The Fleet: Its Rivers, Prison, and MarriagesAshton, John
History
The Fleet: Its Rivers, Prison, and Marriages
Ashton, John
Fleet Prison (London, England); Fleet, River (England)
In a Return of the number of persons in the several Gaols of England,
confined for Debt, ordered by the House of Commons to be printed, May
13, 1835, we have an "Account of the Number of Persons confined for
Debt in the Fleet Prison during the following Years:
1830 1831 1832 1833 1834
Number confined 742 700 884 746 769
Number charged in Execution 105 136 134 126 156
And the amount of the debt and costs for which each party was so
charged varied from £2 to £18,017.
I look in vain in the _Times_ for the paragraph to which the Warden
alludes in the following letter:
"The Warden presents his compliments to the Editor of the
_Times_, and begs to state, that a paragraph having appeared in
the paper of this morning, stating that the Fleet Prison is very
full, and that a guinea and a half a week is paid for a single
room, and that four, five, and six persons are obliged to live
in a small apartment.
"The Warden, not being aware of this, should it in any case
exist, and which is contrary to the established regulations
against any person so offending, the prison not being so full as
in former years, there being considerably less, on an average,
than two prisoners to each Room, and being also exceedingly
healthy.
"The Warden has also to add, that the rest of the paragraph
relating to the Fleet is totally without foundation.
"Fleet Prison, March 7, 1836."
In the outside sheet of the _Times_, February 21, 1838, occurs the
following advertisement: "ONE HUNDRED POUNDS REWARD.--Escape.--ESCAPED
from the Fleet Prison, on the evening of Wednesday the 14th day of
February instant. ALFRED MORRIS, late of 22 Dean Street, Tooley Street,
Southwark. The said Alfred Morris is about 30 years of Age, about 5
feet 6 inches high, dark complexion, and of a Jewish Caste, prominent
Nose, somewhat flat pointed, dark, irregular whiskers, stout figure,
and rather bow legged," &c., &c.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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