United Kingdom · London · London
HMP Pentonville
Data is aggregated from public sources and may be incomplete or out of date.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 Pentonville
Step-by-step guidance using the United Kingdom system — addresses, money services, visit booking, what to bring on your first visit.
UK YOI prison operated by HM Prison & Probation Service. Listed in the GOV.UK Find a prison directory.
Background
HM Prison Pentonville (informally "The Ville") is an English Category B men's prison, operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. Pentonville Prison is not in Pentonville, but is located further north, on the Caledonian Road in the Barnsbury area of the London Borough of Islington, north London.
Source: Wikipedia article lead, CC-BY-SA.
Capacity
906
Current population
1,240
Occupancy
137%
Year opened
1842
Operational
Facility profile
Operator
HM Prison & Probation Service
Population held
male
Opened
1842
Region
London
Security level
High
Death-row facility
No
Conditions
HMI Prisons has repeatedly described Pentonville as among the worst-performing local prisons. 2024 inspection found high rates of self-harm and inter-prisoner violence.
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 Pentonville, HMP/YOI Pentonville Caledonian Road London N7 8TT 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
Two prisoners escaped in 2016 — first such escape from Pentonville since 1995. Recommendation 'urgent' notification issued by HMI in 2018.
Notable inmates
Crippen (1910), Oscar Wilde (briefly, 1895), George Blake (escaped 1966), Andy Coulson.
Contact & address
Conditions Risk Score
Derived signal — not a judgement. How it's calculated
- Overcrowding
- 12/30
- Oversight reports
- 0/30
- Structural flags
- 5/15
- Death signals
- 0/15
- Conditions text
- 0/10
What the score is responding to:
- · Operating at 137% of design capacity
- · Substantial documented known-issues record
Trend over time
Population and occupancy by year. Source: official corrections statistics + oversight reports.
Population held
Occupancy %
Compared to other facilities in United Kingdom
583 peersHigher risk than 93% of peer facilities in United Kingdom.
Data completeness
100%How many of our profile fields are populated. We surface this so families and researchers know the limits.
Sources
- GOV.UK — HMP Pentonville
- 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
- Wikidata — Wikimedia Foundation
- Wikipedia — Wikimedia Foundation
- See /data-sources for our overall methodology.