3 February 1948
Clifford Wills, 31 yrs, 9 December 1948
Ajit Singh, 27 yrs, 7 May 1952
Mahmood Mattan, 28 yrs, 3 September 1952 (conviction quashed in February 1998)
The remains of executed prisoners were buried in unmarked graves within the prison walls, as was customary. In late 2003, after capital punishment had been abolished in the UK, the remains of Corbett, Roberts, Grossley, Evans, Wills and Singh were exhumed from the prison grounds and reburied elsewhere in order to make space for the construction of a new cell block.[9][10] The precise location of the new cell block is 51°28′47.58″N3°10′04.68″W / 51.4798833°N 3.1679667°W / 51.4798833; -3.1679667.
The remains of Mahmood Mattan (executed in 1952 but cleared of murder in 1998)[11] had previously been exhumed from the same location for reburial in 1996. Mattan is now buried in the Muslim section of Western Cemetery, Cardiff. His tombstone bears the epitaph "Killed by Injustice". After Mattan's conviction was quashed, his widow Laura and three sons (David, Omar and Mervyn) received the sum of £725,000 in compensation from the British Government.[12]
The prison todayEdit
Cardiff Prison accepts male adult prisoners remanded into custody who are drawn predominantly from the surrounding court catchment area of South Wales. In addition Cardiff also houses sentenced Category B and C prisoners.
Cardiff’s regime includes full-time education, employment in the prison workshops, and training courses. There is a resettlement unit that offers prisoners various offending behaviour programmes and work based courses, and a Detoxification Unit accommodating 50 prisoners.
^"Man hanged 45 years ago cleared of murder". BBC News. 25 February 1998.
^"Open verdict on hanged man's son". BBC News. 22 October 2003.
^"Reformed Keith goes back to jail". Daily Mirror. 4 August 1999 – via TheFreeLibrary.com.
External linksEdit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cardiff Prison.
Ministry of Justice pages on HMP Cardiff
HMP Cardiff – HM Inspectorate of Prisons Reports
October 15, 2023
prison, cardiff, this, article, about, current, cardiff, gaol, nineteenth, century, gaol, cardiff, gaol, welsh, carchar, caerdydd, category, prison, located, adamsdown, area, cardiff, wales, prison, operated, majesty, prison, service, locationadamsdown, cardif. This article is about the current Cardiff gaol For the pre nineteenth century gaol see Cardiff Gaol HM Prison Cardiff Welsh Carchar Caerdydd EF is a Category B men s prison located in the Adamsdown area of Cardiff Wales The prison is operated by His Majesty s Prison Service HM Prison CardiffLocationAdamsdown CardiffCoordinates51 28 52 N 3 10 06 W 51 48111 N 3 16833 W 51 48111 3 16833Security classAdult Male Category BPopulation800 as of September 2008 Opened1832Managed byHM Prison ServiceWebsiteCardiff at justice gov uk Contents 1 History 1 1 Execution site 2 The prison today 3 Notable former inmates 4 References 5 External linksHistory EditBy 1814 the existing Cardiff Gaol was deemed insufficient for coping with both the scale of demand and quality of building to cope with the quickly expanding industrial town and so proposals were made to build a new county jail for Glamorgan 1 Construction commenced in 1827 and the new stone building located south of Crockherbtown opened at the end of 1832 capable of housing 80 prisoners including 20 debtors 2 The three Victorian wings of Cardiff Prison underwent a major refurbishment programme in 1996 and the prison s capacity was extended by the commissioning of three new wings C D and E with the number of places for life sentenced prisoners increased also In 1997 Cardiff Prison was criticised for chaining sick inmates to their hospital beds after a probe into the death of one of Cardiff s prisoners 3 Three years later one of Cardiff s Assistant Governors was found dead after an investigation into child pornography The manager had been arrested at the prison days earlier by detectives investigating the alleged misuse of a personal computer 4 Cardiff Prison was criticised in 2001 for its cell share policy in the wake of an inmate s death Prison officials were advised to carry out full checks on prisoners on their arrival to prevent violent or even fatal incidents from occurring 5 A year later the prison was criticised again for its poor record in dealing with drug abuse and providing decent recreation facilities for inmates 6 Execution site Edit A total of 20 judicial executions took place at Cardiff prison citation needed The condemned prisoners were hanged for the crime of murder Their names ages and dates of execution are William Lacey 29 yrs 21 August 1900 Eric Lange 30 yrs 21 December 1904 Rhoda Wills 44 yrs 14 August 1907 female George Stills 30 yrs 13 December 1907 Patrick Collins 24 yrs 30 December 1908 Hugh McLaren 29 yrs 14 August 1913 Edgar Bindon 19 yrs 25 March 1914 Alec Bakerlis 24 yrs 10 April 1917 Thomas Caler 23 yrs 14 April 1920 Lester Hamilton 25 yrs 16 August 1921 George Thomas 26 yrs 9 March 1926 Edward Rowlands 40 yrs 27 January 1928 Daniel Driscoll 34 yrs 27 January 1928 William John Corbett 32 yrs 12 August 1931 7 George Roberts 29 yrs 8 August 1940 Howard Joseph Grossley 37 yrs 5 September 1945 an AWOL Canadian soldier 8 Evan Hadyn Evans 22 yrs 3 February 1948 Clifford Wills 31 yrs 9 December 1948 Ajit Singh 27 yrs 7 May 1952 Mahmood Mattan 28 yrs 3 September 1952 conviction quashed in February 1998 The remains of executed prisoners were buried in unmarked graves within the prison walls as was customary In late 2003 after capital punishment had been abolished in the UK the remains of Corbett Roberts Grossley Evans Wills and Singh were exhumed from the prison grounds and reburied elsewhere in order to make space for the construction of a new cell block 9 10 The precise location of the new cell block is 51 28 47 58 N 3 10 04 68 W 51 4798833 N 3 1679667 W 51 4798833 3 1679667 The remains of Mahmood Mattan executed in 1952 but cleared of murder in 1998 11 had previously been exhumed from the same location for reburial in 1996 Mattan is now buried in the Muslim section of Western Cemetery Cardiff His tombstone bears the epitaph Killed by Injustice After Mattan s conviction was quashed his widow Laura and three sons David Omar and Mervyn received the sum of 725 000 in compensation from the British Government 12 The prison today EditCardiff Prison accepts male adult prisoners remanded into custody who are drawn predominantly from the surrounding court catchment area of South Wales In addition Cardiff also houses sentenced Category B and C prisoners Cardiff s regime includes full time education employment in the prison workshops and training courses There is a resettlement unit that offers prisoners various offending behaviour programmes and work based courses and a Detoxification Unit accommodating 50 prisoners In 1999 the actor Keith Allen played a Probation and Parole officer at the prison in the BBC television series Jack of Hearts 13 Notable former inmates EditJohn StraffenReferences Edit Cardiff GenUKI Retrieved 23 December 2010 Cardiff Welsh Icons Archived from the original on 21 December 2010 Retrieved 23 December 2010 Behind the gate December 2017 Inside Time 29 November 2017 Prison porn probe man found dead BBC News 22 November 2000 Prison told to review cell share policy BBC News 19 July 2001 Prison faces poor drugs record BBC News 8 August 2002 Jones Corbett Murder execution Do I have any living relatives Wales Page 1 RootsChat Com Murder mystery in Porthcawl islandfarm wales Killers bodies to be exhumed at jail BBC News 6 October 2003 Mass Exhumation Specialists Archived from the original on 4 June 2002 Man hanged 45 years ago cleared of murder BBC News 25 February 1998 Open verdict on hanged man s son BBC News 22 October 2003 Reformed Keith goes back to jail Daily Mirror 4 August 1999 via TheFreeLibrary com External links Edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cardiff Prison Ministry of Justice pages on HMP Cardiff HMP Cardiff HM Inspectorate of Prisons Reports Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title HM Prison Cardiff amp oldid 1113916861, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
