New Hall was originally used as a satellite prison for HMP Wakefield to house men who were near the end of their sentence. The ‘open’ prison system began as an experiment at New Hall in 1933 due to an increase in the prison population and a lack of suitable employment. The success of this led to the opening of New Hall Camp in 1936. New Hall was re-roled in 1961 as a senior detention centre for male young offenders. In 1987 the prison was converted to a women’s prison.
Short description of residential units
- Holly House For 12 prisoners with complex issues
- Maple House MBU for up to nine women and 10 babies
- Oak House Mainstream residential unit
- Poplar House First night centre (Poplar 1) and mainstream residential unit (Poplar 2)
- Rivendell House 30 ensuite rooms for women with personality disorders and selected prisoners on the enhanced regime
- Sycamore House Segregation unit with 12 cells
- Willow House A and B wings provided mainstream residential accommodation. C wing held prisoners serving life and long-term sentences
The #1 governor is Julia Spense, who has been in post since August 2019 and the prison has a capacity of 381 and is part of the East Midlands group of prisons. It is operated by HMPS