HM Prison Erlestoke

HMP Erlestoke

Location	Erlestoke, Wiltshire
Security class	Adult Male/Category C
Population	470 (as of December 2008)
Managed by	HM Prison Services
Governor	Tim Knight
Website	Erlestoke at justice.gov.uk

HM Prison Erlestoke is a Category C men's prison, located to the east of the village of Erlestoke in Wiltshire, England. Erlestoke is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service, and is the only prison in Wiltshire.

The prison is built around Erlestoke House, a country house built by Joshua Smith, Member of Parliament for Devizes, between 1780 and 1810. During the Second World War the house was used as a training school for the Special Operations Executive.

A single-storey lodge from the early 19th century stands at the roadside entrance to the grounds of the house. The lodge, together with gate piers and wrought iron railings of similar date, is Grade II listed.

Erlestoke House was seriously damaged by a fire in 1950 and was then converted into a prison, with many additional buildings constructed.

The site was first used by the Prison Commission in 1960 as a detention centre, became a young prisoners' centre in 1977, and a Category C adult male training prison in 1988.

In 1998, it was reported that thieves had broken into Erlestoke Prison and stolen £3000 worth of gardening tools from a shed. Two years later, two inmates from Erlestoke used a makeshift ladder in a daylight jailbreak. The two escapees then stole a car from a nearby farm, but then crashed it, and were subsequently recaptured by the police.

In December 2001, an inspection of Erlestoke by Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons found cells in the oldest part of the prison had damp walls and poor furniture. Cleanliness was also criticised, as was the ability of some staff "to adapt to new ideas on rehabilitation" at the prison. However, a year later, a report declared Erlestoke Prison one of the best in the country, with a Government official describing the inspection report as "astoundingly good".

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