United Kingdom · South East England · Maidstone
HMP East Sutton Park
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Gallery
From Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-SA where not otherwise stated).
Photo by Charles Latham (1847-1912) via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
Photo by Charles Latham (1847-1912) via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
Photo by Charles Latham (1847-1912) via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
Photo by Charles Latham (1847-1912) via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
Photo by Charles Latham (1847-1912) via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
Photo by Charles Latham (1847-1912) via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
Photo by Charles Latham (1847-1912) via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
Open female (Cat D) prison in Maidstone, South East England.
Background
HM Prison East Sutton Park is a women's open prison and young offender's institute located in the Parish of East Sutton, near Maidstone in Kent, England. The prison is operated by His Majesty's Prison & Probation Service.
Source: Wikipedia article lead, CC-BY-SA.
Capacity
100
Current population
—
Occupancy
—
Year opened
1946
Operational
Figures from official sources · verified 29 May 2026 · methodology
Facility profile
Operator
HM Prison & Probation ServicePopulation held
female
Opened
1946
Region
South East England
Security level
Minimum
Death-row facility
No
Conditions
were closed due to fire safety concerns. Within the grounds there are excellent to deliver excellent outcomes for the women held. We assessed these as activity had outcomes dropped slightly, to ‘reasonably good.’ women was prioritised. Violence and self-harm were rare and there was much to motivate and incentivise engagement in the prison’s regime, not least the context of the more positive outcomes we identified.
Visiting
This was our first visit to the prison since 2016, and we found that it continued women’s prison some miles away, but the governor visited regularly and the
Mailing
underpinned the positive work in the establishment.
Practical info
to motivate and incentivise engagement in the prison’s regime, not least the extensive use of temporary release (ROTL) to support employment, family ties and resettlement. At the time of our inspection over 80% of women had access women who retained their position with employers following their release. These achievements, however, were undermined by weaknesses in education underpinned the positive work in the establishment.
Known issues
women was prioritised. Violence and self-harm were rare and there was much
Contact & address
Conditions Risk Score
Derived signal — not a judgement. How it's calculated
- Overcrowding
- 0/30
- Oversight reports
- 6/30
- Structural flags
- 0/15
- Death signals
- 0/15
- Conditions text
- 0/10
What the score is responding to:
- · 1 oversight report in the last 5 years
This facility scores 6. The national average across 584 scored United Kingdom facilities is 4 — 2 points above national average.
Related facilities
Same country, matched on type + security level where possible.
- HMP Askham GrangeYorkMinimumOpen female (Cat D)
- HMP StyalWilmslowHighClosed female
- HMP NottinghamNottinghamHighLocal
- HMP BristolBristolHighLocal
- Yarl's Wood Immigration Removal CentreClapham, BedfordHighImmigration removal
- HMP BronzefieldAshford, SurreyHighClosed female94% occupancy
Compared to other facilities in United Kingdom
583 peersHigher risk than 0% of peer facilities in United Kingdom.
Reports
- HMIP8 Jan 2024
East Sutton Park is an open prison near Maidstone in Kent, holding just under 100 women. Set in a rural location, the main building is a former manor house, where women live in dormitories, although during our inspection some of these were closed due to fire safety concerns. Within the grounds there are excellent additional accommodation units, capable of supporting semi-independent living. This was our first visit to the prison since 2016, and we found that it continued to deliver excellent outcomes for the women held. We assessed these as ‘good,’ our highest score, in three of our healthy prison tests. Only in purposeful activity had outcomes dropped slightly, to ‘reasonably good.’ The prison was overwhelmingly safe and respectful, and the well-being of women was prioritised. Violence and self-harm were rare and there was much to motivate and incentivise engagement in the prison’s regime, not least the extensive use of temporary release (ROTL) to support employment, family ties and resettlement. At the time of our inspection over 80% of women had access to ROTL and many had full-time, paid employment in the community. The success of this approach was further evidenced by the considerable number of women who retained their position with employers following their release. These achievements, however, were undermined by weaknesses in education provision. Our colleagues in Ofsted assessed the overall effectiveness of learning and skills as ‘requires improvement’ which was disappointing in the context of the more positive outcomes we identified. The promotion of equality had stalled. We found little evidence of significant differential outcomes, but our survey indicated some more negative perceptions among some groups with protected characteristics. This suggested a need for better communication, although consultation with prisoners, as well as arrangements to facilitate redress, were generally reasonably good. The prison was managed in partnership with the far larger Downview closed women’s prison some miles away, but the governor visited regularly and the deputy governor, who was on site full time, knew the prison well and was knowledgeable about the women in his care. Leadership in the prison was dynamic, ambitious, and visible. Some officers were new and inexperienced and would have benefited from better supervision and support, but this did not affect the particularly good staff-prisoner relationships we observed, which underpinned the positive work in the establishment. The governor had set sensible priorities, but development plans needed to be sharper and would have benefited from a more consistent use of data. East Sutton Park was, however, a good prison. The governor and her team should be congratulated on their achievements. Charlie Taylor HM Chief Inspector of Prisons November 2023
- HMIP20 Apr 2021
Scrutiny inspection of HMP/YOI East Sutton Park (2021-04-20)
Data completeness
94%How many of our profile fields are populated. We surface this so families and researchers know the limits.
Sources
- GOV.UK â HMP East Sutton Park
- HMI Prisons inspection reports
- Wikipedia — Wikimedia Foundation
- Find a prison â GOV.UK — UK Ministry of Justice / HMPPS
- HM Inspectorate of Prisons â reports — HMI Prisons (UK)
- Wikidata — Wikimedia Foundation
- Wikidata (Q5635167)
- Wikipedia
- Wikimedia Commons
- See /data-sources for our overall methodology.
Cite this page
Under CC-BY-4.0. Include the URL and access date; the site is a living reference and entries can change.
World Prisons. (2026). HMP East Sutton Park. Retrieved October 20, 2026, from https://worldprisons.com/prisons/hmp-east-sutton-park
"HMP East Sutton Park." World Prisons. Accessed October 20, 2026. https://worldprisons.com/prisons/hmp-east-sutton-park.
@misc{worldprisons-hmp-east-sutton-park,
author = {{World Prisons}},
title = {HMP East Sutton Park},
year = {2026},
url = {https://worldprisons.com/prisons/hmp-east-sutton-park},
urldate = {2026-10-20}
}