For over 700 years, Fleet Prison saw its share of criminals and miseries. Built in 1197 along the eastside of the River Fleet, by the 18th Century it had become a prison for primarily debtors and those who had gone bankrupt. Within the walls, the community ranged relatively free, with more than 300 prisoners adhering to rules set by a prisoners’ committee (londonlive.org). Artistocratic and wealthier prisoners were typically relegated to the master’s side, where they would have their own quarters. The common side was for the poor, and these prisoners livelihood depended on prison charities (londonlive.org). Rent was paid by both commons and masters, with the wealthier often accused of living luxuriously and using the prison as a way to stave of creditors.
(Thornbury, Walford, Old and new London: a narrative of its history, its people and its places, 1881).
(Ashton, The Fleet: Its River, Prison, and Marriages, 1888).
According to Ashton, the debt in the Regency era ranged from 2 pounds to 18,000.
In 1815, a Committee was appointed by the House of Commons to investigate the various debtor’s prisons and produce a report. The report found, at that time, 209 persons living in the Fleet.
(Knight, London, 1843)
The prison was “carted away” in 1843/1846 (Thornbury, Walford, Old and new London: a narrative of its history, its people and its places, 1881).
(Thornbury, Walford, Old and new London: a narrative of its history, its people and its places, 1881).
