At least no one will break in! 19th century JAIL with 182 'bedrooms' goes on sale for up to £2million (and you even get your own set of keys)

HMP Prison Shrewsbury was closed last year and is now being sold by the Ministry of Justice



It could sell for £2million and boasts river views and is located in Shrewsbury town centre



Property experts say there has been a lot of interest in the site, which could be converted into homes



The Ministry of Justice is selling a number of older and more expensive prisons off throughout the UK




Housebuyers concerned about their family's safety may be interested in a 19th century prison that has recently come on the market.



HMP Prison Shrewsbury, also known as Dana Prison, in Shropshire was closed in March last year as part of a Government programme to close archaic and expensive jails.



The notorious category B/C men's prison, which has 182 'bedrooms', could attract bids of up to £2million, according to a local property expert.

'It's attracting a lot of interest', said Charles Howell, of surveyors and estate agents Cooper Green Pooks, adding that the Grade-II listed property could be used for commercial purposes, residential or another public sector agency.

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Captivating property: A former prison in Shropshire is going on the market, and could attract bids of up to £2million

'As an old property it will need quite a lot of money spending on it for commerical use.'

He added that there are a number of factors which could affect price but the property could attract bids of up to £2million.



The prison, handy for the town centre and overlooking the River Severn, has attracted controversy in the past.

A report in 2005 named it as the most overcrowded in England and Wales and in 2008 another report found that the prison had 178 places in use but held 326 inmates - an overcrowding rate of 183 per cent.

In September 2004, MP George Stevenson, called for an enquiry into the alarming number of suicides at HMP Shrewsbury.



The site is handy for the town centre and overlooks the River Severn, although the views are partly obscured by bars. Pictured is Gerry Hendry, who was governor at the prison from 2005 onwards

The site is reportedly attracting a lot of interest and could be used for residential, commercial, retail or education purposes

An aerial view of the site, which has a variety of different-sized buildings, as well as basements and temporary structures

One of his constituents, Mark Keeling, was found hanged, the sixth apparent suicide at the jail in a year. Three inmates died from hanging in one fortnight alone.

Between 1902 and 1961 seven murderers were executed by hanging within the prison. Four of the hangings in the 1950s were conducted by Albert Pierrepoint, the famous executioner who oversaw the death of at least 400 criminals.



The sale is being handled by GVA Grimley on behalf of the Ministry of Justice. Andrew Moss, director of the Birmingham-based firm, said: 'It's on the fringe of the town centre and could be used for business, maybe retail, maybe education or mixed use.

'In terms of interest, it's relatively early days. It's the first viewing tomorrow and will be there showing people around all day.

'There are parties who are local to the town and there's interest from developers, as you would imagine.'

Inmates inside the prison in 1964. A prison has stood on the site since 1793 but the current structure dates from 1877

Stark: One of the cells in the prison. It once housed 326 inmates in 178 cells

Between 1902 and 1961 seven murderers were executed by hanging within the prison. All of their victims were female

A plan of the prison's ground floor. The site is approximately three acres in total

A sales document for the prison states: 'The accommodation ranges from single to three storeys in height and a number of temporary buildings are present including prefabricated structures, metal containers and portacabins. There are also a number of basement areas.

It adds: 'The combined site area offers extensive accommodation.'

A spokesman for the Ministry of Justice said: 'The former HMP Shrewsbury site is currently for sale and we are liaising with a number of organisations about the future use of the site, including the local authority and English Heritage.'



Other prisons being sold by the MoJ are HMP Canterbury, HMP Bullwood Hall, HMP Gloucester, HMP Kingston and HMP Shepton Mallet.



A notorious Scottish prison which housed some of the country's toughest convicts and was once branded the 'hate factory' also went up for sale last month. HMP Peterhead, in Aberdeenshire, shut last month and was due to be demolished later this year.

The exercise yard, complete with barb wire. HMP Shrewsbury was a category B/C prison