and local MP Matt Rodda also expressed the hope that the artwork would become a part of this. In May 2021 it was announced that Reading Borough Council's bid for the gaol had been turned down by the Ministry of Justice because the offer of £2.6 million was too low. Notable former inmates Oscar Wilde – author of poem The Ballad of Reading Gaol, based on memory of an execution that took place here while he was serving a sentence for homosexual offences (1895–1897) Charles Thomas Wooldridge – murderer, whose execution inspired Wilde's poem (1896) Amelia Dyer – serial killer of children (1896) Stacy Keach – actor, served six months after being arrested for cocaine smuggling (1984) Anthony Joshua – professional boxer, spent two weeks in HM Prison Reading (2009) References Bibliography Peter Southerton: Reading Gaol by Reading Town (Berkshire Books, Gloucs., 1993). Anthony Stokes: Pit of Shame, The Real Ballad of Reading Gaol (Waterside Press, 2007). External links History of Reading Prison from theprison.org.uk Ministry of Justice pages on Reading Ballad of Reading Gaol Etext Essay on Wilde and the history of Reading Prison Prisons in Berkshire 1844 establishments in England History of Berkshire 2014 disestablishments in England Reading Grade II listed buildings in Reading