Imprisoned mothers in Victorian England, 1853–1900: Motherhood, identity and the convict prison

This article explores the experiences of imprisoned mothers in the Victorian convict prison system. It argues that motherhood, of central importance to the ideals of Victorian femininity, was disrupted and fractured by women's long-term imprisonment. Using 'whole life' history methodology, the paper draws on research into 288 women imprisoned and then released from the prison system, of whom half were mothers. It illuminates how the long term prison system dealt with pregnancy, childbirth and family contact for female prisoners. It argues that whilst institutional or state care was often an inevitable consequence for children of single or widowed mothers, women used their limited resources and agency to assert their identity as mothers and direct outcomes for their children. But for others, prolific offending and multiple long sentences would render any chance of motherhood impossible

‘Cavemen in an era of speed-of-light technology’ : historical and contemporary perspectives on communication within prisons

Many prisoners believe that the restricted access they have to computer-mediated communcation (CMC) technologies and, in particular, the almost total absence of computers and Internet access in prisons is a form of censure that renders them second-class citizens in the Information Age. This article examines contemporary rationales and historial precedents for denying prisoners the means to communicate (both with each other and with those outside the prison) and argues that the prevention of communication, a pivotal feature of the Victorian and Edwardian prison regime, represents a significant continuity in the experience of prison life in the 21st Century

Female prisoners, aftercare and release : residential provision and support in late nineteenth century England

This article examines the release and aftercare of female prisoners in England during the late nineteenth century. Primarily it seeks to illuminate the use of residential provision for women who had been released from both convict and local prisons, contrasting the two systems and suggesting how such institutions may have affected the women's subsequent offending. The research presented here draws on two sets of data, the material on local prisons uses a case study of female prisoners at Stafford prison (Turner, 2009; 2011) and the convict prison data draws on the licensing and release of female convicts collated for a recent ESRC funding project on the costs of imprisonment (Johnston & Godfrey, 2013a). This article outlines and reflects upon aftercare and residential provision for women leaving prison, during a period when a woman released from prison was regarded as 'the most hopeless creature in the world' (Reverend William Morrison cited in Gladstone Committee Report, 1895). Aftercare and support was variable for those leaving local prisons, but for convict women released on conditional licence to a refuge, this could offer them the opportunity to build a new life after release

Gendered prison work: female prison officers in the local prison system, 1877-1939

This article examines the working lives of female prison officers between 1877 and 1939. It documents a relatively under-researched, but important, period in the history of women's imprisonment in England. In doing so it aims to uncover the working lives of female officers, the role and daily duties of officers, the development of training schools for female staff and to understand the ambiguous role of officers in the ‘reform' of prisoners during these decades. The research contextualises the work of the female officer within the changing female prison estate and declining female prison population in this period and examines the ways in which gender and class combined in prison work

Relationship of body size to time of nesting and mate preference in the Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)

The first part of this thesis investigated the relationship between time of nesting and body size in Ring-billed Gulls (Larus delawarensis). There were no significant differences in skeletal measurements among birds from early, peak, post-peak, and late nesting periods. Discriminant function analysis failed to classify individuals by overall body size into groups defined by the periods in which they initiated nesting activities. Body condition was significantly lower in late-breeding birds compared to those from other nesting periods. Although there was a direct relationship between timing of nesting and body condition, no such relationship held with body size or individual skeletal variables. The second part of this thesis examined the relationship between body size and mate preference in Ring-billed Gulls. A total of 16 skeletal measurements were taken on each bird from 108 mated pairs of gulls. Variance in skull and bill measures was significantly lower between mates than in randomly generated pairs. However, correlation coefficients for all single skeletal characters between mates were low. High correlations were found between mates in body condition and fresh weight but not in random pairs. A significant positive correlation existed between overall body size within mated pairs but not within random pairs. The results indicate that Ring-billed Gulls mate assortatively on the basis of body condition and to a lesser degree by overall body size. I postulate, however, that this assortative mating is not the result of active choice of similar-sized or quality mates. Ring-bill probably attempt to obtain the best quality mate possible, but because of the presence of higher quality competitors, actually obtain mates of comparable size and quality. This type of mate choice would appear as assortative mating in studies undertaken after mate selection was completed