United Kingdom · East Midlands · Leicester
HMP Leicester
Data is aggregated from public sources and may be incomplete or out of date. Always verify with primary sources before acting on any figure. See data sources.
For families
How to send mail, money, and visit HMP Leicester
Step-by-step guidance using the United Kingdom system — addresses, money services, visit booking, what to bring on your first visit.

UK Local prison operated by HM Prison & Probation Service. Listed in the GOV.UK Find a prison directory.
Background
HM Prison Leicester is a Category B men's Local prison, located on Welford Road in the centre of Leicester, Leicestershire, England. The term 'local' means that the prison holds people on remand to the local courts, as well as sentenced prisoners. Leicester Prison is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service, and is situated immediately north of Nelson Mandela Park (formerly Welford Road Recreation Ground). According to Colin Crosby, a Blue Badge guide based in Leicester, tourists invariably ask if the prison is 'Leicester Castle', due to the embattled, medieval design of its frontage, and its unique appearance has also made it one of the city's most celebrated landmarks. Known throughout the nineteenth century as the 'County Gaol', today the prison has become synonymous with the thoroughfare on which it stands, and is commonly referred to as 'Welford Road Prison', or simply, 'Welford Road'.
Source: Wikipedia article lead, CC-BY-SA.
Capacity
320
Current population
—
Occupancy
—
Year opened
1828
Operational
Facility profile
Operator
HM Prison & Probation Service
Population held
male
Opened
1828
Region
East Midlands
Security level
High
Death-row facility
No
Conditions
HMI Prisons publishes independent inspection reports on roughly a 3-5 year cycle.
Visiting
Visits booked online via the GOV.UK Prison Visits Booking service. Photo ID required. Visit frequency varies by the inmate's IEP level.
Mailing
Format: Prisoner Name & Number, HMP Leicester, HMP Leicester 116 Welford Road Leicester LE2 7AJ See map Help us to improve this page. Give us your feedback in this 2-minute survey .. Use Send Money to a Prisoner (GOV.UK) for funds — cash not accepted.
Practical info
Assisted Prison Visits Unit can help with travel costs for eligible families. Email a Prisoner service is available via the official website.
Known issues
Contact & address
Conditions Risk Score
Derived signal — not a judgement. How it's calculated
- Overcrowding
- 0/30
- Oversight reports
- 0/30
- Structural flags
- 0/15
- Death signals
- 0/15
- Conditions text
- 0/10
Compared to other facilities in United Kingdom
583 peersHigher risk than 0% of peer facilities in United Kingdom.
Data completeness
94%How many of our profile fields are populated. We surface this so families and researchers know the limits.
Sources
- GOV.UK — HMP Leicester
- GOV.UK Find a prison index
- Find a prison — GOV.UK — UK Ministry of Justice / HMPPS
- HM Inspectorate of Prisons — reports — HMI Prisons (UK)
- GOV.UK Find a prison — collection — UK Ministry of Justice / HMPPS
- Wikipedia — Wikimedia Foundation
- See /data-sources for our overall methodology.