We live next to one of Britain’s most notorious prisons – here’s why we love it | The Sun
THE village of Tardebigge sits in countryside that would flatter any picture postcard – with a magnificent manor house, lambs gambolling in fields and birds singing in the trees above the green.
But just around the corner is one of Britain’s largest and notorious prisons, HMP Hewell, where over 1,500 serious offenders are kept locked up.
The properties on the outskirts of the jail estate were built in the 1940s when the Earl of Plymouth sold Hewell Grange, his magnificent Jacobean country seat, to the government who turned it into a Borstal.
The spacious three and four-bedroom semis served the prison staff, but almost 80 years later, and all sold off, they are now home to all comers.
And despite the occasional bit of drama on their doorsteps – escapes, an armed hold-up on the nearby road and contraband being dumped in ditches – none would give up their rural idyll.
"Houses round here get snapped up very quickly," said Sharon Osborne, whose father was a governor of what was then a young offenders institute.
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"I moved back in with my parents and my baby daughter 40 years ago and would not swap it for the world."
She says this despite Hewell’s recent record, which has seen escapes, riots, accidental releases and condemnations.
In 2012, an armed gang held up a prison van leaving the Worcestershire site to spring drugs kingpin John Anslow.
Five years later, burglar Bilal Bashir absconded and went on a two-week crime spree, while in 2019 a report called the open prison the "worst in the UK".
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None of this bothers the locals though.
Sharon said: "The thing about prison escapes is that they want to get as far away from the prison as possible so if you live nearby they are not likely to bother you.
"Mind you, our home looks out onto the fields surrounding the prison and we would often see young offenders trying to escape across them.
"We would pick up the phone and they would send someone out to collect them."
The 64-year-old pointed to one incident, once it became an adult prison, when a car pulled up outside her house.
"We saw someone jump out and put something in a bush," she said.
"Again, we rang up and a prison officer found an inmate in the woods at the end of our road, going to collect the contraband.
"We have had a few issues. There was a spate of car thefts once but we set up some neighbourhood watch patrols and it soon stopped.
"People liked it when the open prison was there because you would see the prisoners doing useful things for the community.
"They would help out at the local donkey sanctuary and we’d go down to the grounds to watch football and cricket matches."
Our home looks out onto the fields surrounding the prison and we would often see young offenders trying to escape across them.
In 2008, HMP Hewell was formed by an amalgamation of HMP Brockhill and HMP Blakenhurst.
The old Borstal, based in the manor house, had already become a Category D Open Prison in 1993.
Under minimal security, eligible prisoners could spend most of their time offsite to work or study.
Long-term residents remember these as halcyon days.
Because their collection of houses was historically owned by the government, it was not served by the council, so inmates did the jobs the local authority wouldn't.
"They would prune the trees, fix the roads, clean the curbs and cut the grass all under the watchful eye of a prison officer," Ann Broadbent, 78, said.
"It was much nicer then because the grounds were properly maintained."
But that changed in 2019 when a damning report labelled Hewell’s open prison "the worst in the UK", which led to it being closed and the magnificent property, formerly one of England’s grandest stately homes, listed for sale.
Now, neighbours have to fend for themselves in keeping their corner of the country tidy and their access to the stunning grounds and lakes surrounding the hall have been limited.
ESCAPE DRAMA
Ann, whose husband worked at the prison, said: "We’ve had the odd drama.
"A few years ago, a prison van was held up by guns on the road opposite and a man escaped.
"I could see the police searching for discarded weapons in the field and they came round to ask if I had seen anything.
"In general, you wouldn’t know a prison was anywhere near, except when you see those just released waiting for the bus."
Despite being so close to so many offenders, parents say they aren't worried about their kids.
Mum-of-four Rebecca, 40, said: "Despite the prison being there, or maybe because of it, this feels like the safest place in the world to live.
"If we had any trouble or someone at the door, armed police would be here in about 60 seconds. You don’t get that anywhere else.
"I used to love taking the children down to the prison grounds where there are enchanted gardens, a beautiful lake, a hedge maze.
"A group of them go out to play on the swings in the woods. It is like the old days.
"For us, selling it off and closing it down has cost us access to all that beauty."
'IT IS VERY SAFE'
Speculation has been rife about who will buy the famous manor house and former boxer Chris Eubank was seen attending a viewing.
Locals say that he couldn't raise the funds and was beaten to the property by husband and wife Weiqun Liu and Ningyun Chen, who plan to turn it into an "events space".
It is rumoured they paid £54million for the grounds, which contain 22 listed buildings and 247 acres of land.
A further £20m will be needed for repairs and renovations.
Builder John McCormack, 58, is sceptical that anything will happen.
He said: "It’s going to be very difficult. That’s a Grade I listed building so you can’t do anything without permission and the running costs are so high that, if it were to be a wedding venue, you’d need George Clooney to be marrying there every week to cover yourself.
"I hope something works out because this is a unique place. It is very safe.
"There is one road in and one road out and you see kids playing out all the time because we’re a small community and everyone looks out for everyone else."
Despite the prison being there, or maybe because of it, this feels like the safest place in the world to live.
That sense of community was what attracted Rob Cooper, 65, to make it his home over 30 years ago.
He said: "I used to work at the Longbridge car plant in Birmingham and because I lived in Hewell Grange I got a lot of funny remarks.
"People would ask if we had bars on our windows and take the mickey, but they’d be living by Winson Green (a prison in central Birmingham) and I’d be surrounded by beauty and looking out at lambs playing in the fields."
Fellow resident Nicola Brooks, 55, out walking with her dog with music teacher friend Emma, said: "We moved in five years ago because I wanted a beautiful view and I’ve got it.
"We got more for our money here – a four-bed house with a big garden for £265,000.
"The only problem now is pot-holes everywhere because there are no inmates from the open prison to fill them in."
Nobody said they would swap their bit of paradise for life in Bromsgrove or Redditch – towns less than 10 minutes away.
NHS worker Anne Smith, 55, said: "I do check who is at the door but I would not swap this place for anywhere else.
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"I moved from Redditch and this is very quiet.
"There are no cars speeding down the road, no litter or rubbish and children play outside without worries."
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