| General Details, | Inspections |
| Regimes, | Visits and getting there, |
| Work and Education | Local News |
Contact Information
| Name or Prison | HMP Wealstun |
| Address: | Church Causeway Thorp Arch Wetherby Yorkshire LS23 7AZ |
| Other contact details: | |
| Web Site: | |
| Email: | |
| Main switchboard: | 01937 444 400 |
| At Risk hotline: | |
| Fax: | 01937 444 401 |
| Visits booking number: | 01937 444599 |
| Visits booking email/web site: | www.gov.uk/prison-visits |
| Visits booking txt number: | |
| Type of Prison: | Male Cat C |
The prison is part of the Yorkshire & Humberside Region and is operated by HMPS. The #1 governor is Diane Lewis, who has been in charge since October 2015, and the prison holds up to 832 men
HMP Wealstun is a Category C training and resettlement prison near Wetherby in West Yorkshire, formed in 1995 from the merger of two neighbouring jails, HMP Thorp Arch and HMP Rudgate, both built in the 1960s on a former Royal Ordnance Factory site. The prison converted fully to closed Category C status in 2010, and in January 2024 it opened a new 40-cell rapid-deployment unit, K Wing, which took its operational capacity up to around 908 men.
The Independent Monitoring Board’s 2023-24 annual report found the prison under real pressure from that growth. Receptions rose by 21% year-on-year to 807 arrivals, the large majority transferred in from HMP Leeds, putting strain on reception, induction and offender management staff. The Board raised concerns about safety, with self-harm and prisoner-on-prisoner assaults both running high compared with similar Category C prisons, and noted that drugs and mobile phones continue to find their way in despite security measures, fuelling debt-related violence. Purposeful activity was also flagged as a weak spot, with most work only part-time and a sharp rise in prisoners dropping out of courses after changes to early-release rules.
Anyone with a family member or friend at HMP Wealstun can use the contact details above to get in touch with the prison directly for the latest information on visits and welfare support.