Edwina Grosvenor

Lady Edwina Grosvenor is a prison philanthropist who graduated in 2005 from Northumbria University having studied Criminology and Sociology and has developed a career in prison reform. Her work has taken her all over the UK and around the world, visiting different models of criminal justice and witnessing first hand examples of best – and worst - prison practice.  From the children residing in Nepalese prisons to the death row residents in the US high security institutions, Edwina has made it her mission to act as a witness to prisons wherever she may be.

Between 2007-2010 Edwina supported and advised the Bishop for Prisons, James Jones in the House of Lords. She was one of the Corston Coalition of Independent Funders seeking to drive implementation of the Report through Government.  Edwina advised the Government on the Women’s Advisory Board for Female Offenders under The Secretary of State for Justice. During this time, a progressive female offender strategy was published which emphasized the need to reduce the number of women in prison, to understand trauma in a gender specific sense and it also moved towards a recognition that the vast majority of women in prison should and could be better cared for in the community.

She is a founding investor and Ambassador of the Clink Restaurant chain, which trains prisoners for work in the catering industry. The four large fine dining restaurants, which are open to the general public, are built in prisons and staffed by men and women who are still serving time in order to train them in the necessary skills to secure a job in the catering industry upon release. The Clink has a 90% success rate with its graduates.

Edwina is the founder and Chair of One Small Thing, an organisation that aims to redesign the justice system for women and their children. It seeks to educate criminal justice staff on the impact of trauma and influence for a more compassionate approach system wide. One Small Thing is currently building Hope Street, which will be a pioneering purpose-built residential community across Hampshire designed with women and children at its heart. Hope Street will provide support to women in a holistic environment providing a much needed place in the community where women can recover without the need for their children to be removed into care.

Edwina sits on the advisory board to the Centre for Criminology in the Faculty of Law at the University of Oxford. She completed her master’s degree in Criminology and Crime Scene Management at Solent University in August 2021 achieving a distinction and became a founding member of the Global Philanthropic Advisory Board in January 2022. She is also Patron of Paladin, which is the country’s only national stalking advocacy service.

Edwina is the 2022/23 High Sherriff of Hampshire.