Where is Strangeways prison and when did the riot take place?
THE riots which destroyed most of Strangeways in 1990 are known as some of the worst in British history.
The prison has since been renamed after a major rebuild and reopening. This is what we know about Strangeways.
Where is Strangeways prison?
The male-only jail, officially called HM Prison Manchester, is located in the Strangeways district just to the north of Manchester City Centre.
The prison is famed for its prominent ventilation tower and imposing design, and has become a local landmark.
Strangeways was designed by Alfred Waterhouse and cost £170,000 to build. It opened in 1868 with a capacity of 1,000 inmates.
The prison walls, which are rumoured to be 16 feet thick, are said to be impenetrable from either the inside or out.
Accommodation is divided into nine wings in two radial blocks.
Cells are a mixture of single and double occupancy and all have in-cell power points and sanitation.
Strangeways was rebuilt after major riots in 1990 and now holds closer to 1,200 prisoners.
When was the Strangeways riot?
A series of riots plagued the prison between April 1 and April 25, 1990 and around 147 staff and 47 prisoners were injured.
There was one fatality among the prisoners and a prion officer died from heart failure.
Concerns about the conditions within the prison and the fact prisoners felt their complaints were not being heard is believed to have sparked the riot - which began at the prison chapel.
The majority of the old prison building was damaged or destroyed during the rioting.
More than £80million was spent on repair and modernisation which was completed in 1994.
The riots at Strangeways are believed to be one the worst in British history.
The riots led to the Woolf inquiry, which investigated disturbances in Manchester and other prisons between June 11 and October 31, 1990.
Woolf blamed the "intolerable" conditions inside Strangeways in the months leading up to the riots and a "combination of errors" by the prison staff and prison service management as a central contributing factor.
Does HM Prison Manchester have any notorious inmates?
Former inmates of Strangeways include footballer Joey Barton, who was jailed for assault, and Charles Bronson, on one of his many stays in prison.
Mark Bridger was held there on remand for the murder and abduction of April Jones.
GP serial killer Harold Shipman was held there whilst awaiting trial.
One-eyed cop killer Dale Cregan was sent there after four years in a secure hospital after he was ruled "bad not mad".
The prison is known to cage murderers, rapists, bank robbers, gang leaders and terrorists.
In March 2018 a man accused of killing his girlfriend after she dumped him was found dead at the jail.
Manchester City footballer Benjamin Mendy was held there in 2022 after he was accused of rape.
How many riots have there been at Strangeways?
Other than the series of riots over 25 days in 1990, which destroyed most of the old prison, there have been many other notable incidents at the prison.
Attacks on staff have been frequent since its reopening in 1994.
Husnain Rashid, an ISIS fanatic who urged extremists to attack Prince George, was stabbed in the prison in 2018.