The Marshalsea (1373–1842) was a notorious prison in Southwark, just south of the River Thames. Although it housed a variety of prisoners—including men accused of crimes at sea and political figures charged with sedition —it became known, in particular, for its incarceration of the poorest of London's debtors. [ 1 ]

Marshalsea, a prison formerly existing in Southwark, London, on the south bank of the Thames and attached to the court of that name held by the steward and marshal of the English (later British) king. It existed as early as the reign of Edward III. It was consolidated in 1842 with the Queen’s Bench.

The Marshalsea Prison was a debtors' prison which is mentioned frequently in the works of Charles Dickens. The Marshalsea prison was located on the south bank of the River Thames in the London borough of Southwark, near London Bridge.

Mar 31, 2025 · John Dickens, the father of the great Victorian novelist, was imprisoned in the Marshalsea for a debt he owed to a baker. Dickens described his father as “a jovial opportunist with no money sense;” he modelled his character Wilkins Micawber in …

The Marshalsea of the King's House was a court of record held by the Steward and Marshal of the Royal Household, to administer justice between the sovereign's domestic servants "that they might not be drawn into other courts and their service lost".

Jun 6, 2017 · This paints a clear picture of how the Marshalsea evolved over time and the different types of people who came into contact with ‘the worst prison in the country’. Included in these fascinating vignettes are the optician Joshua Reeve Lowe, who had saved Queen Victoria from assassination, and the noted swindler James Stamp Sutton Cooke.

Nov 22, 2023 · From the 14th to the 19th century, the Marshalsea was one of England’s most infamous prisons. Located in Southwark on the south bank of the River Thames, it housed mainly debtors arrested under cruel laws that allowed indefinite imprisonment for even small debts.

Apr 16, 2018 · As time went on, reportedly by 1430, the Marshalsea became known as a debtor’s prison, and was notorious by the 18th century, when it was rebuilt about 130 yards south of its original site. You can learn all about it from Charles Dickens whose father was …

The Marshalsea dates from medieval times and closed in 1842, being demolished soon afterwards. All that is left to be seen of this once notorious debtors' prison is this length of the wall in Angel Court.

Mar 18, 2025 · Few locations capture the Dickensian spirit more than the remnants of Marshalsea—the debtor’s prison where Charles Dickens ’ own father was incarcerated, an experience that profoundly...