History
Originally known as Grendon Hall, the building was constructed in 1872 as a family home. During the Second World War the site was initially used as a base for MI6, and was then a training centre for the Special Operations Executive. After the war, the site was converted by the Prison Service, and became the first Open Prison in the United Kingdom in 1953.
In April 2003, thieves broke into Spring Hill Prison, stealing £650 from a safe and taking valuable personal effects, including mobile phones, from inmates' lockers.
In December 2007, after a colony of sparrows had settled at the London Zoo's Gorilla exhibit, inmates constructed ten bird boxes for the zoo to encourage the birds to breed and stay in the area.
Read more about this topic: Spring Hill (HM Prison)
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—Jonathan Raban (b. 1942)