The Cell: separation, isolation and space in the architecture of the birth of the prison

Johnston, Helen

Abstract

This article will examine the changing place of architecture and the contested nature of prison space across 100 years of the development of the modern prison. In the mid eighteenth century the architecture of imprisonment was relatively unimportant in the sense that the function of the prison was merely to hold those confined for short sentences or debt until release, or until court appearance, transportation to the colonies, or execution; the focus was primarily the security of the prison and it had little meaning beyond this. At this time, it was probably the architecture of the gallows that had a more symbolic place in the minds of the populous with regard to the operation of punishment. By the end of the eighteenth century, this began to alter as the prison and, more importantly for this article, the architecture and spatial planning of the prison were transformed and the prison was placed at the centre of a new philosophy of punishment.

Citation

Johnston, H. (2010). The Cell: separation, isolation and space in the architecture of the birth of the prison. Prison service journal, 9-14

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: 2010-01
• Journal: Prison service journal
• Print ISSN: 0300-3558
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Issue: 187
• Pages: 9-14
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/405192