Barlinnie Prison
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HM Prison Barlinnie is the largest prison in
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
. It is operated by the Scottish Prison Service and is located in the residential suburb of Riddrie, in the northeast of
Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
, Scotland. It is informally known locally as The Big Hoose, Bar and Bar-L. In 2018, plans for its closure were announced.


History

Barlinnie was designed by Major General Thomas Bernard Collinson, architect and engineer to the Scottish Prison Department, and it was built in the then rural area of Riddrie adjacent to the Monkland Canal (now the route of the M8 motorway), first opening with the commissioning of A hall in July 1882. Barlinnie prison's five accommodation halls: A, B, C, D and E, were built in stages between 1882 and 1897, with each holding approximately 69 inmates. There was a major extension to the perimeter in 1967 to create an industrial compound. From 1973 till 1994, the world-famous "Special Unit" placed emphasis on rehabilitation, the best known success story being that of reformed Glasgow gangster Jimmy Boyle. Cultural output associated with the Special Unit included Boyle's
autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...
, ''A Sense of Freedom'' (1977); ''The Hardman'' (1977), the play Boyle wrote with Tom McGrath; a body of sculpture; and ''The Silent Scream'' (1979), a book of prose and poems by Larry Winters, who committed
suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...
in 1977.


Capital punishment

A total of 10 judicial executions by
hanging Hanging is killing a person by suspending them from the neck with a noose or ligature strangulation, ligature. Hanging has been a standard method of capital punishment since the Middle Ages, and has been the primary execution method in numerou ...
took place at HMP Barlinnie between 1946 and 1960, replacing the gallows at Duke Street Prison before the final abolition of
capital punishment in the United Kingdom Capital punishment in the United Kingdom predates the formation of the UK, having been used in Britain and Ireland from ancient times until the second half of the 20th century. The last executions in the United Kingdom were by hanging, and took ...
for
murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...
in 1969: Each of the condemned men had been convicted of murder. All the executions took place at 8.00 am. As was the custom, the remains of all executed prisoners were the property of the state, and were therefore buried in unmarked graves within the walls of the prison. During the D hall renovations of 1997, the prison
gallows A gallows (or less precisely scaffold) is a frame or elevated beam, typically wooden, from which objects can be suspended or "weighed". Gallows were thus widely used to suspend public weighing scales for large and heavy objects such as sa ...
cell (built into D-hall) was finally demolished and the remains of all the executed prisoners were
exhume Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and object ...
d for reburial elsewhere.


Escapes

The first man to escape from Barlinnie was John Dobbie, three days after being sentenced to 15 years for a violent robbery in 1985. Dobbie escaped inside a laundry van; he was captured by armed police five days later and was sentenced to a further five years.


Current use

Today Barlinnie is the largest prison in Scotland, holding just under 1,400 prisoners although it has a design capacity of 987. The prison currently receives prisoners from the courts in the West of Scotland as well as retaining male remand prisoners and prisoners serving less than 4-year sentences. It also allocates suitable prisoners from its convicted population to lower security prisons, including HMP Low Moss and HMP Greenock, as well as holding long-term prisoners in the initial phase of their sentence prior to transfer to long-term prisons such as HMP Glenochil, HMP Shotts, HMP Kilmarnock or HMP Grampian. Barlinnie prison still consists of five accommodation halls with each holding approximately 200 inmates and an additional National Top End Facility (Letham Hall) housing long term prisoners nearing the end of their incarceration. All five accommodation halls were refurbished between 1997 and 2004. There is also a hospital unit with accommodation for 18 prisoners, which includes eight cells specially designed for suicide supervision. A new administration and visiting block was completed in 1999. The in-cell bucket-as-toilet routine known as
slopping out Slopping out is the manual emptying of human waste when prison cells are unlocked in the morning. Inmates without a flush toilet in the cell have to use other means (formerly a chamber pot, then a bucket, now often a chemical toilet) while locked ...
was still in practice there as late as 2003. Since 2001, refurbishment has taken place after critical reports by the Scottish Chief Inspector of Prisons. In October 2018, it was announced that HMP Barlinnie is to be sold and replaced with a new superjail within Glasgow or its outskirts. In 2019, local MP
Paul Sweeney Paul John Sweeney FIES ; born 16 January 1989) is a Scottish politician. A member of the Scottish Labour and Co-operative Party, he currently serves as Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Glasgow region in the 6th Scottish Parliame ...
proposed that the historic prison buildings be saved from demolition and converted into a prison museum after it is decommissioned. In January 2020, the Prison Service announced that the proposed site for the replacement prison was a site formerly occupied by Provan Gas Works. As at February 2025 the prison was operating at 140% capacity with 1,400 prisoners, and was scheduled to have additional prisoner releases to relieve over-crowding.


Research

Cooperation between the prison authorities, the prisoners and third parties has resulted in the production of research materials suggesting the following conclusions: (2010) Alcohol is blamed by the majority of youths (av age 18.5 years) for their committing serious harm to others (base study 172 persons) by the use of weapons (mostly knives). 90% of the study group were in Barlinnie for committing serious harm to others (i.e. not crimes of dishonesty). Most were gang members.


Notable former inmates

* Paul Ferris – Glasgow Gangland figure * Jimmy Boyle *Hugh Collins – died 14 August 2021 aged 70. Glasgow Gangland figure, once dubbed Scotland's most dangerous prisoner, author and sculptor, married Caroline McNairn * Duncan Ferguson * Peter Manuel * Abdelbaset al-MegrahiLockerbie bomber (died of cancer in 2012) * Tommy Sheridan – Scottish politician * Dominic Devine – serial rapist, died 6 August 2023


Further reading

* Carrell, Christopher & Laing, Joyce (eds.) (1982), ''The Special Unit Barlinnie Prison: Its Evolution through its Art'', Third Eye Centre, Glasgow, * Ross, Anthony (1979), review of ''The Silent Scream'' by Larry Winters, in '' Cencrastus'' No. 1, Autumn 1979, pp. 7 & 8, * Ross, Anthony (1983), review of ''The Special Unit Barlinnie Prison: It's Evolution through its Art'', in Hearn, Sheila G. (ed.), '' Cencrastus'' No. 11, New Year 1983, p. 48,


References


External links


HMP Barlinnie
on the SPS website
'Hanging With Frank' (video showing UK execution protocol at the old gallows in Barlinnie Prison)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hm Prison Barlinnie Government buildings in Glasgow Barlinnie 1882 establishments in Scotland Barlinnie Government agencies established in 1882