Imprisoned mothers in Victorian England, 1853–1900: Motherhood, identity and the convict prison
| Author | Helen Johnston |
| DOI | 10.1177/1748895818757833 |
| Published date | 01 April 2019 |
| Date | 01 April 2019 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
https://doi.org/10.1177/1748895818757833
Criminology & Criminal Justice
2019, Vol. 19(2) 215 –231
© The Author(s) 2018
Article reuse guidelines:
sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/1748895818757833
journals.sagepub.com/home/crj
Imprisoned mothers in
Victorian England, 1853–1900:
Motherhood, identity and the
convict prison
Helen Johnston
University of Hull, UK
Abstract
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 article 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 while
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.
Keywords
Family contact, imprisonment, mothers, Victorian convict prison
Pregnancy, childbirth and family contact for imprisoned mothers is a central concern for
contemporary criminology and the 21st-century prison system (Baldwin, 2015, 2017;
Codd, 2008; Condry et al., 2016; Moore and Scraton, 2016). Many women sent to prison
are mothers; a significant proportion are mothers of dependent children; and many are
lone parents (Caddle and Crisp, 1997; Social Exclusion Unit, 2002). The children of
Corresponding author:
Helen Johnston, School of Education and Social Sciences, University of Hull, Cottingham Road, Hull, HU6
7RX, UK.
Email: H.Johnston@hull.ac.uk
757833CRJ0010.1177/1748895818757833Criminology & Criminal JusticeJohnston
research-article2018
Article
216 Criminology & Criminal Justice 19(2)
imprisoned mothers are often cared for by the mother’s own parents, siblings or friends
and one in 10 children are under local authority care (Corston, 2007). No official records
are kept of the number of children born in prison in England and Wales, but there are six
mother and baby units (all in England), where infants aged up to 18 months can remain
with their mothers. Children are then separated from their mothers, resulting in profound
consequences for the children in terms of care, accommodation and ‘collateral damage’
but also stress and trauma for mothers (Condry et al., 2016; Moore and Scraton, 2016;
Scharff Smith, 2014).
This article takes a historical view of these contemporary concerns by examining the
experiences of imprisoned mothers in the Victorian convict prison system. It draws on a
sample of ‘whole life histories’ of 288 women serving penal servitude (long-term prison
sentence) in the mid- to late 19th century; around half of whom were mothers. It will
argue that historically, as today (Baldwin, 2017), women’s identities as mothers were
disrupted, sometimes completely fractured, by incarceration. However, despite being
severed from family life, imprisoned mothers used the little agency they had and means
available, to assert their mothering identities and influence outcomes for their children,
albeit within very limited resources.
This article will examine pregnancy and childbirth in prison, prison nurseries and
family contact during the sentence, as well as the maintenance and care of children dur-
ing their mother’s imprisonment. While motherhood was seen as central to women’s
identity and the ideals of Victorian femininity, imprisonment fractured this role.
Separation from their children, infant mortality and family disruption during incarcera-
tion ensured that motherhood was ‘forcibly suspended or even terminated and future
expectations – including motherhood – […] put on permanent hold’ (Jewkes, 2005: 369;
see also Crewe et al., 2017; Walker and Worrall, 2000). Imprisoned mothers tried to
maintain contact with children: for single mothers or widows, state intervention into the
lives of their children was inevitable, but they used their limited resources to influence
these outcomes. However, for others, as the following examples will show, their role as
mothers was completely disrupted, or the convergence of middle age and multiple long
sentences put future motherhood beyond their reach.
Despite the interest in women’s imprisonment historically and the various ways in
which women’s criminality and reformation were often measured against Victorian ide-
als of womanly behaviour (D’Cruze and Jackson, 2009; Zedner, 1994), notably mother-
hood, there is little existing research in this area. The paucity and fragmentary nature of
documentary evidence about imprisoned mothers and their children historically partially
explains this. However, the use of ‘whole life history’ methodology provided a means of
overcoming some of these difficulties by producing detailed information on women’s
daily lives inside and outside prison.
Female Convict Prisons
The establishment of long-term imprisonment in England and Wales from 1853 brought
into focus the problem of pregnant women, nursing infants and children in prison. Until
that time, shorter sentences served in local prisons had allowed a fair degree of diversity
in practice. Female transportees were or became pregnant during the journey overseas,
To continue reading
Request your trial