Insolvent debtors

Insolvent debtors were held in local prisons and, once there, could spend the rest of their lives in prison. It was only in 1869 that imprisonment for debt ceased, except in cases of fraud or refusal to pay. Records of some London debtors´ prisons are in PRIS 1 - PRIS 11. Gaolers´ returns of insolvents in some London prisons between 1862 and 1869 are in B 2. In 1813 the Court for the Relief of Insolvent Debtors was established and registers of petitions to it from imprisoned debtors from 1813 to 1861 are in B 6. Indexes from 1820 are in B 8.

Debtors Prisons

The Fleet prison was one of the principal debtors´ prisons until it was closed in 1842. Commitment Books run from 1685 to 1842, with gaps, and are in series PRIS 1. They are in Latin until 1733, and give details of each person committed to prison. Most books are indexed; books 1A and 2 are indexed in the series list, and 1B by IND 1/10788. Commitments files from 1758 to 1842 are in PRIS 2 and contain bundles of documents relating to individual cases. They can be cross-referenced with the Commitment Books. Records of discharges are in PRIS 3 covering 1775 and 1842.

The King´s Bench prison was one of the largest of the debtors´ prisons and in 1842 it formed part of the new Queen´s Prison, with the amalgamation of the King´s Bench, Fleet and Marshalsea prisons. In 1862 the Queen´s Prison was demolished. The Commitment Books are in PRIS 4 and run from 1719 to1862. Discharges from the King´s Bench and Queen´s Prisons are in PRIS 7 covering 1776 to 1862.

The prison of the Marshalsea was originally attached to the Court of the Verge and Marshal, which was the palace court of the Royal Household. It became settled in Southwark and in time a debtor´s prison, although it also held smugglers, those charged with excise offences and court martialled seamen. Surviving registers for the Marshalsea are in PRIS 11 from 1811 to 1842.