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image captionProtective screens went up at Reading Prison on Thursday
Protective screens have been placed on the wall of Reading Prison adorned with the graffiti of street artist Banksy.
The picture shows a prisoner - possibly resembling famous inmate Oscar Wilde - escaping on a rope made of bedsheets tied to a typewriter.
The screens went up on Thursday, though the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) declined to comment on the activity at the site.
Rabble Theatre in Reading tweeted: This is such a positive statement. At long last, our Banksy getting protected.
The Save Reading Gaol campaign group said it was glad to see some sturdy protection over the artwork at last .
Activists are trying to preserve the prison he was sent to after his conviction for “indecency,” saying his life is an important part of Britain’s history.
‘You Feel Goose Bumps’: The Push to Preserve Where Wilde Was Jailed for Being Gay
Activists are trying to preserve the prison he was sent to after his conviction for “indecency,” saying his life is an important part of Britain’s history.
The perimeter wall, right, of the now closed Victorian jail where Oscar Wilde was incarcerated in 1895 on a charge of “gross indecency.” The ancient Reading Abbey is on the left.Credit.Mary Turner for The New York Times
June 1, 2021Updated 4:32 p.m. ET
READING, England -The metal stairway creaks and groans underfoot on the way to cell C. 3.3, a bare oblong room of painted brick behind a large and forbidding prison door.
Pic: Reading Buses READING BUSES have announced their latest plan to provide free open-top bus tours of town, including Reading s Banksy mural at Reading Gaol. The tours, first announced earlier today, is designed to help celebrate the town s ongoing reopening this half term. Robert Williams, Chief Executive Officer of Reading Buses, said today: “We wanted to find a way to help encourage visitors back to Reading’s excellent town centre, and provide a new reason to visit. “Having been forced to cancel our annual family open day this year due to Covid-19, we wanted to organise a creative opportunity to raise money for our charity of the year Sport in Mind.