Pentonville Prison

Tel:020 7023 7000 – Caledonian Road, London N7 8TT

HMP Pentonville is one of London’s better known prisons and has been operational since 1842. The establishment has a capacity of 1,310 and is a category B / C men’s prison, holding only adults. Although called HMP Pentonville, the prison is actually located in the Borough of Islington in London. It officially opened in 1842.

We looked into the history of HMP Pentonville and found out some interesting facts, Did you know it was the UK’s first modern prison?

If you’re planning on visiting the prison and you’d like to find out how to get there, you can use the map on this page.

Tel: 020 7023 7000

Operational capacity: 1310

Caledonian Road, London N7 8TT

Prison Phone have been saving inmates at HMP Pentonville money on their calls from the prison to any UK mobile phone since 2013.

We do this by allocating a dedicated and secure local number to your mobile phone, this means when the inmate at Pentonville prison calls the new local number we have provided they will be charged at just the local landline rate (around 10p per minute) rather than the standard mobile rate (which is around 40p per minute).

This in turn helps to stretch the inmates PINS phone credit further and reduces the amount you need to send in for them to top up!

Send me Pentonville prison details via FREE SMS

Here’s some facts about Pentonville Prison

HMP Pentonville is a category B/C men’s prison in the Barnsbury area of London. Opened in 1842, the prison has capacity to hold 1,310 inmates.

The prison is made up of the wings A, C, D, E, F, G, J and Health care. A wing is the first night and induction unit. C, D and G wings hold the general population. E1 wing is the segregation unit. E2 – E5 wings are integrated drug treatment system (IDTS) maintenance and treatment units, and F1 – F4 wings are IDTS stabilisation units. F5 wing is the vulnerable prisoner unit. Health centre is a 22-bed inpatient unit, and J wing is a drug-free recovery wing.

Oscar Wilde, Irish writer, spent time here in 1895 for a few months, before being moved to HMP Wandsworth. He was sentenced to two years for homosexual behaviour (1895 – 1897)

To view the latest HMIP inspection report, click here.

Visiting hours are 09:15 – 10:50 Mon-Wed & Sat, 14:15 ; 15:50 Mon-Sat, and 14:00 – 15:50 Sun.

More Facts

FACT 1

Drones carrying drugs and mobile phones were found to be flying INSIDE the prison through broken windows. Only a quarter of the windows that are smashed are replaced (181 out of 580)

FACT 2

When the prison first opened, inmates were not allowed to speak to each other. During their exercise, they were forced to wear cloth masks over their heads.