Exploring London's Abandoned Prison - HMP Holloway

[@janicecopeland9083]

The amount of abandonment worldwide is astounding. Great video.

[@Urbandoned]

Thank you

[@HackneyShark]

I used to walk past it every day on my way to Holloway Boys School. Fascinating seeing the inside.

[@ifurgnadoit]

Hi, I worked as a contractor maintaining the fire alarms here 2004-2012. Not full time, only when the prison required us to visit. One job was looking for a damaged cable which I located outside the sports hall. We had to replace the cable whilst the inmates were carrying on as normal, this wasn’t easy with tools etc! We had an escort who would count our tools against a list that was made before entering the prison. This was always interesting if a miscount occurred followed by a successful recount! You can see the cables we installed, red cable top left 16:31 before walking into the sports hall. When a job came in to work in this place it was always a strange feeling going in and leaving. Also being male and this being an all female prison it inmates would bang on the doors trying to intimidate us? and we would get shouted at all day long! Lots of words I can’t put on KZbin lol. Nice video and brought back some interesting memories for me. Keep it up 👍🏼

[@starrgazer1000]

I am not surprised as I have heard comments like this before. Young men visiting for work in the establishment would get heckled or if they were handsome they were wolf whistled at. Many of the warders were lesbian and had affairs with prisoners. Heterosexual young women were often 'adopted' by older women for their secret plesures. Until the late sixties the old prison was still in situ and it looked like an old castle with a large tower or turret. I think it was rebuilt in the early seventies but maybe some kind person can confirm that.

[@baz-wc4fi]

Officers Club just Outside Main Gate,and Blocks of Flats for Staff Accommidation Used to be Nicknamed "Tampax Towers"

[@Steven_Rowe]

I can still remember the old prison that looked like a castle. It went in the late 60s for the new one and now it's also gone.

[@audie-cashstack-uk4881]

My dad did life my mum would tell me to get my brother to look out the other window on the bus as we past Leicester prison as he would shout to everyone that's my dadys castle

[@bganonimouse2754]

Heard a lot about this prison growing up in London. Many thanks for giving us the opportunity to see what it was like inside!

[@Menace1978]

Carried out an asbestos Survey there back in 2020/21. The security at some point had let their pals in and they had stripped all the copper from wire, but little did they know that the cables where lagged with Asbestos, there was a lot of Asbestos debris in there at the time I was there.

[@jennyhacking1289]

at a family gathering there was a conversation where Holloway was mentioned, and my Grandma stated, oh I've been there, and then went quiet for a few minutes, my uncle went on to enquire what she had been there for, thinking we were about to hear some deep dark secret, but instead we learned her dad worked there and she used to take him his lunch. Makes me wonder what her dad experienced while working there.

[@jaywalkercrew4446]

Maybe loads of blow Jobs😂

[@kpurban1310]

Really well covered, nice to see some thorough and well put together footage of the site.

[@paulguise698]

Hiya Alistair, great vlog, I find it surprising when you can slip past the security without being noticed, there is so much that can be done with these abandoned buildings, rather than leave them for years on end, This is Choppy in Whitehaven, Cumbria, England

[@mugshottricky]

Not every day you see people sneaking into a prison

[@Urbandoned]

Indeed, the opposite

[@neilfoster814]

Shame it can't be used to house London's many homeless people. Even in this state, it's got to be better than sleeping in an underpass, under a bridge or a shop doorway. But I guess that doesn't make any profits for the developers hey. Brilliant video though, I love urbex videos.

[@GreatSageSunWukong]

I think the place looks really nice, it could be a housing estate, those single cells are bigger then some studio flats I've seen in London and despite all the wet wheres the mold? I don't see any every home I've ever lived in has had mold problems it must be the only mold free residence in london, well at least the only one poor people had access to.

[@tinseltits9855]

Shame the 500+ a day illegal migrants arriving at Dover are given phones, cash-cards and placed in hotels up & down our country with their own private security whilst OUR OWN HOMLESS ARE LEFT OUT ON THE STREETS.

[@rundattmedia2106]

@@GreatSageSunWukong The site is being demolished and housing is going to built in its place.

[@GreatSageSunWukong]

@@rundattmedia2106 yeah no doubt overpriced and out of reach of locals that will be falling apart in ten years

[@DMWBN3]

I workfor a clearance company & new builds these days are just wood & plasterboard...... then look run down in 10 years. ​@@GreatSageSunWukong

[@parallelsuns1]

It was likely closed because it stands on a better part of London for housing developement. Though it was a bleak hellhole for the female prisoners by all accounts

[@siocas]

its not supposed to be nice for the women prisoners they are cons lol

[@LeePorte]

The building itself was end of life. It had many of the issues from 60's builds with failing services within the building and the overall structure.

[@alantheskinhead]

Been watching transformed over the last few months from been demolished to new ground works. The irony is that some of the new rabbit hutch overpriced hovels won't be much bigger than some of the cells. I did visit a friend in there many years ago and it was a dump then. I think they did come across some of the old original prison as well. It's a huge site as well. Good video.

[@TheOriginalGeekyNoob]

I'm a simple man, I see a new Urbandoned video, I click and watch. Didn't disappoint. 11/10 will click again.

[@Urbandoned]

Cheers :)

[@anitapresnell6403]

Just subscribed. In the 1970s I stayed at my great aunt's flat with my mum in Holloway, while on holiday from Australia, hence why I clicked on the video. I love videos on England. Would love to visit again but it's not likely.

[@alanmauchan8601]

Very well produced .. atmospheric, lots of background info - and detailed cutaway shots that brought it to life.

[@Urbandoned]

Thank you for the nice words

[@bobbythomas200420032]

Hi a great video and a very interesting explore. Thankyou for making this video.

[@mitchblank]

Fascinating video. When I used to live in Camden I walked past all the time, so it's very interesting to see its final state.

[@frasermathers2287]

Thanks lads for the Holloway prison video. The scale of the site is breathtaking and is obviously only one of many many facilities throughout the UK, and the cost of building, maintaining and operating them must be staggering. It also says a lot about society and how we have failed to stem the flow of lawlessness as it only ever increases and makes you wonder is prison the answer!

[@mattd6085]

Prisons do a lot to reform, but upon release they have no home, job, support, money. They go right back to crime as it's all they have and all they know. Prisons can only do so much, society needs to do the rest to support reformed criminals

[@muckle8]

It was an answer until the price of land rose to ridiculous £ prices - now the developers get the final say on society…..

[@Urbandoned]

Thank you, really glad you enjoyed

[@elizabethspedding1975]

Thanks for all your hard work ❤

[@severreality]

first time i've come across your videos and it didn't disappoint! got a good thing going

[@MadelineMcneill]

We are desperately short of prisons and prison places couldn’t this be re-utilised, surely it would be cheaper than building a new prison.

[@bruceaisher]

Cant help but think how incredible the original prison would have been. I imagine it had a lot of architectural finesse now lost to time.

[@natashasmith5392]

A3 was a good wing. The newer part of the building was a beginners wing where they would fade you into the main jail. The higher up the floor the worse it was. D wing was the worst wing to be on, which probably explains the mold I lady told me, whilst watching coronation Street, this was her time to smoke crack and to ignore it. I'd never seen more than cannabis or cocaine, then I was sent here. You mention the woman who wasnt looked after at then end of it's closure. I witnessed a woman overdose on my first night in the main jail. You're right Holloway did suck the life out of people.

[@madwhitehare3635]

The people in it did that , not the building.

[@alexandrahall1886]

I started off in d1 then got moved to c1 did d3 and a5 and many many days down the block.every sentence I stayed on c1 after that

[@natashasmith5392]

@@madwhitehare3635 that's a fair comment, I was remanded at holloway and giving compensation for unfair imprisonment, I ment women in holloway who were mostly on conspiracy charges through partner's and completelyunaware what had happened, not everyone is guilty. But I Don u derstand the comment

[@natashasmith5392]

@@alexandrahall1886 omg I couldn't imagine starting on d1 I cried when I first saw the hallway

[@SticksSister]

Thanku for showing us this xx

[@farondodd8430]

Watch 'Ten Days in Holloway 1986'. It brings your video to life. Even the swimming pool is seen in action. Great explore by you guys.

[@PetelRoseMaria]

The medical part when you said about opticians, one piece of equipment an eye scan. I only know this because I had to get an eye scan because there is a mole at the back of my eye. My opticians and doctors wanted to make sure it's not cancerous, it's not.

[@TSL_jack]

There’s an abandoned bone mill in Woodley near me, that would be a good spot to explore if it’s not too hard to get to for you

[@liamkatt6434]

This was the site where Oscar Wilde spent his last night in prison on 18th May,1897. He was to have been released from HMP Reading but the governor fearing a hostile press outside, had him moved to London.

[@GoostTube]

Another Great Explore Thanks Guys.

[@ninaleeuwangh4402]

Thanks guys for this

[@mehimrc1314]

Great channel name two words making a perfect match. Fantastic places you manage to get access to 👍

[@glasgowbeck]

Prisons do reach an end of life, and cost a lot to maintain As they take much more wear and tear than any other kind of building

[@mitchblank]

Yeah, and this one was on land worth a fortune. At some point it makes more financial sense to build new capacity elsewhere and sell the land off, rather than throwing good money at keeping an old facility running. Wasn't surprised they closed it.

[@WasabiDreams]

subscribed . fantastic video nice one !!!

[@Knockseekfind]

A brilliant 🤩 video men really enjoy all your videos they are always very entertaining thankyou so much for sharing them take care please 🙏 and stay safe always looking forward to next time 🥰👍🤩

[@deniseshephard3347]

Thank you for this exploration it’s a real shame it couldn’t of been a shelter for the homeless it must of been hell for the female prisoners their my condolences to the lady whom passed away and her family and friends

[@freddofaizbear3196]

Thanks for sharing this so many memories and some good and some bad it's a shame as so muxh history has happened here

[@rumbler900]

When a prison is closed it begins a well rehearsed system of removal of anything that can be used in another prion of same era with same type of doors 1st stage is called de locking de dooring 2nd stage fix an fit removal lites radiators pipe work ect any furniture is also usually gone by this point 3rd stage is removal of cameras if prison is above c cat security removal of uhf radio equipment from gatehouse along with its antenna on gatehouse roof that will go to another prison using an older system so that will be classed as an upgrade . De barring has already begun followed by perimeter wall demolition

[@Urbandoned]

Fascinating, you must be in the niche field to know this! Thanks for sharing

[@rumbler900]

@@Urbandoned ex hmp works unit (wandsworth) locks from ashford remand center went to hmp cardiff knox road even lite switches are reused. Toilets used to be re used but now being metal they just flattened and scrapped

[@benlambley7171]

Brilliant explore as usual guys what a eerie place

[@Phasma]

That mural was really cool to see, shame those things can't be saved, but such is art.

[@GeordieDreadTV]

Sick vid.. Appreciated it 👌🏾✅️

[@jayneshorter5418]

Hi what a massive place some of it doesn’t look old Thankyou for sharing the video

[@DMWBN3]

That site mustbe worth an absolute fortune. Prime for some development with over priced homes made from wood & plasterboard!! Know a couple of females whove been there back in the day., and seen documentary on the prison while back. Just subscribed. 👍🏻

[@Urbandoned]

Thanks! Yep, pretty much the expected outcome

[@lindastanley229]

Thanks guys that was really interesting.

[@sashh2263]

You said that one of the murals looked like it was for children. There were children in Holloway because there was a mother and baby unit. Typically prisoners in late stage pregnancy, or those who had babies stay in MBUs until the child was about 18 months old.

[@andrewcollins8774]

Used to drive buses passed the women’s Holloway prison and the Caledonia road men’s prison in 2001. Looked quite new back then. I’ve seen a walk through of this earlier than this vlog.

[@fionagreenwood3231]

I’m enjoying the video Ty xxxxx

[@Sharon-marie]

Im pretty sure it could have been a full working prison. It wasnt the building that had problems it was staffing issues and abuse.

[@dd-du9bz]

spent a few years in here from 88 to 95 back and forth...the mother and baby wing was on the ground floor used to be over run with cockroaches there was a big mural on the wall in the recreation room i still have the picture and some of us sitting on the bench outside on the exercise yard...the mad women used to be one floor above and used to throw everything out the windows....i worked on the gardens there's a big mound in the square i was digging and found old concrete steps and was told to stop digging must have been apart of the original building...the a1 rooms were the block cells for the naughty girls lol didn't think I'd see inside there again heard they knocked it down built expensive apartments and a larger womens prison somewhere outside London

[@louisereuben5740]

I was there when that bit jutting off the back was being built, my cell overlooked the building site. It was an education block for the nutters. When th eye building it there was thousands of rats out there on a night, they were HUGE!

[@kylesanders9]

They were the other inmates luv! 😁😁😁😁😁😁

[@louisereuben5740]

@@kylesanders9 yea That’s why they slept on stone beds built into the wall with a thin mattress on so they couldn’t do any damage It was awful down there, the whole prison was overrun with cockroaches! As soon as you turned the lights off on a night you could hear them scuttling around It was nasty! And I was on remand totally not guilty and was exonerated at the old Bailey

[@kylesanders9]

@@louisereuben5740 Just the cockroaches alone would keep me on the straight and narrow! Serio, I would need to be sectioned after one night where you couldn’t turn the lights on but you knew there were cockies in the same room. And they can see you!

[@alexandrahall1886]

C1 some single cells had concrete bed 4 bed dorms had normal beds c1 also had the padded cell

[@louisereuben5740]

@@alexandrahall1886 yes cos it was the nutty wing

[@racheldemain1940]

It always makes me sad to see an abandoned Swimming Pool!!

[@mikewalters5815]

Well done Guys love your video's 😊

[@edithbryce4608]

Could a part of it be a mother and baby unit? Great work as per guys, stay safe

[@kw68]

It did have one My old boss was born in there

[@dd-du9bz]

@@kw68 babies weren't born in the prison unless they just happened to pop out...mothers got escorted to Whittington hospital to deliver

[@kw68]

@@dd-du9bz either way he was in Holloway with his mum as a new born..

[@jamesbateson1810]

0:07 love the thorn gamma 6 sox lantern :)

[@reckszkingzactivitiesrkat.4134]

What’s the instrumental used at the introduction of this video? It’s absolutely 🔥

[@phina8392]

My Great Grandmother was in Holloway.. My suffragette Great Gran love her ❤..

[@melaniemonk9151]

So was my great Aunt Nellie who was a suffragette

[@johngunne3327]

Respect to both ladies and the suffragette movement ✊

[@phina8392]

@@johngunne3327 thank you..

[@1984isHereNow]

Holloway was local Cat B female, altho it did have Cat A facilities on A block levels 3, 4 and 5. Namely cells 12, 13 which were in ward facing onto Golf Yard and their structure in comparison to the regular wing cells including the door was different. These Cat A cells were also used for E List prisoners but mostly housed regular Cat B prisoners of high risk CSRA because they were single occupancy. It did operate for brief moments as a Cat A when it held a certain female IRA individual.

[@kylieflangham4400]

I remember scaling that wall and getting in after it shut down I went in 2018 I wrote on a white board in there wonder if it's still there place looks ruined now 😢

[@freddofaizbear3196]

Wow some new bits the bit with the fancy windows was the new hospital and detox wing the one with toilet half wall was cat A in the 90s I went here D1 North first which was detox wing .. then I went to A3 tingle cell but those grey things on windows they weren't like that then you could open one small bit of window would open not wide enough to get your whole arm out I worked in garden and I'm gutted lol as we made them so nice .....

[@alexandrahall1886]

I was a frequent guest here from 92 to 94

[@tofurakhanom2644]

Really

[@simonstanley9]

There is supposed to be a shortage of prison spaces in the UK , so why was it closed.

[@leslinsm]

I was here in 1985 wasn’t too bad !

[@bomberburlison6342]

Watched from a new follower in Newcastle

[@StranaHyena]

I knew that name was familiar, there's this song by the band Marillion about this prison, called "Holloway Girl", from 1989

[@jeffsimon9594]

Yeah I am a Marillion fan from way back. It was quite interesting when I came to the UK as my band's rehearsal space was right opposite HMP Holloway entrance. My cynical bandmates assured me there was no way a 'Holloway Girl' could be leaning out of a window waving to passers-by!

[@manunited1132]

I totally agree with one of the comments. This could have been used to house the homeless definitely 👌such a shame

[@jakeeiseman-renyard3505]

I'm surprised to see a prison had a swimming pool.

[@TheKraze2011]

You'd be even more surprised to hear it was once also all inclusive 😂😂

[@Why24244]

At 06:55 when you said ow these are different those types of cells are usually reserved for suicide prevention because everything is solid there is nothing to hang yourself on and the doors are bigger because a wing officer would be sat outside you door with the door open 24hrs until you come of what is called in prison a ACCT document (assessment care in custody teamwork) this is determined by prison Doctors mental health team the wing senior officer. Hope this helps with information

[@davidandrews8963]

DAMN THAT WATER IS WORRYING FABULOUS FILM BOYZ ♥️🙏🌈🏐🥅⚽

[@alexandrcox1]

I used to live near there and was always curious anout what was inside. thanks

[@OLIFAB]

Great explore!

[@robfellows4096]

Good explore of what was, maybe intentionally, quite a bland building. Worthwhile looking up the Holloway Park Community site which has some good history and all the future plans for the site. Not sure I'd have gone with some of the 'minecraft' red brick designs though... Looking forwards to the the comment section on this one.

[@Sharon-marie]

Wow i didnt even know it was stood empty now.

[@LeTon75]

I love ya channels logo 👍

[@stephenB-yq9kw]

One of the my friends wanted a holiday in Holloway now she won't be able to 😢

[@k20aa]

Great vid as normal

[@carolwalmsley3362]

Just subscribed 👍

[@CodesterDubs]

love the vids

[@haybrym]

When a friend was there in prison she said the Hanging area was still there Creepy

[@Falstaff1893]

Make a fantastic Asylum centre ?

[@GG-ch1hm]

They have 5star hotels for that now

[@Ian-bq7gp]

Like Colditz?

[@nickhill2223]

Used to visit a close friend whilst she was at Holloway, about 20 years ago, sadly like so many with poor Mental Health who are thrown to the mercy of the Criminal Justice system when they should be in a Secure Hospital. Place was utterly depressing then, Staff, (with a few exceptions), were rude, arrogant, and very unhelpful, especially for those who were not familiar with how the Prison worked. Thankfully she wasn't there for long, before being transferred to a suitable Hospital, but for those who were there for any length of time, it cannot have been easy.

[@statusquocannon1198]

I worked with prisoners who had tried suicide,they are housed in normal houses in the community. They have all luxuries, except FREEDOM.

[@StefanArlt1968]

At 13’15”, that device’s called a colposcope. We use it for gynaecological treatments ; it can be used coupled to a laser generator, for instance, to cure vaginal warts. With kind regards from Switzerland.

[@alexandrahall1886]

Level a1 was the block or solitary block where you went if you got nicked by officers

[@loopylou6841]

Hindley probably haunts the corridors of the wing she stayed in, makes me cold thinking about it 🥶

[@humphreyjohnstone6783]

Oh the old prison was well demolished once that scumbag transferred to Durham. Look up a video of the 1972 Holloway documentary "Women In Prison" and you will see the old building which kept her.

[@leeoliver7151]

This place is totally gone forever I drove past there the other day

[@stephaniemcquillan1930]

Interesting place but also obviously very grim. There needs to be a lot more understanding about mental health. Even today.

[@418laylah]

Here because of Finders Beepers ❤

[@derrenleepoole]

Nice explore lads. Can't imagine the hell of incarceration.

[@lloydmcguire4439]

Apparently the brooms & mops had square handles ..........

[@SuperblySupernatural]

Has it been demolished yet?

[@scaleop4]

subbed

[@mrx_________4078]

Has this place been demolished?

[@keith800]

Shame to see a reasonably modern building being demolished when you think of all the work that went into building it , I did hear of a story of an electrician who was ambushed by some of the women inmates who had there wicked way with him.

[@GG-ch1hm]

5star compared to any male prisons

[@EddieRiff]

I hear they had octagonal shaped toilet roll holders...

[@sebastianspalding5016]

you cleanly no nothing about prisons lol,, this place is 5 star hotel compared to most mens prisons

[@johnsmith-ht3sy]

Female privilege is taken for granted.

[@parkersimpson9308]

does it really make a difference tho? realistically they all done shit they shouldn’t have, so they all end up in white rooms with iron bars and locks

[@sidbobby3233]

😂👏👏👏 brooms with a triangles on top of the handle.

[@muckle8]

@sidbobby3233 and not a candle in sight! 🔥 🤔

[@historyhuntersuk420]

When was this mate

[@jfwfreo]

Why would a jail have had a pool?

[@GG-ch1hm]

Women’s privilege

[@PLANDerLinde99]

Excercise?

[@johnsmith-ht3sy]

For topless sunbathing sipping cocktails, and complaining about their hard lives.

[@LeviJamesRE]

Hydrotherapy.

[@lablackzed]

Thats were they should have put the 4× hotel divers.😡