Borstal comes from the old English ‘burg’ meaning place and ‘steall’ meaning refuge; effectively a ‘place of refuge’ [1]. Borstal prison, now known as HMP Rochester, was founded in 1874 and is still in use today.
Situated just outside of Rochester next to the river Medway, the prison was constructed on a former military site. The final building work was completed by its first inmates and the prison was fully operational by 1875. Prisoners from Borstal prison were also conscripted to rebuild Fort Rochester between 1875 and 1885. This Fort was later used during World War 1 as a resupply point for troops and equipment. [2]
The prison served as a labour camp for male inmates with many labouring at public works [1]. As with all Victorian prisons, life was hard and conditions brutal; prisons were designed with punishment in mind. Inmates were subjected to humiliating practices such as the cropping of their hair down to the scalp and a thorough, intimate, examination of the individual for guards to note down any distinguishing features or marks the inmate had on their body. Carried out under the guise of due process, it served a more sinister purpose of breaking the will and spirit of an inmate before they entered the prison [2]. In the early years, it was not uncommon for inmates to die of starvation or illnesses related to malnutrition due to the incredibly poor diet.
Borstal, although originally created to be another typical Victorian prison, became quite famous for evolving later into something new. It is because of this that the name is still recognised today.
In 1902 Borstal became the first juvenile correctional facility. Prior to this, all ‘young offenders’ were housed in adult prisons with the adult population. This put children convicted of offences at great risk of harm, abuse and manipulation. Several newspapers at the time, including The Daily Chronicle and The Fortnightly Review [3], placed considerable pressure on the government to examine the state of the prison system calling out for an improvement in conditions and a more enlightened and educated approach to the latter stages of the justice system. In 1894, it was Herbert Gladstone, renowned liberalist and reformer and son of William Ewart Gladstone, who chaired the Departmental Committee on Prisons in answer to the pressure from the press and from Mr Edmund Du Cane: chairman of Prison Commissions.
Although any real understanding of penal reform was very much in a fledgling stage, breakthroughs in the new science of criminal anthropology shone a light on the growing problem of criminality in Victorian Britain. As such, the report recognised and acknowledged that although some criminals might be ‘irreclaimable’ [3] the link between social deprivation and poverty was an area that could be practically addressed to reduce crime. Equally significantly was the recognition of the need for reform. While the Victorian focus was always going to be on the punitive side, this report allowed for discussion regarding ways of reducing reoffending and crime in general through individualised treatment. This began with separating out different categories of inmates including first time offenders, repeat offenders, alcohol related offenders (drunkards), people suffering mental illness or impairment (feeble-minded) and most notably for the fate of Borstal: young offenders.
Borstal was the first institution of its kind separating children from adult offenders. This allowed the redesigned Borstal prison regime to focus on education rather than punishment. It was Gladstone and other reformers who recognised that a young first-time offender need not become a lifetime criminal and that if interventions were put in place early enough, reoffending could be avoided. The system, introduced in 1902, was given its earliest shape and form by Sir Alexander Patterson who became the prison commissioner in 1922 [4]. He implemented a ‘house’ system not dissimilar to the ones used in modern schools across the world. The inmates were held to account by the housemaster or house mistress who distributed or removed ‘marks’. [5] Inmates accrued marks as a way of showing their progression towards rehabilitation and release and could lose them for negative behaviours such as fighting or failing to carry out their duties. This ‘marks’ system replaced the traditional sentencing model of serving time and encouraged the inmates to actively work towards release through making positive choices while in custody.
The success of Borstal meant that this model was rolled out on a national level and formalised in the 1908 Prevention of Crime Act. The idea of taking young offenders and offering them education alongside their punishment was the first real step towards what we would now identify as rehabilitation for minors. The inmates at Borstal, post 1902, were aged between 15 and 21[6] and had to participate in a full and strenuous regime that consisted of physical exercise often in the form of sport to develop social skills and teamwork. Industrial and agricultural training was also offered so that on their release, they could find meaningful employment and become self-sufficient, in addition to evening lessons to improve maths and literacy skills.
The history of Borstal prison is not without its controversy however. There is evidence to suggest that Borstal prison was a violent and unpleasant place for its occupants despite the advancements and reforms. The borstal culture of youth violence went on to inspire the 1979 film ‘Scum’ that saw a young Ray Winstone rise to become ‘the daddy’ of the borstal after being brutalised by other inmates [7]. ‘Scum’ was so violent and controversial, including scenes of serious physical and sexual abuse by prison officers, that it had to be given an 18-rating. It went on to become a huge cinema success and launched the careers of many now esteemed actors.
The term Borstal fell out of favour and was officially abolished and replaced through the Criminal Justice Act of 1982 [8]. The new ‘Youth Custodial Centres’ now pave the way for housing and rehabilitating young offenders however the name Borstal, from the original Borstal Prison near Rochester, will always be synonymous with a tentative step in the right direction towards reform and away from the brutality of punitive sentencing.
[1] History of Borstal – Kent Past [2] Behind the gate – insidetime & insideinformation [3] Borstal Prison – 19th Century Prison History [4] Victorian Prison Conditions | Prisons and Transportation | Old Police Cells Museum [5] Alexander Paterson, youth work and prison reform – infed.org: [6] Borstal system | penology | Britannica [7] Scum (1979) – IMDb [8] Deviance, disorder and the self : Criminality (bbk.ac.uk)Photos
[1] Borstal Institution, Rochester, Kent (childrenshomes.org.uk) [2] Herbert Gladstone (spartacus-educational.com) [3] HM Prison Rochester – WikipediaBy Thomas Briggs