Fleet
Prison was situated off Faringdon Road and is now occupied by Caronne
House. The prison was named after a river that flowed outside the
prison walls. Originally built in 1197 the prison was destroyed three
times: Peasants' Revolt (1381), the Great Fire (1666) and the Gordon
Riots (1780). In the 1750s Fleet Prison was mainly used for debtors
and bankrupts. It usually contained some 300 prisoners and their families.
Some inmates were forced to beg from their cells that overlooked the
street, in order to pay for their keep. Fleet Prison is described
by Charles Dickens in his novel The
Pickwick Papers and was featured in The
Rake's Progress by William Hogarth.
Fleet Prison was demolished in 1846.
Rudolf
Ackermann, Fleet Prison, from Microcosm of London (1808)
(1)
William Pyne, The
Microcosm of London (1808)
The
court into which you enter is the whole length of the building which
is about 90 feet. Passing through the lobby, you enter the inner court,
where the prisoners entertain themselves with tennis fives, and other
amusements, as represented in the print. The keeper is called the
warden of the Fleet, and his fees from the prisoners for turning the
key, for chamber rent, etc. and this amounts to a considerable sum.
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