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HM Prison Leeds

HMP Leeds
Old Gate - HM Prison Leeds.jpg
Location Leeds, West Yorkshire
Security class Adult Male/Category B
Population 1212 (as of October 2012)
Opened 1847
Managed by HM Prison Services
Governor Steve Robson
Website Leeds at justice.gov.uk

HM Prison Leeds is a Category B men's prison, located at Gloucester Terrace in the Armley area of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England, which opened in 1847. Leeds Prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service, and is still known locally as Armley Gaol (or Armley Jail), the historical name for the prison.

Construction of Leeds Prison (originally named Leeds Borough Gaol) was completed in 1847. Built from locally quarried stone, the prison originally had four wings radiating from a central point in a Victorian architectural style (known as 'radial') typical of the time. Each of these four wings had three landings of cells. Eventually Armley Gaol was renamed along with other prisons to make their locations more obvious to people unfamiliar with these areas.

The prison was a site of execution (by hanging) from 1847 until 1961. The final execution was that of Zsiga Pankotia, by Harry Allen for the murder of Jack Eli Myers in a house burglary in the city's affluent Roundhay district. The final execution in A block was that of 19-year-old Walter Sharpe in 1950.

The 'Castle style' entrance range of the building and the 200 metres of perimeter wall received a Grade II* heritage listing in 1976.

In 1990, the Howard League for Penal Reform announced that it would conduct its own independent inquiry into the deaths of five teenage prisoners at HMP Leeds. This followed a refusal by the Home Office to hold a public inquiry.

A further two wings were added in 1994, and a new gate complex was opened in September 2002, providing much needed staff facilities and an improvement to the entry point for all visitors and staff. Most of the older parts of the prison have been extensively refurbished since 2003.


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