It is located on the outskirts of Banstead in Surrey, England (overlooking Banstead Downs), and is immediately adjacent to the southern boundary of Belmont in Greater London.

High Down Prison was built in 1992 on the site previously occupied by Banstead Hospital.

In November 2010, the prison football team played a friendly match against League Two side Wycombe Wanderers, losing 8–0.

[7][citation needed] The prison plans to open an offender personality disorder unit with a capacity of 23 beds in single cells, and has an Integrated Substance Misuse service.

Healthcare services are provided by Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust.