Visited with @Chloe Explores and my daughter (who sensibly stayed in the car keeping dry and warm)
a complete walk in, past the houses on a private road. we knew it was a prison as it says on maps but we weren’t sure what type though given the layout it was obvious it was an open prison of some type. reminded me of the holiday camps of old.
as the weather was so crap we headed into the two obviously open buildings, one of which is burnt out. unfortunately the weather took a worse turn so we had to leave as it was affecting the cameras but will return at some point. what we managed we enjoyed and went undisturbed.
ive no idea who “rally” is but he seems to be well liked going by the graffiti.
i look forward to returning as it’s a big site and there are lots of buildings to discover and the grounds to fully explore.
History -
HMYOI Finnamore Wood was opened in 1961 as a open prison for young offenders (18- to 21-year-old males) serving their last 2–3 months before release back into the community. The camp was opened as a satellite camp for Feltham Borstal and later used as an annexe to HM Prison Huntercombe.
Situated in one of the most rural areas of Buckinghamshire on the site of the former Evacuation Camp, known as, 'Finnamore Wood Holiday & Evacuation Camp'. The site was used for housing evacuees of Beal Modern Girls' School along with refugees during the Second World War.
In 1948 the camp was used to house members of the American Canoe team who used the Rowing Club as a training base for their Olympic Rowers.
Shortly after, the site was used again as a holiday camp during the 1950s and was bought by the Home Office in 1960.
When the camp closed in 1996, all inmates were transferred to Huntercombe YOI near Henley on Thames, which is still operational as a prison.
Finnamore Wood was the site of the first of the government's elementary camp schools built under the Camps Act which was passed in April 1939. A further 30 constructed camps would follow. The Act prompted the creation of the National Camps Corporation to oversee these camps.
On 22 April 1940 some pupils from Beal Modern Girls' School arrived at their wartime evacuation school, Finnamore Wood Camp. Many girls spent nearly four years at Finnamore Wood before it was safe to return to London. The girls used to spend some time creating useful items to send to the forces fighting in the great war, such as quilts. Many other evacuees from Beal Modern Girls' School would spend holidays such as Christmas at Finnamore Wood.
Inmates were introduced back into the community from Finnamore Wood, where many used to have jobs in the local towns and farms. The camp consisted of an Educational Institute offering social skills courses along with a computer lab, classes in cooking in the camps Dining Hall and Kitchens, and the site also concentrated on sports recreation, with a remedial gymnasium/sports hall and a large playing field.
Inmates were assigned jobs for the short period of time that they spent at Finnamore Wood. These jobs featured Gardening and Greenhouse planting, carpentry and plumbing.
Finnamore Wood provided inmates with a taste of freedom and very rarely did anyone abuse this. Inmates slept in long dormitories without locks on the main doors (apart from normal household latches) and each inmate had their own key for their respective room. Each room had no ceiling and was open on all sides, to aid access by officers in case of barricades. Windows weren't covered with bars but instead a metal mesh.
There was no chapel within the grounds of the camp, the boys would worship in Frieth Church on a Sunday.
The camps buildings were mainly made from wood with brick foundations apart from the Dining Hall which featured brick chimneys and metal smoke outlets. The camp contained four cell blocks each unit with a communal bathroom. Other buildings on the site, a shower block, library, first aid centre, gardeners workshop, a carpenters workshop, plumbing workshop, education building and art studios and also a visits room.
Some prison staff lived off site and would travel to work at Finnamore Wood. Others would live within the grounds in wardens housing with their families. A bar and social club was also on site for the residential staff and wardens.
On 16 October 1992 some young prisoners from Finnamore Wood fought with their guards as they were passing through Henley-on-Thames. The guards contacted the local Police to attend and quell the riot as the wardens feared the situation could have erupted further, the vehicle was diverted to Henley Police Station.
Inmates were being transferred to Huntercombe young offenders unit when the incident took place.
Rioting in the prison was very minimal and the security was fairly relaxed compared to the life behind bars that inmates would have previously experienced.
Before the prison closed, some plans to enlarge the capacity of HMYOI Finnamore Wood to enable it to accommodate adult inmates were being discussed. However after the proposition fell through, the prison camp was sold off and the wardens houses are now privately owned. There is currently a planning application awaiting decision for five houses. The land has been purchased, and signage erected on most of the buildings display warnings of the hazardous building material Asbestos. The derelict prison cell blocks have fallen into extreme disrepair and the dining hall roof collapsed along with the shower block in early 2013.
The site has now been secured with high wooden hoarding along with signs erected stating Guard Dogs and Barbed Wire being present on the inside.
On May 6th 2020, a fire broke out on the site and one of the former prison camps buildings was damaged by the fire.
the last picture is of war evacuees at the site
a complete walk in, past the houses on a private road. we knew it was a prison as it says on maps but we weren’t sure what type though given the layout it was obvious it was an open prison of some type. reminded me of the holiday camps of old.
as the weather was so crap we headed into the two obviously open buildings, one of which is burnt out. unfortunately the weather took a worse turn so we had to leave as it was affecting the cameras but will return at some point. what we managed we enjoyed and went undisturbed.
ive no idea who “rally” is but he seems to be well liked going by the graffiti.
i look forward to returning as it’s a big site and there are lots of buildings to discover and the grounds to fully explore.
History -
HMYOI Finnamore Wood was opened in 1961 as a open prison for young offenders (18- to 21-year-old males) serving their last 2–3 months before release back into the community. The camp was opened as a satellite camp for Feltham Borstal and later used as an annexe to HM Prison Huntercombe.
Situated in one of the most rural areas of Buckinghamshire on the site of the former Evacuation Camp, known as, 'Finnamore Wood Holiday & Evacuation Camp'. The site was used for housing evacuees of Beal Modern Girls' School along with refugees during the Second World War.
In 1948 the camp was used to house members of the American Canoe team who used the Rowing Club as a training base for their Olympic Rowers.
Shortly after, the site was used again as a holiday camp during the 1950s and was bought by the Home Office in 1960.
When the camp closed in 1996, all inmates were transferred to Huntercombe YOI near Henley on Thames, which is still operational as a prison.
Finnamore Wood was the site of the first of the government's elementary camp schools built under the Camps Act which was passed in April 1939. A further 30 constructed camps would follow. The Act prompted the creation of the National Camps Corporation to oversee these camps.
On 22 April 1940 some pupils from Beal Modern Girls' School arrived at their wartime evacuation school, Finnamore Wood Camp. Many girls spent nearly four years at Finnamore Wood before it was safe to return to London. The girls used to spend some time creating useful items to send to the forces fighting in the great war, such as quilts. Many other evacuees from Beal Modern Girls' School would spend holidays such as Christmas at Finnamore Wood.
Inmates were introduced back into the community from Finnamore Wood, where many used to have jobs in the local towns and farms. The camp consisted of an Educational Institute offering social skills courses along with a computer lab, classes in cooking in the camps Dining Hall and Kitchens, and the site also concentrated on sports recreation, with a remedial gymnasium/sports hall and a large playing field.
Inmates were assigned jobs for the short period of time that they spent at Finnamore Wood. These jobs featured Gardening and Greenhouse planting, carpentry and plumbing.
Finnamore Wood provided inmates with a taste of freedom and very rarely did anyone abuse this. Inmates slept in long dormitories without locks on the main doors (apart from normal household latches) and each inmate had their own key for their respective room. Each room had no ceiling and was open on all sides, to aid access by officers in case of barricades. Windows weren't covered with bars but instead a metal mesh.
There was no chapel within the grounds of the camp, the boys would worship in Frieth Church on a Sunday.
The camps buildings were mainly made from wood with brick foundations apart from the Dining Hall which featured brick chimneys and metal smoke outlets. The camp contained four cell blocks each unit with a communal bathroom. Other buildings on the site, a shower block, library, first aid centre, gardeners workshop, a carpenters workshop, plumbing workshop, education building and art studios and also a visits room.
Some prison staff lived off site and would travel to work at Finnamore Wood. Others would live within the grounds in wardens housing with their families. A bar and social club was also on site for the residential staff and wardens.
On 16 October 1992 some young prisoners from Finnamore Wood fought with their guards as they were passing through Henley-on-Thames. The guards contacted the local Police to attend and quell the riot as the wardens feared the situation could have erupted further, the vehicle was diverted to Henley Police Station.
Inmates were being transferred to Huntercombe young offenders unit when the incident took place.
Rioting in the prison was very minimal and the security was fairly relaxed compared to the life behind bars that inmates would have previously experienced.
Before the prison closed, some plans to enlarge the capacity of HMYOI Finnamore Wood to enable it to accommodate adult inmates were being discussed. However after the proposition fell through, the prison camp was sold off and the wardens houses are now privately owned. There is currently a planning application awaiting decision for five houses. The land has been purchased, and signage erected on most of the buildings display warnings of the hazardous building material Asbestos. The derelict prison cell blocks have fallen into extreme disrepair and the dining hall roof collapsed along with the shower block in early 2013.
The site has now been secured with high wooden hoarding along with signs erected stating Guard Dogs and Barbed Wire being present on the inside.
On May 6th 2020, a fire broke out on the site and one of the former prison camps buildings was damaged by the fire.
the last picture is of war evacuees at the site
