Talk:HM Prison Onley

Location of the prison
I've lived within 5 miles of Onley for 30 years & am fairly sure that the 3 prisons are within the parish of Barby, Northamptonshire, not Willoughby. The county boundary as shown on the Philip's Navigator Britain map (2007) appears to confirm this. NinetyCharacters (talk) 12:54, 30 December 2008 (UTC)


 * I struggled with this, but the HM Prison Service website lists the prisons as in Willoughby, Warwickshire. The prisons also have a CV23 postcode, which does put them in the Rugby postal district in Warwickshire. Bleaney (talk) 14:28, 30 December 2008 (UTC)


 * I agree that the Prison Service website has the postal address of the Onley prisons as "Willoughby, Rugby, Warwickshire, CV23 8AP", but the prisons are (as the map shows) in fact in the parish of Barby, in Northamptonshire. Postcodes do not, I suggest, prove which county a place is in; many places have a post town (& therefore a postcode) which is in an adjoining county. NinetyCharacters (talk) 15:38, 30 December 2008 (UTC)


 * ALL sources list the prisons as being in Willoughby, Warwickshire. I cant find any source which states that the prisons are in Northamptonshire, even if the boundaries of the maps show it that way. Surely the Prison Service would know what county their prisons are in? Bleaney (talk) 02:05, 31 December 2008 (UTC)


 * If you can't find a source that says the prisons are in Northamptonshire then you haven't looked hard enough. I've amended the Willoughby, Warwickshire page and, on the discussion page, have given my reasons for doing so.  I'm sure your addition was well intended.  It was, however – as anyone with local knowledge could confirm – incorrect and misleading. NinetyCharacters (talk) 15:45, 2 January 2009 (UTC)

Also you only half changed the article, as Onley Prison is still in the Prisons in Warwickshire Category. Also you have failed to add any mention of the prisons in the Barby article - Very slapdash. I'm not going to fight you on this, I guess i'll just have to clean up your mess. Bleaney (talk) 13:45, 4 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Thankyou for acting out on your own before reaching a consensus. I admit I am not local to Willoughby or Barby, but I do have knowledge of HM Prison Service (Not as an inmate i'll add).


 * I'm not happy with this at all, i've just called Onley Prison, and they claim the prison IS definately in Warwickshire. As it stands the Onley Prison article is now very muddled. Some other opinions from other locals would be gratefully received, I have put in a request for more opinions on this on the Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Warwickshire page.Bleaney (talk) 14:28, 4 January 2009 (UTC)

(transferred discussion from WikiProject Warwickshire):

Hi there, I really need some help with people who have local knowledge! I have recently created an article for Onley (HM Prison), and the prisons own entry on the official HM Prisons website states that Onley Prison and Rye Hill Prison are both situated in Willoughby, Warwickshire. However another editor (who says they live in the area) claims that the prisons are actually located just over the border in Barby, Northamptonshire. Although Onley Prison IS named after the Onley (lost settlement) which IS in Northamptonshire, nearly all sources found on a google search list the prisons as in Warwickshire. (A few just state that the prison is on the Warwickshire/Northamptonshire border. I actually called the prison today and they confirmed that while the prisons are on the county border, they are both situated in Warwickshire. However this other editor is pretty insistant, and weve reached an impasse.

Could really use a few other local people's views on this, or any tips as to where I could find a definative sourced answer on this. As it stands, the Onley prison article is very muddled at the moment. Bleaney (talk) 14:21, 4 January 2009 (UTC)


 * It looks like it is in Northamptonshire from the map. Take a look at this map where you can see the county boundary with Warwickshire to the left of the line and the prison over the boarder in Northamptonshire. Keith D (talk) 00:15, 6 January 2009 (UTC)


 * I agree, the map shows the prisons in Northamptonshire, but all written sources (including the BBC, and the Prisons own website) state that they are in Warwickshire. Would it be inappropriate to list the prison under both counties? Bleaney (talk) 00:28, 6 January 2009 (UTC)


 * I would think that there needs to be a note on the situation in the article so that readers know the position. Keith D (talk) 14:04, 6 January 2009 (UTC)


 * I am the "other editor" mentioned above and should like to thank Keith D for providing the link to the map, which does make it very clear that the prisons are in Northamptonshire. Why do prison service sources say they are in Warwickshire?  I can only speculate that it suits their operational needs to do so – just as it suits Royal Mail to give Onley and Barby a Rugby, Warwickshire postal address.  It is NOT true that "all written sources" state that the prisons are in Warwickshire.  The majority may do so, but in this instance the majority are wrong.  Many people (especially those without local knowledge) copy misinformation from other sources without checking it carefully.


 * I agree with Keith D: what's needed is to state the facts and try to explain the situation clearly – which is what my first contribution to the Willoughby page on 2 January 2009 attempted to do. In other words, we don't want anyone to think that, in order to reach the prisons, you need to divert off the A45 into Willoughby, or to visit Barby.  I don't propose to amend the Barby page – although, as with the Willoughby page, I shall correct any misleading information which does get posted there.  That apart, I'm now retiring from Wikipedia editing, with the exception of pages created by a contributor in the USA who has been unfailingly appreciative of my efforts.  I've edited 3,000+ pages in the last year and created about six.  Thanks, Bleaney: you motivated me to make this decision, by describing my work as "very slapdash".  I can now concentrate on more rewarding pursuits and won't have to endure the ignoramuses and vandals who plague Wikipedia.  Goodbye! NinetyCharacters (talk) 08:15, 7 January 2009 (UTC)


 * Sorry that you feel that way NinetyCharacters, i'm sure all your wiki contributions have been valid (as I hope mine have). My concern is that you have left the Onley (HM Prison) in a bit of a state, as you changed the location of the prison to Northamptonshire, but did not change the article's category, or amend the wikiprojects on the articles talk page, which leaves the article looking muddled. To be fair, I dont enjoy been called a vandal or an ignoramus either. I have been editing on wikipedia for nearly 2 years now, and have created over 30 articles, and many thousands of edits in that time. I'm sorry if my 'slapdash' comment has hurt you, but then being called an ignoramus doesnt excactly make my day full of sunshine either. Bleaney (talk) 14:16, 7 January 2009 (UTC)

To resolve this, I have listed the prison under both locations and counties, and have explained the ambiguity of the prion's location in the introduction to the article. Bleaney (talk) 22:53, 11 January 2009 (UTC)

I have worked at HMP Onley since 1996 and have, I hope, a clear and unambiguous understanding of where I work; HMP Onley lies in the county of Northamptonshire. I cross the county boundary twice every day travelling to and from work, the Ordnance survey mapping shows clearly that the county boundary runs across the approach road to the prison. All planning permissions for example, and we have had a lot in recent years are dealt with by Daventry district council and daventry council used to empty our bins, our local police force who as you would expect we work very closely with is Northamptonshire. The prisons postal address is Willoughby, Warwickshire, CV23 8AP, the post code is that of Coventry. Post codes however should not be taken as confirmation of a places location, simply the post office that deals with that areas post. Whilst the suggestion is the CV post code places Onley in Warwickshire, Coventry itself has been located in the modern county of West Midlands since 1974. Onley is without doubt in Northamptonshire. Fremund (talk) 17:42, 1 February 2009 (UTC) I have today adjusted the introduction to reflect the fact that the prison lies in the county of Northampton. Fremund (talk) 17:34, 13 February 2009 (UTC)

Notable inmates
Changing the subject completely, can someone please confirm that the link to the American lawyer and judge Joe Oscar Eaton is correct? I see no reference to a custodial sentence at all for him, let alone one in the UK. I also cannot fathom whom is meant by the reference to a Joe Eaton. Cathi M (talk) 01:06, 8 September 2014 (UTC)