What is the smallest jail in the UK?

Sark Prison, located on the quaint island of Sark in the Channel Islands, holds the distinction of possibly being the smallest operational jail in the world. With room to house only two prisoners, the prison does not see many inmates nowadays, although it does occasionally accommodate an overly inebriated seasonal worker or tourist.

Sark, with a population of about 500 and spanning merely three miles long and one mile wide, is one of the smallest inhabited Channel Islands. Despite its size, Sark boasts an intriguing history that dates back to 1040 when it was a gift from William of Normandy to the Mont-Saint-Michel Abbey. Its past is laden with invasions and occupations, from being seized by the French in 1549 and recaptured by the English, to being used by smugglers and pirates, and being occupied by the Germans during World War II.

The island, which was known as the last feudal state in Europe until 2006 when democracy was formally introduced, earned recognition as the world’s first Dark Sky Island in 2011. Another interesting facet of Sark is its minuscule prison, constructed in 1856. The prison, with its barrel roof, consists of two adjoining cells, one 6 by 6 feet and the other 6 by 8 feet. There are no windows and the cells are separated by a slim three-foot corridor.

In its early years, the prison once held a young servant girl for three days for stealing a handkerchief. She was so petrified of the dark cell that the locals allowed her to place her chair in the doorway, where the women of the town would keep her company by chatting and knitting until her sentence was served.

In recent times, the Sark prison seldom sees serious crimes. The island’s two unpaid law enforcement officers, the Constable and the Vingtenier, mainly handle minor offences. The last significant crime happened in 1990 when André Gardes, an unemployed French nuclear physicist, attempted a one-man invasion of the island, asserting he was the rightful Lord of Sark. His plan, however, was thwarted, and he was arrested.