From Violent Prison to Housing Estate in Essex: A Transformation

Bullwood Hall in Essex, notorious for violent inmates, is now a residential estate after prison closure.

From Violent Prison to Housing Estate in Essex: A Transformation
From Violent Prison to Housing Estate in Essex: A Transformation

Bullwood Hall is now a popular estate in Hockley, England. It used to be a prison for women, known for its violent inmates, and Hockley sits between Rayleigh and Rochford. The Doomsday Book called it Hocheleia, which means Hocca’s woodland clearing.

The name sounds peaceful, but the area housed dangerous prisoners. Bullwood Hall was built in the early 1960s.

It initially held young female offenders, but later, it held adult female criminals, too. The prison held inmates who committed terrible crimes, as shown in documentaries like “The Real Bad Girls.”

It faced criticism for an old practice, as the building was too small to have toilets in all cells. A 2005 report revealed “slopping out”, where inmates emptied overnight toilets. Bullwood Hall housed some notorious prisoners before it became a housing site.

Sharon Carr, Britain’s youngest female murderer, was once an inmate there. At age twelve, Carr stabbed Katie Rackliff thirty-two times, Katie was a stranger going home from a nightclub.

Tracie Andrews was another famous prisoner, receiving a sentence of at least fourteen years. Andrews stabbed her ex-partner forty-two times with a pen knife, falsely claiming a road rage attack.

The prison shut down in 2013. In 2015, plans arose to build homes on the site and they approved sixty new houses. The old Bullwood Hall, once a grand home, was carefully developed.

Image Credits and Reference: https://www.essexlive.news/news/essex-news/essex-housing-estate-once-home-10017324
Disclaimer: Images on this site are shared for informational purposes under fair use. We use publicly available sources and prefer official materials. If you have any issues, feel free to contact us.
Fact-Checking Policy: We rely on trusted sources and double-check our information before publishing. If you notice any mistakes, please let us know, and we’ll correct them quickly.

Your community's news source! Local writers bringing you UK news, school info & events. Email: dodoxler+swan@gmail.com