Dr. Helen Johnston | University of Hull

Dr. Helen Johnston

Research Interests

My main areas of research are located within the fields of the history of crime and punishment (from around 1750-1950) and in contemporary imprisonment.  My doctoral research was concerned with the transformation of local imprisonment in the nineteenth century and since then I have undertaken various research projects and publications concerned with; the working lives and training of prison staff in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries; the changing female prison estate in the early twentieth century and prison architecture.

Research Grants Awarded

Current research projects: 

The Costs of Imprisonment: A Longitudinal Study     

ESRC funded project with Professor Barry Godfrey and Dr David Cox (both at Keele University).

This research is a new large project on the human and financial costs of imprisonment funded by ESRC. This research will explore how imprisonment imposed a large financial burden on nineteenth and twentieth century governments, and a significant human cost on the prisoners themselves. The research will explore whether early release schemes, properly supported, produced a better outcome for ex-prisoners and ultimately reduced recidivism; and the findings of their research will be discussed by members of the judiciary, government ministers, and academics at the conclusion of the project in 2012.

Holloway Prison for Women, 1902-1945

British Academy funded project with Professor Yvonne Jewkes (University of Leicester) (starts from Nov 2011).

In 1902 HMP Holloway local prison was re-designated and became the first female-only local prison in England. This research will undercover the development and administration of Holloway from 1902 until the end of the Second World War. In the early twentieth century, the female prison estate in England and Wales underwent a considerable transformation and as London’s only female local prison, Holloway held a significant place in this estate. In the first half of the twentieth century, Holloway held detainees interned during both World Wars, imprisoned suffragettes, women who were awaiting execution, as well as ordinary prisoners committed for short periods. Today, Holloway is one of the largest women’s prisons in Europe. Yet there is surprising little historical research of the prison; this research aims to fill this gap by providing a detailed study of the administration and day-to-day experience of those who lived and worked in Holloway in the early to mid twentieth century.