Historic Sites of Manitoba: Headingley Gaol (RM of Headingley)

Link to:
Photos & Coordinates | Sources

This correctional facility in the Rural Municipality of Headingley was designed by Winnipeg architectural firm of Pratt and Ross and built between 1929 and 1930 by St. Boniface-based contractor Joseph Lorenzo Guay.

In the centre of the complex was the two-storey administration building that housed offices for the complex and the receiving room that prisoners would be brought to when they first came to the facility along with medical rooms, governor’s office, chief turnkey’s quarters, laundry room, and work rooms. The three-storey east and west blocks contains the cells for the prisoners with 56 cells on each floor, 448 cells in total. The end of the west block contained the death cells and the execution room. The complex also contained a auditorium building.

Superintendents

Period

Superintendent

1929-1938

John Crawford Downie (1864-1942)

1938-1946

Royal Burritt (1876-1962)

1946-1955

Staff Sargeant Edward Weeks

1955-1968

Sargeant Sidney H. B. Littlewood

1968-1970

William Ellis Lawson (c1912-1970)

1970-1973

Reverend Eric G. Cox

1973-1975

Douglas Henry Walter “Doug” Lawrence (1926-2015)

1975-1977

John Michael Gillingham

1977-1980

Alvin H. Carruthers

1980-1981

Reginald A. Forester

1981-1983

Albert Stuart

1983-1984

Paul Levielle - Acting

1984-1988

Reginald A. Forester

1988-1992

Denis B. Lemoine

1992-1996

Lawrence Robert “Larry” Krocker (1948-2004)

1996

Denis B. Lemoine

1996-1997

Reginald A. Forester

1997-2001

James Ross

Photos & Coordinates

Architectural drawing of the Headingley Gaol

Architectural drawing of the Headingley Gaol (1929)
Source: Winnipeg Tribune, 6 July 1929, page 7

Site Location (lat/long): N49.87032, W97.43793
denoted by symbol on the map above

See also:

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Headingley Gaol Cemetery (RM of St. Francois Xavier)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Manitoba Industrial Farm / Prison Farm (RM of Reynolds)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Central Judicial District Gaol and Courthouse (20 Third Street SE, Portage la Prairie)

Manitoba Business: Pratt and Ross

Memorable Manitobans: Joseph Lorenzo Guay (1890-1962)

Sources:

“Plans for new provincial jail,” Winnipeg Tribune, 6 July 1929, page 7.

“Govt. accepts $198,991 tender,” Winnipeg Tribune, 9 July 1929, page 2.

Turnkey to Case Manager: The Professionalisation of the Correctional Officer Headingley Correctional Institution, Manitoba, 1930-1996 by Christian J. R Stansfield, MA Thesis, University of Manitoba, 2001. Appendix B / page 155.

We thank Lois Braun, Nathan Kramer, and Jordan Makichuk for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 1 March 2024

Historic Sites of Manitoba

This is a collection of historic sites in Manitoba compiled by the Manitoba Historical Society. The information is offered for historical interest only.

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