Uploaded July 2023 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
North Branch Correctional Institution is one of the most secure high-tech prisons in the world, but to understand how North Branch keeps so many violent offenders under lock and key we need travel back in time.
In 12th century England the King wants to build a fortress that doesn’t just keep his enemies out, but also keeps his prisoners securely locked inside. When William the Conqueror invades England in 1066 he builds a mighty fortress in the middle of London, the Great Tower. It is the biggest building in the capital, designed to keep the King safe and show the English who’s boss! Through the ages the tower has held some of history’s most famous prisoners, Anne Boleyn, Sir Walter Raleigh, and the Princes in the Tower. But as formidable as the Tower looks today, it wasn’t always so.
The Tower’s concept of multiple layers of defence still influences the design of prisons today, and North Branch takes this idea of fortification to the extreme…
Clip from the “Big Bigger Biggest” documentary series exploring the engineering breakthroughs that have enabled us to develop some of the largest structures in existence.
Watch the complete documentary here – youtu.be/M881Px5izXM
Subscribe to Element 18 – bit.ly/337R2uO
North Branch Correctional Institution is one of the most secure high-tech prisons in the world, but to understand how North Branch keeps so many violent offenders under lock and key we need travel back in time.
In 12th century England the King wants to build a fortress that doesn’t just keep his enemies out, but also keeps his prisoners securely locked inside. When William the Conqueror invades England in 1066 he builds a mighty fortress in the middle of London, the Great Tower. It is the biggest building in the capital, designed to keep the King safe and show the English who’s boss! Through the ages the tower has held some of history’s most famous prisoners, Anne Boleyn, Sir Walter Raleigh, and the Princes in the Tower. But as formidable as the Tower looks today, it wasn’t always so.
The Tower’s concept of multiple layers of defence still influences the design of prisons today, and North Branch takes this idea of fortification to the extreme…
Clip from the “Big Bigger Biggest” documentary series exploring the engineering breakthroughs that have enabled us to develop some of the largest structures in existence.
Watch the complete documentary here – youtu.be/M881Px5izXM
Subscribe to Element 18 – bit.ly/337R2uO
