Reading Gaol is a mid-Victorian prison on Forbury Road, opened in 1844, that holds an outsized place in literary history because of its most famous inmate. Oscar Wilde was imprisoned here from November 1895 to May 1897, serving two years' hard labour after his conviction for gross indecency. During his imprisonment he wrote De Profundis — a long letter to his lover Lord Alfred Douglas, only published after his death — and after his release composed The Ballad of Reading Gaol, which is both his most accessible poem and one of the most powerful pieces of Victorian social protest literature.
The prison closed in 2013 and has been used since for a series of arts events and temporary exhibitions. The building is not open for regular public visits, but the exterior — a forbidding red-brick Victorian fortress set back from the road — is clearly visible, and the literary and historical significance of the site makes it worth seeking out if you know the story. Plans for a permanent cultural use of the building have been under discussion since its closure.