Shocking Isle of Wight prison stories from days gone by

Answer - they’ve all been the guests of HMP Prison Parkhurst.

It opened for business in the late 1800s and has done a roaring trade ever since, much of it finding its way into the pages of the County Press.

In December 1898, the CP reported: “A prisoner by the name of Williams, undergoing a prison term of five years, is stated to bear a rather bad character.

“He was reported for a cruel act on one of the other convicts.

“They were working near a big tar tank, when a convict who was looking in, asked Williams how deep it was, and the latter thereupon took the inquirer by the legs and tipped him in with the remark: You had better go and see."

Cell block wings in Parkhurst. Ronnie and Reggie Kray were guests there once. Perhaps they had tea and cucumber sandwiches with Charlie Richardson, leader of the Richardson gang, linked to gangland killings, and rivals of the Krays (Image: Ron Morris/County Press)

In an annual report of 1905, Parkhurst had 780 guests.

Of those, 59 were classified as ‘weak-minded’ and four were certified insane, the CP reporting: “Prisoners are employed at making boat-fenders, uniform, clothing and boots for officers, outer and underclothing for prisoners; bedding, furniture and bookbinding and printing for the Home Office.

“The weak-minded are employed at market-garden work, road-sweeping, cleaning, and indoor labour, sewing, etc."

In April 1910, a copy of the Star newspaper of London, of August 1794, came to the attention of the CP.

“Unpleasant reminders of the terrible severity of the law a century ago, when sentences of death were carried out in the Island, are contained in an account of an execution at Parkhurst Forest.

Radovan Karadžić, former Bosnian Serb president has his own room at Parkhurst, much like this one. Radovan, convicted of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes also finds time, we are told on Wiki, to be a psychiatrist and poet (Image: Ron Morris/County Press)

“The men executed were Patrick Quire and Patrick Corne, of the Irish Regiment, who had been convicted of burglary.

“They were taken from the condemned cell and reached the fatal tree in the Forest of Parkhurst, about noon, and after demeaning themselves in penitence for an hour they were launched into eternity in the sight of a numerous body of spectators, it being more than 60 years since a similar scene was exhibited in the Island.

“They were both young men and when their bodies were cut down a mother requested that a dead man's hand might be placed on her child's neck afflicted with the King's evil, which was accordingly done."

Arthur Conmy, 33, escaped from Parkhurst in May 1922, becoming a local celebrity in the process.

“One of the most cleverly contrived, coolly executed, and daring escapes took place at Parkhurst Prison during Tuesday night.

Parkhurst was once a home-from-home for Peter Sutcliffe, serial murderer otherwise known as ‘The Yorkshire Ripper.’ Perhaps he rubbed shoulders on the landing with Ian Brady, the ‘Moors Murderer' (Image: Ron Morris/County Press)

“Arthur Conmy burrowed through the floor of his cell, from whence he forced his way into the prison yard, and then scaled the outer wall getting clear away unnoticed.

“On entering his cell on Wednesday morning, the warder found a hole about 2½ feet wide, through which the ‘bird’ had flown.

“The bricks from the wall had been placed in the man's bed in such a formation as to represent the recumbent figure of the convict beneath the blankets.”

By May 27, Arthur had been on the run for nine days, an Island record, and had attracted the attention of the dailies.

“Some papers have led their millions of readers to believe their piffle and sensation-mongering headlines such as ‘Islanders Terrified’ and "Isle of Fright.

The downstairs floor of one of the Parkhurst wings with its many front doors. Let’s go through the keyhole of one. Well, perhaps not (Image: County Press)

“Business and pleasure as usual are being carried on here in spite of the fact that a runaway convict has stolen a rice-pudding and a cake here and there.”

Well, all good things come to an end and Arthur was eventually captured in an empty house in George Street, Ryde, the CP of June 3, 1922, reporting: “Convict Arthur Conmy, whose elusiveness and audacious burglaries for food provided the whole country with sensation and entertainment for a record period of 12 days, was recaptured on Sunday evening.

“When Conmy was brought out of the house 100 people had assembled, but at the Police Station, fully 1,000 persons were gathered outside.

“At about 7pm warders arrived from Parkhurst and Conmy was brought out and placed in a car.

“The crowd raised a sympathetic cheer, which Conmy acknowledged with smiles.”

The upper floor of one of the Parkhurst wings. During the 1970s and 1980s Parkhurst earned the nickname (Image: County Press)

Arthur wasn’t the only prisoner at Parkhurst with a cunning plan.

In March 1924, Harry Young, 29, appeared at the Old Bailey accused of making counterfeit coins: “Young declared that he had been taught to make counterfeit coins while in Parkhurst prison.

“He said lessons were given by a prisoner in the tinsmiths' shop.

“They then gave the coins to warders who smuggled the coins out of prison and in return supplied them with tobacco.

“A detective-sergeant, however, said that Young came of an old coining family and knew how to make coins before going to Parkhurst.”

Well, be that as it may, just a few years later over 600 forged £1 notes were manufactured in a cell in Camp Hill Prison.... but that’s another story.