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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
National
Esther Addley

Reading gaol, prison home of Oscar Wilde, sold to educational foundation for £7m

Oscar Wilde Reading Prison Banksy Geoffrey Swaine Henry I Rex
Reading gaol
Reading gaol’s 3.8-acre site contains the ruins of part of a medieval monastery and the burial site of King Henry I. Photograph: Rob Hayes/National Trust

It has hosted medieval kings, housed the imprisoned Oscar Wilde, and been decorated by Banksy. But for a decade, the site of the former Reading gaol, built on the footprint of the town’s medieval monastery, has been shuttered and empty, to the frustration of local politicians and campaigners.

Now, a decade after it was mothballed by the Ministry of Justice, the former HMP Reading has finally been sold to a non-profit educational foundation for £7m, the government has confirmed.

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