Reading Gaol: Oscar Wilde prison sold to educational charity

A prison where celebrated Irish writer Oscar Wilde was once an inmate has been sold to an educational charity, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has said.

Reading Jail formally closed in January 2014 and has been empty ever since.

A campaign to turn the Grade II listed building into an arts and community centre was supported by celebrities including Stephen Fry, Kate Winslet and Dame Judi Dench.

The government said the jail had been sold to the Ziran Education Foundation.

It said the charity's plans for the site included an educational centre incorporating a museum and exhibition space.

Oscar Wilde spent two years at the jail after being convicted in 1895 of gross indecency - effectively for being gay.

He spent the last three years of his life in exile in France, where he composed his last work, The Ballad of Reading Gaol, describing an execution at the prison.

In 2021, a portrait by the celebrated street artist Banksy appeared on a prison wall.

The image showed a prisoner escaping on a rope made of bedsheets tied to a typewriter.

The artist later offered to support the campaign to create an arts hub at the site by selling the stencil he had used in order to match the jail's £10m asking price.

In a statement, the MoJ said: "The sale follows an extensive bidding and vetting process to guarantee best value for taxpayers' money while ensuring future planning applications acknowledge the historic nature of the site.

"The Ziran Education Foundation will now engage with Reading Borough Council on the use of the site as it will need to approve any development plans.

"Initial proposals included plans for an educational centre providing services to the local community, including a museum outlining the history of the prison and an exhibition space accessible to the public."

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