Pentonville Prison, A, B, C And D Wings, And Chapel Wing

Prison built 1840–42, designed by Colonel Joshua Jebb in association with William Crawford and Whitworth Russell. The building was expanded by the addition of 220 cells in 1867, and underwent significant alterations between 1871 and 1890 when the vaulted roof was removed and a storey added. Windows were altered in 1910–14, and reroofing and other alterations were in progress at the time of inspection. The exterior is constructed in brown brick, stone and stucco, with roofs of steel covered with PVC where visible.

The prison is organised as a radial plan, with four long cell-block wings radiating north (A wing), north-east (B wing), south-east (C wing) and south (D wing) from the eastern end of the chapel wing.

The chapel wing is faced in stucco and brick with the roof obscured by parapet. It has a rusticated basement. The principal front faces west and features a central segmental-arched window in the basement, formerly an entrance, flanked by flat-arched windows either side. Above this, a giant Doric order extends across three bays with outer antae and inner engaged columns, now blocked with faceted block faces. Round-arched windows between are now blank. The entablature and parapet have been much rebuilt. The returns have brick to the half-basement and ground floor with segmental-arched windows, and stucco above containing four round-arched windows to the chapel with pilasters between, again blocked and faceted. Late 20th-century additions are present on the north return.

A wing rises five storeys and extends 28 cells in length. Windows are set back segmental-arched openings under segmental arches. The gable end has a five-light stone window with mullions and transoms, now rendered; the window is in two sections, the lower flat-arched and the upper round-arched with radiating mullions. The roof is PVC-coated steel.

B wing is four storeys over basement and extends 37 cells in length. Windows are variously flat-arched, segmental-arched, and segmental-arched set back under segmental arches. The gable end has a five-light window similar to A wing, with the lower section set into an apse-like parapeted and chamfered bay. The roof is PVC-coated steel.

C wing is four storeys over basement throughout, except for a central section of 9 windows which was damaged by bombing in 1941 and rebuilt to three storeys in 1958 as the education block. The wing contains 11 windows west of the education block and 15 east of it. Windows are variously flat-arched, segmental-arched, and segmental-arched set back under segmental arches. The gable end has a five-light window as on B wing. The roof is PVC-coated steel where visible.

D wing is five storeys and extends 27 cells in length, with segmental-arched windows set back under segmental arches. The gable end has a five-light window as for A wing. The roof is PVC-coated steel.

Interior: The original prison plan survives intact. The wings are top-lit atria with galleried cells down either side, arranged to converge so that the central well of each wing can be viewed from a single point at the end of the chapel wing. Original features include bracketed galleries (though the stairs and handrails to the galleries survive only in A wing), segmental-arch entrances set back under segmental arches to the cells, and many of the cell doors, though the latter are currently being replaced.

Pentonville was the most influential example of prison architecture in the Victorian period. Known when built as the 'Model Prison', it embodied two principles whose influence extended to approximately 1900: a radial plan designed for ease of supervision, which survives today; and the separate cell system, aimed at reforming prisoners through isolation from each other. The separate cell system was first adopted on a large and thorough scale among British prisons at Pentonville.