Why was my great grandfather in Parkhurst Prison in 1921?

Q The 1921 census revealed that my great grandfather Albert Hindley was in Parkhurst Prison as an inmate. We are astonished because nobody in the family knew anything about this.

Albert had previously been listed (in other censuses and parish records) in various roles at the London and North Western Railway (he was based in Warrington).

How can I find out more information, particularly what Albert did to end up in Parkhurst Prison?

Helen Thomas

A This is an excellent example of the valuable detail we can find out about our ancestors from the newly released 1921 census of England and Wales. Parkhurst Prison was situated in Newport on the Isle of Wight, and had the reputation of being one of the toughest gaols in the country.

To find out more about what your great grandfather did, you may want to start with a search of local and national newspapers. There may be a report of the trial with details of the offence. Search the British Newspaper Archive ( britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk), or if you’re a ‘Pro’ subscriber the newspapers on Findmypast ( findmypast.co.uk). You should also check with the record office local to Warrington in case it holds some undigitised material.

You may wish to search for articles relating to Parkhurst Prison as well, because these can provide fascinating insight into the life that your great grandfather may have led there.

For example, on 3 October 1921 the Derby Daily Telegraph reported that “convicts at Parkhurst Prison, Isle of Wight, are being employed in making a bowling green”.

There are detailed registers of the prisoners at Parkhurst, which are available on Findmypast in the collection ‘England & Wales, Crime, Prisons & Punishment, 1770–1935’. These give each prisoner’s age, marital status and number of children; whether they can read or write; their trade; when and where they were convicted; their crime; their sentence, and when and where it was received; any previous offences; and when removed and where. However, not all of this information has been transcribed. Unfortunately for your research, these registers cover 1847–1866 only, and do not extend to 1921.

However, the collection also includes records from ‘Home Office: Calendar of Prisoners’ (series HO 140 at The National Archives in Kew). More than 630,000 people are mentioned for 1868–1929, so it would be worth putting your ancestor’s name into the search box to see if anything relevant appears.

For further tips on researching a criminal ancestor, see The National Archives’ excellent guide at nationalarchives.gov.uk/helpwith-your-research/researchguides/criminals-and-convicts. Emma Jolly