The Strange Story of the World's Smallest Operating Prison
Imagine a tiny island with no cars, no street lights, and no big city hustle. This is Sark, a tiny corner of the Channel Islands in the English Channel that belongs to Great Britain. Here, amidst the picturesque landscapes and silence, stands the smallest working prison in the world. It is designed for only two prisoners and its history is full of amazing events, from pirate raids to the comical “invasion” of a French physicist. Let’s figure out why this prison on the island of Sark is so unique.
The prison on the island of Sark appeared in 1856. It is a modest stone building with a barrel-shaped roof, more like a barn than a place of imprisonment. Inside there are only two cells: one measuring 1.8 by 1.8 meters, the other slightly larger - 1.8 by 2.4 meters. Between them is a narrow corridor one meter wide. There are no windows, only wooden beds with thin mattresses. Despite its size, the prison is still functioning, which makes it a real record holder in the Guinness Book of Records.
Sark is an island just 5 kilometers long with a population of about 500 people. It is a real paradise, where people live surrounded by nature, eat clean food and know each other by name. Serious crimes rarely occur here, so the prison often serves as a sobering-up station for drunk tourists or locals. But in the past, this place has seen more interesting guests.
The prison took 20 years to build, as the island's budget was always tight on money. After its opening, the prison stood empty for a long time, as the inhabitants of Sark are modest, hardworking and law-abiding people.
The prison's history began with a young servant named Elizabeth Chestone. In the mid-19th century, she stole a beautiful handkerchief from her mistress. The court sentenced her to three days in prison. However, the windowless cell scared the girl so much that the locals took pity on her. She was allowed to serve her sentence with the door open, and compassionate women from the island visited her, bringing her food and entertaining her with conversation. Thus began the "criminal" chronicle of the smallest prison.
To understand why such a peaceful island needed a prison at all, it is worth looking at the history of Sark. Until 2006, it was a feudal state, the last in Europe. The island was ruled by a lord, and the locals were his tenants. Sark was repeatedly targeted by pirates and smugglers, and was even occupied by German troops during World War II. The prison, built on the site of an old wooden building, symbolized the lord's power and control over the island.
Interestingly, there are still no cars on Sark, and the only means of transportation is by bicycle, horse, or foot. This isolation makes escaping from the prison virtually pointless – where would you run to on an island the size of a small village?
But thanks to its convenient location and seclusion, Sark has long been loved by all sorts of villains and adventurers, albeit outsiders. Pirates, robbers, rebels and all sorts of strange personalities hid on the island. Nothing has changed in modern history.
The most curious episode in the prison's history occurred in 1990. French nuclear physicist Andre Garde decided that he was the rightful heir to Sark. Armed with a semiautomatic rifle and posters, he sailed to the island and declared himself "lord." Garde even posted leaflets around Sark proclaiming his power. Locals looked at the eccentric with bewilderment.
However, his “invasion” ended quickly and comically. A local constable, who did not even have a weapon, disarmed the “invader” with a single punch to the nose and sent him to the tiny prison for a week. This incident became the last officially documented incarceration in Sark prison. In 2013, this funny story was made into a film called “The Man Who Stole an Island”.
It was Andre Garde who became the last criminal inmate of the local prison. Today, the prison on the island of Sark is rarely used. The maximum term of imprisonment is two days, after which offenders are sent to the neighboring island of Guernsey, where there are more spacious cells. Most often, tourists who have overindulged in alcohol end up in prison. As a rule, freedom is not deprived for long - until the "villain" sobers up. Local volunteer constables keep order, and their work is usually only enough for such minor incidents.
However, the prison remains an important part of Sark's history, attracting tourists who want to see the world's smallest prison and hear its strange stories. The building is maintained in working order, preserving it as a symbol of the past and a tourist attraction.