The persistence of the Victorian prison: alteration, inhabitation, obsolescence, and affirmative design

Dominique Moran; Matt Houlbrook; Yvonne Jewkes

doi:10.1177/12063312211057036

The persistence of the Victorian prison: alteration, inhabitation, obsolescence, and affirmative design

Dominique Moran, Matt Houlbrook, Yvonne Jewkes

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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Abstract

Prior scholarship tracing the origins and architecture of prisons has tended to focus on how and why prisons are built—what they are intended to achieve and their construction as an expression of the punitive philosophies of their age. It does not consider how prisons persist as time passes, perhaps beyond their anticipated operational life span, and into “obsolescence.” Focusing on the archetypal Victorian prison, and considering the alteration and inhabitation of such prisons through time, this article critically reinterprets notions of obsolescence in the built environment and explores an enduring cultural attachment to a particular and arguably archaic material manifestation of punishment.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	364-378
Number of pages	15
Journal	Space and Culture
Volume	25
Issue number	3
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/12063312211057036
Publication status	Published - 9 Jan 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: Funding was received from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) ES/T005483/1 for the research which underpins this paper.

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2022.

Keywords

carceral geography
prison
Victorian period
prison design
obsolescence

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Access to Document

10.1177/12063312211057036Licence: Creative Commons: Attribution (CC BY)

Moran2022_Persistance_of_the_Victorian_PrisonFinal published version, 359 KBLicence: Creative Commons: Attribution (CC BY)
Moran, Houlbrook & Jewkes 2022 publisher pdf

1 Other contribution

Making proper use of 'proper prisons'? The Victorian estate and the future of the prison system
Moran, D., Turner, J., Jewkes, Y. & Houlbrook, M., 9 Aug 2024, 11 p. London : The Howard League for Penal Reform.
Research output: Other contribution

Open Access

1 Active

The Persistence of the Victorian Prison: Alteration, Inhabitation, Obsolescence and Affirmative Design
Moran, D. & Houlbrook, M.
Economic & Social Research Council
1/11/20 → 31/10/24
Project: Research Councils

Cite this

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The persistence of the Victorian prison: alteration, inhabitation, obsolescence, and affirmative design

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

UN SDGs

Access to Document

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Research output

Making proper use of 'proper prisons'? The Victorian estate and the future of the prison system

Projects

The Persistence of the Victorian Prison: Alteration, Inhabitation, Obsolescence and Affirmative Design

Cite this