Shepton Mallet prison is Britain's oldest jail, and was operational between 1625 and 2013.



From 1942-1945 the prison was taken over by the American Government and used a military prison, the population of the prison increased significantly during this period, and by the end of 1944 768 inmates were imprisoned there..



Under the provisions of the Visiting Forces Act in 1942, 18 American servicemen were executed at the prison. 9 men were executed for murder, 6 for rape (not a capital offence in the UK at that time) and the remaining three for both crimes.