Feltham Borstal, Feltham, Middlesex
In 1910, the former Middlesex Boys' Industrial School at Bedfont Road, Feltham, Middlesex, was taken over by the Prison Commissioners. It was re-opened as a Borstal Institution, a new type of institution established by the 1908 Prevention of Crime Act to house young offenders between the ages of 16 to 21.
![Feltham Borstal site, aerial view](FelthamBI3.jpg)
Feltham Borstal site, aerial view from the south-west. © Peter Higginbotham
The inmates were given a routine which included physical exercise, school lessons, work training, strict discipline and follow-up supervision after their discharge.
![Feltham Borstal inmates, date unknown.](FelthamBI1.jpg)
Feltham Borstal inmates, date unknown. © Peter Higginbotham
![Feltham Borstal library, c.1945.](FelthamBI2.jpg)
Feltham Borstal library, c.1945. © Peter Higginbotham
In 1991, following a merger between Feltham Borstal and the Ashford Remand Centre, the site was redesignated as HM Young Offender Institution and Remand Centre, Feltham.
Records
Note: many repositories impose a closure period of up to 100 years for records identifying individuals. Before travelling a long distance, always check that the records you want to consult will be available.
- The
Ancestry UK
website has two collections of London workhouse records (both name searchable):
- The Find My Past website has workhouse / poor law records for Westminster.
- London Metropolitan Archives, 40 Northampton Road, London EC1R OHB.
Bibliography
- Fox, Lionel W The English Prison and Borstal Systems (1952, Routledge & Kegan Paul)
- Behan, Brendan Borstal Boy (1958, Hutchinson)
- Hutton, John Portland Borstal Institutution Miscellany Volume 2 (2018)
- Lodge, Jeremy Lowdham Grange. Borstal! (2014)
Links
- None identified at present.
Except where indicated, this page () © Peter Higginbotham. Contents may not be reproduced without permission.