Aldershot military prison

Built in 1870 to house soldiers sentenced for military offences, the building derived its name from its large, glass lantern roof.

The term glasshouse has since become synonymous with all military prison establishments but it has its origins in Aldershot.

Re-building of Aldershot's military prison started in 1870 at an estimated cost of about £6,000.

The new three-storey building was very similar to conventional Victorian civil prisons such as Wormwood Scrubs and was originally designed to house 165 inmates, considerably fewer than the wooden huts of Aldershot's original prison.

In 1948, the War Office considered rebuilding the 'Glasshouse' at an estimated cost of £18,000 but eventually decided against it resulting in the prison being demolished in early 1958.