The Ballad of Reading Gaol The Ballad of Reading Gaol The Ballad of Reading Gaol is a poem by Oscar Wilde, written in exile in Berneval-le-Grand, after his release from Reading Gaol () on 19 May 1897. Wilde had been incarcerated in Reading after being convicted of homosexual offences in 1895 and sentenced to two years' hard labour in prison. During his imprisonment, on Tuesday, 7 July 1896, a hanging took place. Charles Thomas Wooldridge had been a trooper in the Royal Horse Guards. He was convicted of cutting the throat of his wife, Laura Ellen, earlier that year at Clewer, near Windsor. He was
Cardiff Gaol Cardiff Gaol Cardiff Gaol was a prison located on St. Mary Street, Cardiff, Wales. Prior to its construction, people were imprisoned in Cardiff Castle. Cardiff's original court and gaol were located within the walls of Cardiff Castle. Whilst the court moved within the castle walls, the gaol was always located within the Black Tower. The earliest surviving gaol record is a Gaol Calendar from 1542, at which time the castle was still used. After the Town Hall was built in the High Street in 1331, its main space included a court room, which resulted in the construction of a holding