Armley Prison: Inner Range

The inner range of Armley Prison, constructed in 1847 and extended in the 19th century, comprises offices, a chapel, and cells. The design is attributed to William Belton Perkin and Elisha Backhouse, with a subsequent extension of the South wing in 1857. The building is constructed of ashlar stone with edge-tooled quoins, a brick internal skin, rubble infill, and slate roofs, and it exhibits a castle-style architectural character.

The complex incorporates former board rooms and offices, along with a chapel and cells arranged in four radiating arms. A prominent two-stage block opposite the entrance archway (listed separately) features a central corridor and former Prison Board lodgings. Originally accessed by a flight of stone steps, the round-arched entrance now has a reduced height and a decorative wrought-iron grille. A deeply-recessed round window, flanked by lancet windows, sits above the entrance, along with a clock and a further three lancets, stone brackets and embattled parapets.

Behind this block is a pitched-roof range, housing the chapel on the upper floor. This section features six bays, underceiling and re-ordering, with three paired windows on each side. Other features include a chamfered chancel arch and a west gallery with panelled benches. A taller semicircular tower, with a rectangular turret and corbelled embattled parapet, is located to the west. A central well leads to four radiating wings, each four storeys high, with small paired round-arched windows and iron bars. The wings are topped by an embattled parapet on corbels, with square corner turrets displaying arrow-loops. A three-storey canted bay window is set into the end wall, illuminating the galleries, and large octagonal ventilation towers rise above the centre of each wing.

The interior features a central well with spiral staircases leading to galleries, and stone cantilevered landings. Straight-flight stairs and balustrades are also present. The wings open to vaulted roofs. Some original cells remain, exhibiting studded metal-lined doors, a recess in the wall alongside, and a wooden corner shelf, possibly indicating a former serving hatch.

Armley Prison's design reflects the early 19th century shift in penal practices towards a focus on correction alongside punishment, including solitary confinement. The radial plan, following the principles of the panopticon, consists of numerous individual cells in separate wings projecting from a central core, each wing having a centrally lit corridor. The design closely resembles that of Pentonville Prison in London, as published in The Builder in 1847, though Armley’s monumental entrance block is not directly connected to the inner complex.