The
United States Army built a camp in Ogwell and
shooting range in Denbury in the run up to the
invasion of Europe in 1944. The site was taken over by the
Royal Corps of Signals junior training Regiment. The construction of Channings Wood Prison began on the former
Ministry of Defence site in 1973, by a combination of contract and prison labour. The prison officially opened in July 1974, although some of the wooden huts remained in use whilst building and landscaping continued into the eighties. From the 1990s Channings Wood gained a reputation for pioneering therapeutic work to reform sex offenders and drug addicts. This was confirmed in a report by
His Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons in April 2003, however the report noted that overcrowding at Channings Wood was putting this good work at risk. Further accommodation was constructed at the prison in 2003. Channings Wood was praised again in a report in 2005 which highlighted the prison's education programme, accommodation and levels of safety. However, a year later ten inmates staged a rooftop protest at the prison for 28 hours. The prisoners were "protesting about their food being cooked by prisoners on the
sex offender registry." The protest ended peacefully. A new 64-bed unit was opened at Channings Wood in 2007. The new wing houses the specialist Therapeutic Community which tackles drug misuse issues amongst prisoners. In 2024, Channings Wood started another expansion with new facilities being constructed. These are due to be completed around 2026. ==The prison today==