Kirkham (HM Prison)
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| Location | Kirkham, Lancashire |
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| Security class | Adult Male/Category D |
| Capacity | 630 |
| Opened | 1962 |
| Managed by | HM Prison Services |
| Governor | Graham Beck |
| Website | Kirkham at justice.gov.uk |
HM Prison Kirkham is a Category D men's prison, located southwest of Kirkham in Lancashire, England. The prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service.
The prison's location was originally the site of RAF Kirkham, which was built by George Wimpey on 220 acres (89 ha) of land bordering the A583 road from Blackpool to Preston. Work commenced in 1939 and the camp opened in 1940 as a training camp for RAF tradesmen. Up to 1945 it trained 72,000 British and allied service men and women. In November 1941 Kirkham became the main armament training centre for the RAF, with 21 different trades and 86 different courses on equipment and weapons. Pupils came not only from the Commonwealth of Nations, but the United States, the Netherlands, Poland, France, Norway, Czechoslovakia and Belgium. Kirkham had 10 hangars as well as its own cinema and hospital. From May to December 1945 Kirkham became a demob centre. After the war it trained RAF boy entrants until December 1957 when it closed.
In the early 1960s part of the facility was taken over by the Home Office with HMP Kirkham opening in 1962 as an open prison. The rest of the land lay derelict, but is now used for agricultural purposes and a nature reserve. Today most of the infrastructure, services and buildings of the prison are still of World War II vintage, though prisoner accommodation is located in more modern buildings.
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